The Grove Issue 12

STUDENT POETRY •

UNIVERSITY CLUBS & SOCIETIES •

UPCOMING EVENTS

Freshers’ issue, 2010 www.dur.ac.uk/grove

XII

2

THE TEAM’S PAGE

Hello and welcome to the special freshers’ issue of The Grove, Durham’s studentpoetry and literary journal. This issue we are proud to feature the work of theesteemed Durham Poetry Society; there’s an eclectic mix of style and subject thatdemonstrates the society’s penchant for a melting pot of members.

We also have a section that acts as a guide to various “cultural” societies at theuniversity, so hopefully this will give you a further idea of the range of groups outthere to join. Each society has also provided contact details, so if you’re interestedin getting involved just drop them a line. At the end of the magazine we’ve alsofeatured some listings, so that you can see what’s going on around Durham in thenext few weeks.

The Grove itself is published twice a term (but only once in the summer term), andwe’re always looking out for new submissions whether it is short prose, poetry oressays for our “centrefold” section. Our normal format has five sections: studentwriting, English writing, translations, centrefold and events. If you are interestedin publishing in Issue 12, feel free to send your work to us at: [email protected], if you’d like to get involved with the editing/organisational side of thejournal, we’d love to hear from you, as we will be setting up next year’s exec.throughout the year.

We’ll also be holding an open mic night at Fish Tank in conjunction with DurhamBook Festival on Tuesday 19th October - come along and find out more about TheGrove and listen to a remarkable range of poets reading their work aloud. It’s a freeevent, so there’s no excuse not to be there!

Enjoy the issue and being a fresher…

- The Grove Team

THE GROVE IS FUNDED BY

3

CONTENTS

THE GROVE TEAM ARE

Editor-in-Chief: Emily Chester; Deputy Editor: Lyndsey Fineran; Acting Editor: Alex Mason; Deputy Acting Editors: Ettie Holland, Sasha Magill; Section Editors: John Clegg, Becca Sheppard,

Kate Hutchings, Alexis Grigorieff

Sub-Editors: Lyndsey Fineran, Ella Colquhoun-Cole, Will Hanson, Astha Sharma-Pokharel, Lee-Mey Goh, Louis Campbell-Stievenard, Jamie Baxter, Laura Mosley,

Emma Charles, Lorna Urwin

page 4

55667778889

910101113141515

16161718191920212222

“Against Snakes (Old Babylonian Tablet)”by John Clegg

“Double Agent” by John Clegg“Lure” by John Clegg“The Mysteries” by John Clegg“Untitled” by Anna Moss“Love Machine” by Anna Moss“Every rose has to die” by Sam Raybone“A lesson in love” by Sam Raybone“Words for Meryl” by Sam Raybone“Her memory fades” by Sam Raybone“Constellations” by Reetta Humalajoki“Loppiainen (January 6th)” by Reetta Humalajoki“Watching” by Reetta Humalajoki“Seasonal Adultery” by Reetta Humalajoki“Constellations” by Reetta Humalajoki“Almost Home” by Reetta Humalajoki“An Apparition” by Reetta Humalajoki“The Owlet” by Sohinee Sen“The sum of our losses” by Sohinee Sen“Absence makes the furniture stronger” by Sohinee Sen“January” by Sohinee Sen“Summer swarm” by Jan Felix“Rhododendron” by Jan Felix“A Holding” by Jan Felix“The night kaleidoscope” by Jan Felix“How do” by Jan Felix“Sang the moon to the willow” by Jan Felix“Claustrophilia” by Matthew Griffiths“The Widow MacKay” by Matthew Griffiths“Fantasia for Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy” by Matthew Griffiths

“Elegy in blues minor” by Matthew Griffiths“Out of Phase” by Matthew Griffiths“October Illness” by Jamie Baxter“Afterwards” by Jamie Baxter“A Fantastic Poem” by Jamie Baxter“Close” by Jamie Baxter“Paradise” by Thom Addinall-Biddulph“Surreal Dawn #1” by Thom Addinall-Biddulph“Love” by Thom Addinall-Biddulph“Temple” by Thom Addinall-Biddulph“Theremin” by Thom Addinall-Biddulph“The Sphere” by Priya Church“3 Haiku’s For The Lonesome” by Kier Swaffield

STUDENT POETRY

2424252525262628

2930323233

CLUBS AND SOCIETIES 34

EVENTS LISTINGS 42

4

STUDENT POETRYThe poems printed here are all by members of Poetry Society (for details of which see elsewhere in the magazine). Several have also been developed following discussion of

them at our fortnightly critique sessions. They display the range of themes and styles that our student poets use, as well as the influences. Some poems here are humorous and sen-sual; others are elegiac and savage. There’s a set of haikus, and an ode to an American singer. The range of backgrounds is equally impressive, whether Finland, India, Trini-

dad, Germany, or Birmingham. The range of experience is also a vital component of the selection: many of these poems are, while not confessional, very much personal, reflecting on the poet’s own travails whilst providing the reader with a number of- often unexpect-ed- thoughts. Several of our poets, including some represented here, have already been published outside of Durham. The poems have been selected to show the best of Poetry Society’s collective output, and hopefully this year will see even more poets and an even

greater range of poems!

JOHN CLEGG

Against Snakes(Old Babylonian tablet)

Scales coloured palmwood mulch, the snake waits coiled in the rafters, coiled in the rushes. He strikes with two heads, seven forked tongues, seven venom-sacs.

I captured one of every snake: Sammanu, forest serpent, Subadu, who resists all incantations, Sanapsahuru, snake with speckled eyes, the eel-snake, the hisser at my window.

The hisser at my window entered through a hole then scarpered past the threshold when he saw me. Fleeing, he bowled over a gazelle, he wound himself among the withered oak.

5

John CleggSTUDENT POETRY

Double Agent

I took a slip-road off sleep’s autobahn and wound up on the disputed border. They pressed record on the tape-recorder, lit a cigarette and offered me one. I asked if this was an interrogation. Speechlessly the patrolman underscored a sentence: Travel permit not in order.

Over the fog a chopper swum or a swan.

I lied hard to them. Whatever they made of my story, the barrier lifted, the soldier leaning on it stepped aside, and I woke up here afraid that the balance had stirred or shifted between the promise and the swelling debt.

Lure

Between two mirrors, a woodlouse married a flea. This was my peepshow. The village menfolk would bundle in to bitch over kvass or woodchip liquor until their wives came to haul them out, which saved the expense of a doorman. I kept it all to bribe the inspector.

In my first week, somebody told me how to catch reindeer: their eyesight so blurry a herder with arms raised might be mistaken for a mate’s antlers. Your buddy crept up behind to net it. I never saw a successful attempt. In the meantime, government quotas were leaving the herders out of pocket and putting my peepshow out of business. I befriended the village’s inner circle

6

John Clegg STUDENT POETRY

who’d built a religion out of gossip. On New Year we ate rancid butter and dribbled hot wax over ice to see the future, which held up its arms

to mimic antlers, willing the beckon.

ANNA MOSS

Untitled I was scaling this wall, bound for a Fall But anyway I shimmied, stroked myself up it, pushed my hands into grooves

like a child and held on pretending to just be looking at the stars when really really I just wanted your knots against my chest ready and willing to forget jealous brambles that bit and seamy worms that rubbed and rubbed. The moss was (is) dormant

The Mysteries

In Rome’s long autumn I stole a jewelled phallus from Cybele’s temple. History happened. I drank from the Tiber, throat slit by my fence: a sleeper agent, priestess in the Mysteries.

In tenement doorways hushed conversations pick round me carefully. My corpse is crabmeat. Wind peers through keyholes, rain turns leaves blood-coloured. Luca my murderess chiselled this tablet.

7

Anna MossSTUDENT POETRY

SAM RaYBONE

Love Machine

“Let’s take you home” you say with warm soft (metal) hands My skinny new born legs in step with your jeans tapered to the ankles, Headed towards your junk yard factory Where I can hide beneath your (metal) skin. Eyes blue as electric lights twist upon mine, wanting to Hammer away. I’ll plug you in, alright. Tight like a bolt. Tell me baby, was I any good?

Every rose has to die

Every rose has to die;Its beauty marred by fate.All that is red will turnTo black & all that isGood will go.

A lesson in love

Glass red shardsCrunchUnderfoot. A truck ofStolen memoriesSulks in your car.You try to escape. I shall notChase that fallen star.

So rocks were to rend and split my dewy skin Grazed knees are fine though. Not painful. Not like you.

8

Sam Raybone STUDENT POETRY

Like fine art,You leave yourHandprint;In AcidUpon my heart.

Words for Meryl

Words are fraught withdanger,an Imperfect Mediumfor complexemotionssuch as these. Love is bigger thanfour, ignorant letters.When one soul finds anotherCompatible, Combustible,It sparks meaning:illuminates this cave, wherefor so long I struggled blind.

Her memory fades

Nature abidesHumanity aliveBut when we fadeShe takes no pauseThey unsheathe her clawsAnd rubAwayEach trace of human toilWith rain and weedsAnd moss and soil.

9

Reetta HumalajokiSTUDENT POETRY

REEttA HUMALAJOKI

Watching

I wish one dayto see you undetected,To see if there are traces of mewhen you’re unaware.

Perhaps my morning scentcan leave a translucent trail.Or maybe I becomean extra beat

of your eyelids,the last imageyou took inthe night before.

Loppiainen ( January 6th)

As the time seeps nearerfor me to leave,the days stop getting lighter,instead growing heavy.We find omitted wordswith the last needles,clinging to the branches of the Christmas treeand I breathe deeplyonly in the heaving airof the damp cellar room.Some afternoonsit is unclear whetherthe snow is fallingor the air has becomeendless static.

10

Reetta Humalajoki STUDENT POETRY

Seasonal Adultery

I am still with winter.It’s brisk, penetrating with a chill.

But spring air gets inside, an inhalationinto the sinews of my toesand winds through the knuckleslike a ribbon, or a leash.

It gasps excitementin my ear, a touchwhen my lover’s not at home.The wind blows a branchinto my window.Green leaves neat as teeth -A seductive smile that lingerswhen I’m on my own.

Constellations

I am not an expert of astronomy,but I like to look at stars.Name and create my ownpatterns, askewlike a dropped loopin my knitting.

Over there is the Jumping Lady,that big brilliant dot is her knee

I wish one dayto see you undetected.I’d like to knowif I surround you

when I’m not there.

11


bent in mid-leapover the starry stream.And there behind her,the Golden Rake,with the light of thosefour prongs, Lemminkäinen’s mumfound his limbs in the swamp.

Next are the Slender Parallels,Slanted slightly, one towardsthe other.

Last night as we layon your duvet I searchedfor constellations on your ceiling.All I found was a little spider,a negative of the North Starretreating into the corner of your room.

Almost Home

When you said summer,I wasn’t thinking Pimms or riverside picnicsto the shout of rowers speeding past.Because rowing isn’t strength or endurance in a long plastic boat,It’s tottering round in circles in a wide, clumsy dinghy with wooden oars that give you blistersJust by looking at them.

And it’s heading across a lakeLike adventurers to discoverAn island you’ve been to several times before.I wonder if that monstrous fish headwill still be there, nailed to that tree?And if we’ll scare ourselves making storiesAbout where it came fromOr how big it was alive.

12

STUDENT POETRYReetta Humalajoki

My friend, my mirror image, and I,We’ll afterwards close ourselvesInto the steam of our memories,Fuel them with heat, throwing water at stonesTil our skin is so tender we can draw smiley faces in itWith our fingers.We’ll duck from the harshest blows of the stoveInto our knees, and gasp as it stings our backs.Stings so we have to run out in just our skin and leapOver roots and cool sand to jump off the dock into water still freezing in July.Forced to laugh and shriek at the contrast,Start climbing out butC’mon, I dare you, once more!

Because this isn’t England, this isn’t England!This is a place where you are The OtherAnd I am your only hope of glimpsing in.At an understanding of the beautyOf staying up talking til it gets dark, -Which is never -Of going out bicycle ridingAt 2 AM in the glow of the sun’s embers and blowing laughterTil they catch a full blazeAnd it’s daylight.And then we sleep.

At home I’ll feed dandelionsto my little canine brother,To praise him for running me overWhile I was asleep on the lawn.He’ll provide me with kisses,While I’m away from you -They’re only slightly wetter than yours.I’ll walk him in the shelter Of the coniferous treesListening to the rustling breezeAnd nothing else.

13


In the evenings I sit watching the sunWink on the lake’s surface,Like little swimming stars,Feet stretched out into the mixture ofsand and orange pineneedlesFrom the year before.My ciders all lined up by my side,Gooseberry, rhubarb, strawberry-vanilla,And hope the breeze will ebbLong enough to remove my cardigan.And that’s just in the city.

Sometimes mother and I will climb in the car,Drive past rapeseed fields and industrialforests in turn -Gold, green, gold, brown green -Drive to listen to elderly laughterand eat potatoes and meatAnd freshly baked pastriesYou don’t even have a word for.On the way back sit sharingOur versions of those times, me at 3,Got carsick in the car, but we couldn’t stop.

So I’ll sleep in the basement again,With the knowledge everyone is over head,Hear paws clattering and my dad, Sometimes singing songs,Songs by that Finnish peasant rock band.I’ll be curled up with my teddy bears,Because You’ll be more than a minute away.But it will be okay.Because it has to be.Because there I am most me.

An Apparition

By the end she could not saywhen it had begun. Perhaps she’d felt that nightly image

14

Reetta Humalajoki STUDENT POETRY

ever since she had left home.

Gradually it lapped into day-time,a split-second outline inevery blink. A poroussketch on the inside ofher eyelids.

The longer she stayed away, the deeper it carvedinto her vision. She began to see the worldalways through a veil of upwardlines and curved tops.

As the faces of friends, acquaintances,turned translucent and dull,the images became more vivid,meshed tints of yellow-greenand the browns of dirt and bark.Until she could no longer see throughit, and tripped on familiar stairs, poured wine on the tableand not in the glass.

Now it’s all she can see.A wooden blindness, an obscuring forest.Trees upon trees, behind trees, surroundedby trees. The woods from home,come to live within.

SOHINEE SEN

The Owlet

The snow was sticky.A thick cotton blanket that my feetwere enchanted by.Your family four steps aheadpaced the wood with homestead familiarity

15

Sohinee SenSTUDENT POETRY

these trees, these brooksthis countyall stood attached to your name.We lingered,fell back and whispered in our own tonguesof trees and woods of our place.A place I have come to think of home.The riotous North’s small carollinga tuneless melody through me.I pictured you there in the place we’d known herewhilst walkingthe wood’s bright from early winter whitefall,wanting only space, and more.

The sum of all our losses

oak-soaked large wooden planksline windows of the disused. that was, years back,a hardware shop Daddy took me to,buying first Wellingtons.the crisp bottle green sign matchedChristmas that yearas October rain slid offmy tiny feetand I waited patiently for puddles.Now walking by, boarded up, brown peeling paintwork except for thesmall patch of conifer and a vaguesense of polka dots on PVC.

Absence makes the furniture stronger

When you are not herethe warm oak cabinet shivers itsweight into snow drenched groundand declines to open.

16

STUDENT POETRYSohinee Sen

January

Birthday seasons,As if the skies sweetenedAnd your staid smile turned rosy.The woods were snowy, the lightmeandering frost still wandering pathwayssearching for dew to steal.Metamorphose, the benedictions ofthe medieval brought to mind and upturned,the Modern now the futureThe future now days and days Afterwards.

JAN FELIx

Summer swarm

The forest fire smellsdelicious: all thosemany hives blackening, blackening.

And the bees are trapped;a whole world-cage of heateats and eats up the angry buzzing.

Now the fire will become the swarm;a storm! No eye,just one terrible mind and hunger.

A conflagration!Such a celebration,the air glows with consumption;all the many pollens

are a million brief embersthat dance like sinners at red generous tongues,

17

Jan FelixSTUDENT POETRY

Rhododendron

Such vile rhododendron acids,scorched earth sky, the blithe children that yet roam

find a strange significanceat the red buds’night scent

haemorrhage;hypnotists’ watchwhile under the paved earth

the poisonous roots spreadlike greedy fingers.

float out upon the hot, black air-streams,and finally down. Made dust.

But such a life dust this is yet,and though once all is doused a great death plain and skygreet the eye,

there remains a hope in the turn of seasons,a simple act of kindness,one seed,and the land is not yet lost.And whether bythe breath of God,the wind of fate,

or some erratic, namelessturbulence of algebra:kindness remains kindness,the life drive is endless.

18

STUDENT POETRYJan Felix

A holding

Folding the shadows away like paper,A brightness growing:All depth, timeDissolving

And days thickening to waterA tangible flow,SecondsSilver flecked,

As strange fish darting.Hither and whence:A brightening dusk,A darkening dawn,

And shadows folding away like paperDays: thin whiteness,Days folding away like memories,Shadows –

A light is rising.

There is a heat,Strange heat

And momentsLosing BordersAre becoming

Endless.

But for the one true Terminus

A blueing light: A blueing light, Always.

19

STUDENT POETRY Jan Felix

The folded days a dead breath shadowpaper.

How do

You doand yet don’t reallyrespond,

The night kaleidoscope

The night kaleidoscope Turns Turns Repatterns those thoughts, will not cease that crescendo of sullen complexities, Aggravated symmetry Bolder and bolder Relayering and layering

At some wild uncaged logic and

spinning the grey silk night to an infinite Fractic-almost-absurdity

That seems and at the seams,

almost familiar.

20

Jan Felix STUDENT POETRY

just beckon and get andtake or give

two sugars or three?with your leavesstewedand boiled and the entrailsnot read but bagged and tossed back at randomness.

and the morning walkdoesn’t leave me wanting the destination or outsetpoint, but the walk is nice,when it’s cold

and the frosthas made chaos of boundaries.

Sang the moon to the willow

I have had to make you less beautifulsang the moon to the willow,

that, with the same great arms that wrest the oceans

has taken up the windat night,

in secret,and slowly crooked

her boughs,changed her

stature that was once mighty;now stooped,

lowly.

21

Jan FelixSTUDENT POETRY

Claustrophilia

I have found my niche in booths,enshrined my place in life behindpartitions, chairbacks, shelves. Let me

explain – my childhood was a box too big to hold me, so I chrysallised inside my duvet, where change happened.

When I emerged, I sought supportfrom brick facades for my new bones and at parties, I always fought my corner.

My first vote saw me add the pleasureof a third dimension to my walled world.The cross I spilled onto the ballot paper

was a black, excited thing. Then came the guilt. I had to find religion, all its wooden doors, to take me in.

Soon, I would not stand for a urinal, loving to slide home the lavatory’s bolt, feel the shower screen’s rubber edge meet its mate.

Now, I eat in cafés, savouringhigh backs and low lights more than meals.

MAttHEW GRIFFITHS

And though for perception’s sake

the moon may now glimpse the unobtainablewithout such torment as before

the barbs of love sunk deeper:the moon has scars

to show for it.

22

STUDENT POETRYMatthew Griffiths

And, O, the precious moment between fire doors!

All that I have left to long foris the day they measure all my sidesto make the perfect box in which to sleep.

Fantasia for Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billyalso, for Andrew Pidoux

Spare as notesthe lo-fi starspick themselves out on night.

The Widow MacKay“the hey-day in the blood” – Hamlet

Here I am, thinks the widow MacKay –her gloved fingertips about to brush timethat settles unseemly on her lieutenant’s lapel, but held to reflect –here I am in strange clothes, she thinks.

They rest on my skin between him andus, and are new though I wore themtwo decades ago. I am old-fashioned,suddenly younger than then; wheremy skin meets the world the world

buzzes. Somewhere at the end of myarm, his fingers collect my fingers.His watch-tick echoes. His wry patience wantsan untimed, orderly life.He has asked me to dance from,

she thinks, myself – from insidemy costume, so it stands therein the past. But I shan’t feel him hold me.Without moving, the widow MacKaytraces her skin, her nerves, her blood.

23

Matthew GriffithsSTUDENT POETRY

On the desert’s low instrumentcrickets tune upstrings of grass.

Bonnie Billy sits in the bole of a telegraph tree

that gathers wires from the air. A straw hat mutes his mouth’s saxophone,

filters his maudlinmelody of voiceinto words.

Fireflies light on Billy’s songas the cold unwraps

his breaths.Tears run downnight’s face, remindthe desert’s dry lipsof salt’s taste.

Carnivores start to gnaw the horizonand sunlight seeps

from the wound, while Billy watches with squidlike eyes,a sucker to his guitar.

‘This is how I start another day in my kingdom.’His smile waltzes through

the whorls of his beard,a white phantomto a phantom chord.

24

Matthew Griffiths STUDENT POETRY

Elegy in blues minor

The high-toned player lies in statewith whiskey bottle and saxophone.The late arrivals lament the lateman’s last record being his final one.

Their boys in ties and shorts run roundhis empty house – they’re hunting forhis dressing-up box of sound.They cannot know the final score

composed in liverspots by agefrom the treble clef of one earacross his forehead’s screwed-up stave.Stars shimmer in a final tear.

Those boys are in the old man’s loft –it had played back his final notes,and in the late light’s shafts of softdust, new melodies rumble in their throats.

JAMIE BAxTER

October Illness

I arrive in awkward reverenceto something so soft and ill.

Out of Phase

Mist and wet eyesight fatten the moon.In their old places, my walking bonesTransmit remembered flesh onto themselvesHumming you into my lips.Swift, shifting air interferes with the napeOf my neck: it will be your breathUntil I can bring myself to turn and look.

25

Jamie BaxterSTUDENT POETRY

Afterwards

Afterwards, he went downstairs and read many poets.The basement still had windows and these told himit was trying to snow, yet was too cold.Too cold as he sat in the basement afterwards, reading.

He was beginning to dwell on her again.There was no point in keeping lists of them.He’d forgotten all he’d learnt this morningand, as always, all he’d felt last night.

The many poets weren’t really telling him much – but he read them anyway.He can’t properly read anything with…the snow, yes! the snow, with worrying about the snow;So many poets to read, so many decisions to not make, so many hours to fill without anyone in that basement, reading.

A Fantastic Poemafter Dostoyevsky

Although I seem to myself the Ridiculous Man(before his dream I should add) I do still find myselfpurposeful with moments, sometimes dreadfully so,and I wish you might stop me, but you don’t.I come crashing in with every day I have imagined, then

We know the place,it is the events which are foreign.

The days twist and cutthemselves into twos or threes.

Memories prop our mindsup into normality –that distant reality.Nothing I bring will help(I’m not some kind of saint,I just really love you.)

26

STUDENT POETRYJamie Baxter

Paradise

Paradise isThe anaesthetising sickeningEach timeYour deep-forest-eyedPictureGlances past theSheer cliffsOf myVision

THOM ADDINALL-BIDDULPH

bound to not happen and of coursethings go wrong: I arrive too late,she leaves too soon always it is time.I should never like to have that dream where I am in a painfully circular way the corrupted and the corruptor.This is enough, this moral burdenI have weighed upon myself: not to be holybut an accepted level of good. I’m going to have to apologise for all this, not like me at all.I’m normally much more censored, if you give me enough timeI’ll clear all this up.

Close

So when we lay in my car togetherwas this special or was she just cold,alone and lying through her skin?Her phone shivered and she stroked it kindly and so close she thoughtI couldn’t hear the little noises she made,her snake-like soliloquy.

The night had to hold meand set my mind so dark I couldn’t thinkof how once I had held her that close.

27

STUDENT POETRY Thom Addinall-Biddulph

Paradise isKnowing thatKnowledge is,Like everything,In the final statementA vanishingDot inThe trillingEtherParadise isThe screaming maniaOf a raceDoomed beforeIt evolvedNot by self orDegenerationBut byHaving theAudacityEver to allowIts atomsTo coalesceIn toThe unifiedAt all

Paradise isTen thousand madnessesScrabbling blindedIn theDiseased hallsOf your supernovaMind

Paradise isDarknessCovering andGiving cover toAllUnspeakableYet snuggling youFrom the dominion

28

STUDENT POETRYThom Addinall-Biddulph

Of the sun’sRazorblade rays

Paradise isDeathOblivion yawning out in toThe cold ocean-continuum

Paradise isGlinting blades in heavenScything in toNorth and southMonsooning horrorOn toDecompressed pavements

Paradise isSunday morningIn the halls of ancient bloodDrowsing throughHellfireAnd gazing half-ascendedIn toColoured crazyAir

Paradise isAll that fallAll that callAll that maulParadise isNowAndEverywhere

Stop hopingAndExist

29

Thom Addinall-BiddulphSTUDENT POETRY

Love

I) The mongoose And the snake Wrestling eternally In the Psychotic sand

II) H-bomb Blinding all your Cells in to Stupefaction And insanity

Surreal Dawn #1

Snake eyesGlaring throughGauze verdantBoring in to myHutA faint flashOfEnergy arcingThrough the nothingnessBiting savagePoisoningBon EchoAbove myWrithing mindDawn was watched thereTorturing theLake in to daylightAnd lifeAn implacable, explosiveTyrantForcing everythingTo the dominationOf the light

30


III) Ripping you viscerally Screaming your maddened fool joy Irradiating your brain in Cupidic mutilation

IV) Random symphony Nerve’s electric impulse A keyboard note Fork lightning feeling The singer’s snarl: All, all, all we are, are, are

Temple

ProcessionTo theHigherAltarChurch leadersWatch withEyed wisdom

The priestess incants(οραω τελον)As the light appearsAs the congregationGatheredStretch towards itGodhead revealedThe chantingThe holleringBegins

Reverie floodsOver theNaveRapture sinking intoStained carpetAll watch fromScatter pews

31

Thom Addinall-BiddulphSTUDENT POETRY

The deaconBlesses theChildWho descendsFrom the heavensClutching a firetruck

Benediction of thePreteriteThe believers,Our peopleSacristy bellRingsAnd JaneAnswers someoneSpeaks from anotherFaithAnd the massHalf-listens

First light retreatsGodhead, false idolAs the priestessDismisses himAnd anotherLightLumen de lumineAlchemises everything toHoly, catholic, apostolicGold

The mass is endedThe congregationGo in something not quiteBut better than, peaceLaughing into the GardenKnowing the trueDivine,Awaiting the archbishopWho is absorbed in vision(Or an armchair)Inside

32


‘all its hopes and fears are vainLong, unmitigated pain’ - Christina Rossetti, ‘Hope in Grief ’, Lines 21-22

The Sphere

Trapped in the sphere – she cries out –

It is the end of something.

All that counting, anticipation All those weeks had

PRIYA CHURCH

After three hoursHe will rise againIn accordance with our scriptures

Theremin

You haunt theLanguage of my soulThat creepy, catchy SpooksongThe proof toMusicInherent inOur physicalWorld

Expression ofThe ultimate sinisterAnd brilliantWeirdnessOfLife

33

Priya ChurchSTUDENT POETRY

KIER SWAFFIELD

Three Haiku’s For the Lonesome

Windows cold stare Trains rattle my sore mindYearning your return

Seasons change dripping Black now returns pavementsWind whispers new joy

Damp morning’s bird choir Black ledge sting, last cigaretteYou are close inside

Finally Come to nothing.

Resistance Had always been his forté.

Recovery time so quick, he very nearly,Bounced.Yet she was left counting…

So willing to accept circumstance, he left Unannounced.

Her words had glistenedAs they slid off of him

Evading perception

With excruciating and incomprehensible ease.

Such a waste of emotion.

Such exhausting futility.

34

CLUBS & SOCIETIES

The society has been established for close to 10 years now, we are open to all members of the society, even if people do not perform in our troupe ShellShock! they can come along to our weekly workshops on Saturday afternoons in Elvet Riverside. Improv is a brilliant relaxation method but also great for building confidence skills useful for interviews etc.

As well as Saturday workshops we run workshops on Tuesdays designed to get the keenest people involved with performing in our troupe ShellShock! We have just returned from the fringe for the second time, with our very successful show To Be Continued! We will be performing for the students of university regularly at colleges, so even if you re not directly involved with our society you can still reap the rewards of our skills, where we will make you laugh and unwind from deadlines.

Email: [email protected] Website: www.dur.ac.uk/dur.improv

DURHAM IMPROVISED COMEDY SOCIETY

The university has a wealth of societies and organisations. Below we’ve listed just a few of them along with details of how to get in touch.

The society was set up in 2004 to allow those interested in art and experts alike to meet fortnightly on a Monday evening to enjoy an evening of wine and canapés followed by a talk given by an academic in art.

The talks have varied from the Romantics to Realism, always interesting, given by enthusiastic speakers. We are fortunate enough to attract eminent lecturers in their field of expertise.

The evening is an opportunity for a civilised discussion with like minded students, to socialise with friendly faces and learn something about the wider aspects of art. There is no need for any previous knowledge of art, as the society provides an introduction to a range of fascinating areas of art. The Society’s role is also social, holding an event each term which attracts a wider group of enthusiasts.

In the past the Society has organised trips to the Bowes Museum, the Baltic locally and even to Paris. This year we are planning to go to London and possibly Barcelona, as well as organise a White Tie Ball.

Email: [email protected]

THE HISTORY OF ART SOCIETY

35

The GroveCLUBS & SOCIETIES

The Grove is Durham University’s student literary journal. We publish five times a year, and the magazine features student writing, English writing, events, translations and essays. We are always scouting for new and diverse contributions, and anyone interested in publishing in the journal should email: [email protected]. We host launch parties for each issue, which usually take place at Fishtank and offer the opportunity for poets/writers/musicians etc to perform. We will be holding an open mic night in conjunction with the Durham Book Festival, which will take place on Tuesday 19th Oct at Fishtank, so come along and find out more about us!

THE GROVE

English Society exists as a society for students of, and those interested in, English literature. Membership is not restricted to those studying English Literature.

Its purpose is dual: to serve as a way for those with an interest in English literature to meet each other and socialize, and to provide them with events of interest, ranging from theatre trips to talks by authors and careers events. We aim to hold weekly film nights to supplement the English Literature course; to hold several talks by authors, academics, and other noteworthy figures; to hold several socials a term; and to provide other events as and when they are possible, such as book clubs and creative writing fora. We work with, but are not part of, the English department, and aim both to aid those studying the course and satisfy the interest of those not studying it who are nevertheless interested.


DURHAM UNIVERSITY ENGLISH SOCIETY

The society seeks to provide a forum for students to discuss poetry in a friendly, non-academic setting, both discussing poetry by established poets and poetry written by our members. We aim to help members who want advice with their own writing, and give them a chance to see how other people write and work, whilst also offering students not in the English department a place to discuss poetry. We have a diverse membership, and are by no means restricted to English students- some of our regulars study, for example, History, Engineering, Physics and Computer Science! Our sessions are always welcoming and informal, generally in members’ houses, and invariably with an impressive selection of biscuits provided. We also work with such events and organisations as the Durham Book Festival, New Writing North, and the Durham University English Society to provide poetry events for everyone to enjoy. Poetry in every form is our subject! For enquiries please email [email protected]

POETRY SOCIETY

36

CLUBS & SOCIETIESThe Catholic Society

We are part of the wider community of St Cuthbert’s Roman Catholic Church, Old Elvet, Durham. The society works closely with Father Tony, the Parish Priest and Durham University Catholic Chaplain, to offer spiritual, pastoral and social activities for Catholic students. A variety of events are organised each term, including Chaplaincy Dinners, Pizza and Film nights, College Masses and a weekend retreat which is a great opportunity for spiritual refreshment. The society is committed to ecumenism and has holds joint events with Durham University Ecumenical Christian Council (DUECC) and the Durham University Methodist Society (MethSoc). During term time there is a student Mass every Sunday evening (6.30pm) at St Cuthbert’s Church to which everyone is welcome. If we have no other event, this is followed by drinks at the Dun Cow pub on Old Elvet.

President: Miriam Hindle, Trevelyan College


THE CATHOLIC SOCIETY (CATHSOC)

We are one of the largest student-led organisations in the university. With over 30 projects, we offer a wide variety of volunteering opportunities. Our volunteers work with children of all ages, with some projects focusing on children with special needs. Other projects work with the elderly, adults with mental health problems and those with disabilities. Students with a particular interest, such as the environment, swimming, horse riding, music or languages, will find projects to suit this passion. We also have volunteers working in local schools, hospitals and prisons. Our projects take place throughout the week, and require differing levels of commitment. Some, such as litter picking, are casual, whereas others require a regular time slot. If you want to find out more come to our project fair in Fonteyn Ballroom on 12 October or visit us in the SCA office in Dunelm House.

Website: www.dur.ac.uk/community.action

STUDENT COMMUNITY ACTION

Amnesty International campaigns for internationally recognized rights for all. It is a worldwide organization which targets appeals through protests and letter writing. We have partnerships with local groups and with their support help raise awareness about current violations of human rights. We campaign to put pressure on governments, political bodies and companies and raise their awareness about issues which are occurring in the world.


AMENSTY INTERNATIONAL

37

ActionAid SocietyCLUBS & SOCIETIES

ActionAid Society exists to support the work of the international development charity ActionAid, and to raise its profile in Durham.

ActionAid is a charity that works in over 50 countries to reduce poverty, by working with impoverished communities to strengthen their own efforts against poverty. They also work at national and international level to promote issues of poverty and to try to find long term solutions to extreme poverty, focusing on areas of aid and debt, emergencies and conflict, trade, corporate accountability, education, HIV and AIDS and women’s rights. The society seeks to put on events in Durham to raise awareness about poverty in the developing world and ActionAid’s work, and to raise money to donate to ActionAid.


ACTIONAID SOCIETY

For anyone who enjoys a good curry and the bright lights of Bollywood, there is finally a society for you to join. The society is open to anyone; you may live in South Asia, wish to visit, have visited or generally have an interest in the culture/art/music/food/film/languages. Relaxed meet ups and events every couple of weeks is on offer. No doubt, events will include the likes of curry nights, film nights and theme nights. Collaboration with DUCK charity is a work in progress, but as the society gets to its feet I hope that regular events can be arranged between the two. The main aim is to fill the apparent void within the University and get representing a small but significant portion of Asia.

(Despite the ambiguity) Countries in S.Asia include: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives.

Email: [email protected]/ [email protected]

SOUTH ASIAN SOCIETY

The club is a forum for the enjoyment, improving and discussions of playing Go.

It holds playing and training sessions weekly, in the evenings and at lunchtime, open to members and non-members alike. Go has a history of several thousand years, beginning in Asia and then flourishing in Japan, before travelling all over the world. It takes the simple elements of a board and different stones, mixes them with simple rules and creates an elegant and challenging game for two players. An introduction to Go, with examples, can be found on Senseis Library at http://senseis.xmp.net .

Email: [email protected] Website: www.dur.ac.uk/go.club

THE DURHAM UNIVERSITY GO CLUB

38

CLUBS & SOCIETIESDurham Chess Society

Chamber Choir is a small, close-knit group of around 20 singers that perform a wide range of repertoire from the early renaissance to the 20th Century. We sing at numerous events and venues including religious services and concerts, from cathedrals to concert halls. With a high level of commitment from its members, who benefit from the intimate choral environment, DUCC provides high-quality music for the university’s best singers.

The choir embarks on foreign tours, with recent venues including Prague, Tuscany, Poland and Dublin. Membership is by annual audition in the first week of the academic year. The Choir is student-organised, and the post of director is openly auditioned each year. The highlight of the Chamber Choir season is the annual ‘Music on the River’ charitable concert in the first week of June, with light-hearted summer music performed from rowing boats along the riverbank by Durham’s Cathedral and Castle.


CHAMBER SOCIETY

The band is a friendly, non-auditioning group open to all brass, woodwind and percussion players. Our weekly rehearsals are friendly and relaxed, and we always aim to make our music both accessible and musically challenging.

The band’s repertoire is vast and varied – last year our music included film scores (My Fair Lady, Spirited Away), Broadway musicals (Les Miserables, Lion King, Miss Saigon), full concert band suites and classical works (Carmen) arranged specifically for the band. We are committed to playing new music and arrangements as much as possible, so you can guarantee that we won’t be playing the same tunes every term! We usually have at least three concerts a year, including at least one outdoors. The band isn’t just about playing music though, as we hold frequent socials throughout the year. As well as meals, bar crawls and post-concert drinks. Last year, we went on tour in Edinburgh and we’re hoping to go abroad next year!


DURHAM UNIVERSITY CONCERT BAND

We play chess. As a new/reborn society, we’re not yet sure at the time of writing when and where we will be meeting, but it will probably be twice a week. E-mail [email protected], ring/text 07799570769 or join our Facebook group to find out. All levels, from complete beginner to grandmaster welcome. Special events, such as lectures, simultaneous exhibition matches and bar crawls expected throughout the year.

DURHAM CHESS SOCIETY

39

DU Concert BandCLUBS & SOCIETIES

We exist to promote live Big Band music in Durham. Holding auditions in the October of each academic year, our 20-piece band, comprising trumpets, saxophones, trombones and rhythm section performs across Durham and the North East in general, including our frequent ‘Big Gigs’ held at the end of term time in DSU.

Email: [email protected] Website: www.dur.ac.uk/bigband.society

DURHAM UNIVERSITY BIG BAND

Choral Society is one of Durham University’s largest and oldest musical groups, having performed continuously at a high standard for sixty years. Every year, members perform in a variety of concerts at top venues such as Durham Cathedral, with quality accompaniment from the likes of Durham University Orchestral Society and the Palatinate Ensemble. Professional soloists are employed, but experienced singers get many opportunities for solos and smaller ensemble singing, and the society is proud of its range of talent. Musical direction comes from the world-renowned cathedral organist James Lancelot, with repertoire drawn from across the classical spectrum - Bach to Bernstein. New members are recruited with short auditions which test range, sight-reading abilities and aural skills. Although commitment to weekly rehearsals on Monday evenings is essential, the society is welcoming and sociable. Few forget the experience of singing with dozens of friends to a capacity audience in the magnificent Durham Cathedral.


CHORaL SOCIETY

The society exists to promote folk music and traditional dance throughout the University. We hold weekly informal music sessions in the Court Inn on Wednesdays, which are open to musicians of any ability or anyone who just fancies a pint and a good chat. We’re also always looking for new recruits for the Durham University Rapper Team, which practises in the Big Jug Pub on Sunday evenings and regularly crawls round the pubs of Durham and Newcastle, as well as dancing at events all over the country.

We hold lively and well attended ceilidhs every term and organise trips to local concerts and festivals throughout the year. Please visit www.dur.ac.uk/folk.soc to find out more.

Email: [email protected] Website: www.dur.ac.uk/folk.soc

THE DURHAM UNIVERSITY FOLK SOCIETY

40

Durham University Voices CLUBS & SOCIETIES

Love singing? Hate auditions? Join Durham University Voices! We are a vibrant and enthusiastic choir with a wide and varied repertoire. We do not hold auditions but still maintain a high quality, professional and fun choir for keen singers. DUV performs at both formal occasions (including our own Christmas concert) and informally (at college events). Last year we were also invited to perform at the Classics’ Society black tie ball. This term, with our new musical director, we plan to perform a lunchtime Christmas concert in the cathedral as well as trying our hand at busking in town. Come and find us at the 2010 freshers’ fair!

Email: [email protected] or find us on Facebook

DURHAM UNIVERSITY VOICES

Join us in Germany during our annual trip to Deutschland! And through the year in Durham whether you’re looking for some language and culture or are just interested in Germany (especially the beer and food!), this is the society for you!

Our aim is to allow members to practise their language skills in a relaxed atmosphere, meet other people from the course and have a lot of fun! We have a trip to a German Christmas market as well as other smaller socials throughout the year including a fancy dress bar crawl! We also put on a play in German which is a great opportunity to improve your language and meet new people. And last but not least, we have regular film nights with the best of German cinema. Whether or not you study German we’d love to see you!

Email: [email protected] Website: www.dur.ac.uk/german.society

GERMAN SOCIETY

The society encourages students to explore their creativity through painting, sketching, sculpture and similar forms of visual expression, regardless of previous experience. Relaxed sessions encourage members to follow their individual interests. This will provide the opportunity to plan new projects and share ideas and opinions. We provide permanent facilities to enable students to work outside group sessions and to facilitate the exhibition of student artwork around both the university and the city of Durham. There is also the possibility to take part in workshops with visiting artists. Essential large equipment is provided such as easels as well as limited supplies of paper and charcoal for new members. In the long term members are expected to provide their own equipment, this can be purchased through the society.


FINE ART SOCIETY

41

Full CollapseCLUBS & SOCIETIES

Full Collapse is an “Alternative music night” hosted, roughly fortnightly, in Hild-Bede’s Undercroft, a sort of grimy magical cellar that you get to by falling down a hill. Full to the brim of unusual and friendly people and playing a mix of Rock/Metal/Emo/Punk/Ska/Hardcore/Prog/Other things, Full Collapse is unlike any other night out in Durham. Our goal is simple, to redress the lack of musical diversity offered at our university and in our city. It seems, at first, reassuring to encounter the same songs every night in every club but, after a while, the whole experience seems to condense into a pervasive homogenous sludge.

Full Collapse is something entirely different. Admittedly, our music is not to everybody’s taste. If, however, you would like to dress exactly as you like, enjoy a drink at college bar prices, meet some wonderful people and remember the songs that kept you going through those angsty teenage years, request to sign up to our mailing list by mailing [email protected]. Alternatively, visit our website at www.dur.ac.uk/full.collapse or find us at the Hild-Bede or DSU freshers’ fairs. Full Collapse is for those who love and respect great music. If that sounds like you, try it out.

FULL COLLAPSE

The History Society is for anyone interested in the subject, even those with the vaguest or most niche enthusiasm. We run a series of talks on Monday nights throughout the year, as well as regular social events – including an Elizabethan Banquet – and the odd trip to local areas of historical interest. We are also launching a community project this year, working with a local youth centre called ‘The Den’ in Stanley. Come and say hello to us on our stall at the Freshers’ Fair or email us at [email protected] for more information and to meet the exec.

HISTORY SOCIETY

For over 15 years the Archaeology Society has been bringing archaeology enthusiasts from all parts of the university together to chat, drink, and party. We have another packed year lined up for 2010/11 including a series of guest lecturers, six themed socials, a behind the scenes cathedral tour, day trips to York and Housesteads Roman fort, and, of course, our legendary winter and summer balls!

If you want to know more, or join our mailing list, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.


ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY

42

EVENTS LISTINGS

Contact: [email protected] without whose express permission no part may be reproduced.

Tuesday 5th October - 9th December, 7pm till 9pm: Creative Writing for Women - Ten Week Course, Alington House. This is an opportunity for women to write in a safe and supportive environment, with experienced writer and tutor Pj Buchanan. Contact [email protected] for more information about this event.

Wednesday 6th October, 5.30pm till 7pm: Late Summer Lectures in English Literature. This lecture explores the monsters, mutants and aliens of postwar science-fiction from B-Movies to bestsellers, inspired by developments in science and commenting on pressing political and cultural fears.

Monday 18th-28th October: Durham Book Festival featuring Simon Armitage, Bill Bryson, Peter Snow and many more. for more information see www.durhambookfestival.com

Wednesday 20th October - 9th March: Several Stories High - Creative Writing, St Aidan’s College. Have you ever wanted to write? Come and have a go in a friendly and supportive environment. 2-hour weekly workshops (registration required). Contact Fadia Faqir ([email protected]) for more information about this event.

More events at www.dur.ac.uk/whatson For regular events and societies, see our website at www.dur.ac.uk/grove

UPCOMING EVENTS

43

ADVERTISEMENT

44

ADVERTISEMENT

The Grove Issue 12

Documents

reetta humalajokiwatching

reetta humalajokiloppiainen

grove teamthe grove

john clegglure

john clegguntitled

reetta humalajokian

reetta humalajokithe

reetta humalajokialmost