Live at Brendon Books: An Evening of Poetry with John Greening

Thursday 11th June, 7pm-8.30pm | Brendon Books, Taunton

Book tickets here: An Evening of Poetry with John Greening at Brendon Books CIC event tickets from TicketSource

Fire River Poets are delighted to join Brendon Books in welcoming one of Britain’s most distinguished contemporary poets, John Greening, for a special evening of readings and conversation.

John will be reading from his work alongside members of Fire River Poets, offering an evening that celebrates the richness and diversity of contemporary poetry. There will also be an opportunity to hear John discuss his recent editorial projects and his remarkable literary career.

A poet, critic and playwright of national acclaim, John Greening is the recipient of the Bridport Prize, the Arvon Award and the Cholmondeley Award. He has published more than twenty collections of poetry, including The Silence (Carcanet, 2019), The Interpretation of Owls: Selected Poems 1977–2022 (Baylor University Press, 2023), and From the East (Renard Press, 2024).

Alongside his own writing, John has made a significant contribution as an editor and literary critic. He is currently preparing editions of the poets William Scammell and Molly Holden, having previously edited selections from Matthew Arnold, Geoffrey Grigson, Edmund Blunden, Iain Crichton Smith and U. A. Fanthorpe.

His critical studies and anthologies include Accompanied Voices (poems about composers), Hollow Palaces (modern country house poems) and Contraflow: Lines of Englishness, a collaboration with Kevin Gardner that was named a Poetry Book of the Year by both The Guardian and The Sunday Times. Together they are currently preparing a major new anthology of British verse, Roundelay.

Recent publications include A High Calling, or Where Do You Get Your Ideas From? (Renard Press, 2025), a collection of essays, poems and photographs, and his acclaimed translation of Rilke’s New Poems (Baylor University Press). His next full poetry collection, Crowning, is forthcoming from Baylor.

Whether you are a long-time poetry reader or simply curious to discover contemporary poetry at its best, this promises to be a memorable evening of readings, insight and discussion.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Fire River Poets are delighted to welcome poet Pam Thompson for the guest reading in June.

Pam Thompson is a writer, educator and reviewer based in Leicester. Her works include include The Japan Quiz (Redbeck Press, 2009) and Show Date and Time, (Smith|Doorstop, 2006). Her collection, Strange Fashion, was published by Pindrop Press in 2017. Pam was winner of the 2023 Paper Swans Pamphlet Competition and her prize-winning pamphlet, Sub/urban Legends (Paper Swans Press) was published in March 2025. Pam is a Hawthornden Fellow.