Surrey Group: Travelling Light

Join the Surrey Group on Tuesday 11 November from 12pm to hear from Alwyn Marriage about her travels and how they influence her poetry.

In a surprising change of career some years ago, Alwyn found herself travelling the world as Chief Executive of two international literature and literacy NGOs. Looking back now on that decade of travel, she reflects in poetry on some of the wonderful people she met and projects with which she had the privilege to work.

There were challenges: pillow-residing rodents on a night ferry, cockroaches by the score claiming prior rights to her guest bedrooms and even a black sea serpent with which she came face to face while enjoying a swim. But she was also thrilled and awed to discover so many more beautiful parts of the planet, including Pacific island beaches and the clear air of the Bolivian antiplano.

There were sometimes almost daily flights, there was a journey by train from Moscow to Beijing in order to do some work in Siberia, and an ‘interesting’ night ferry in Bangladesh. She was welcomed with great warmth in shanty town and slum, conversed with village elders, teenaged literacy teachers, bishops, librarians and accountants. It was possible, on occasion, to very gently and courteously challenge the inequality suffered by women in some cultures and to encourage transparency in financial matters at the head offices of businesses and institutions. She sat under trees at literacy classes, walked between paddy fields to remote villages and enjoyed many opportunities to dance with joyful women.

Alwyn will talk about some of her journeys and read a few of the poems in which those memories are now encapsulated.

We’ll meet at The Seahorse, 52-54 The Street, Shalford, Guildford, GU4 8BU.

All writerly and bookish guests welcome!

To join us, click the Going button below and enter your details in the RSVP form so we know how many people to expect. Please email Howard Matthews with any questions.