‘Good things will continue happening in her name and spirit…Manchester became a poetry city not because of the university writing programmes…but because an expatriate American found a vocation there.’ Michael Schmidt; PN Review
Today would have been Linda Chase’s birthday. She volunteered to run and organise courses for the Poetry School. She ran the first one Autumn 2004. She started Poets & Players the same year. I was there and at the amazing Garden Parties. Here is a photo of me at the 2006 one, selling donated poetry books to raise funds for bursaries. In the background is the wonderful Village Hall.
Linda arranged for Sharon Olds to read in the Manchester Museum and to run a workshop at the Village Hall behind her house. It was all amazing and she was amazing.
Her online archive site is at lindachase.co.uk
Thank you, Fokkina, for remembering the lovely Linda.
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Thank you, Fokkina.
I joined that very first poetry school in Autumn 2004 (I was living next door at the time), and that was of course where we first met!
I have very fond memorues of Linda and my time at her poetry classes.
All the best people are born in July 🙂
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