John Hegley’s praise for Finsbury Park Library
‘Toddlers’ rhyme time makes my heart soar,’ says Islington poet
Published: 11 June, 2010
by NORMANDIE HOCHE
POET John Hegley paid an unexpected tribute this week to Finsbury Park Library and the sounds of toddlers singing nursery rhymes.
Mr Hegley, who lives in Newington Green and is due to star at the Holloway Arts Festival later this month, said he regularly visits the library in Blackstock Road for research.
“It’s my favourite venue in the borough,” he added. “And when the toddler group is singing nursery rhymes, it makes my heart soar.”
He is performing in An Evening of Tragedy, Poetry and Vinyl at the Boston Arms, Junction Road, Archway, on Wednesday June 30.
Irish writer and poet Aoife Mannix will also appear with Janie Armour and other guests. They will perform part of their acclaimed Different Words for Snow, a soundscape which takes you on a “beautiful, sometimes haunting” journey through black holes, via Jedi knights and drowning polar bears.
Rachel Pantechnicon will bring to the table a cornucopia of verses, stories and observations.
She has been described as the best-dressed woman on the poetry circuit and won the 2004 Glastonbury Festival Poetry
Slam. She is also the author of the Cheesegrater Leg-Iron Lion books.
Malika Booker is also appearing. She is a British writer of Guyanese and Grenadian parentage who writes poetry,
plays and solo monologues. The Holloway Arts Festival is produced by Rowan Arts, a charity based in Archway which is committed to providing free or low-priced entertainment.
The festival’s flagship free outdoor day, the Big Day Out, takes place on Sunday July 4.
• Tragedy, Poetry and Vinyl with John Hegley, Aoife Mannix and Janie Armour, Malika Booker, Rachel Pantechnicon and DJ Tim Wells takes place on Wednesday June 30 at the Boston Arms, 8-10.30pm.
• The Holloway Arts Festival runs from Thursday June 24-Sunday July 4.