…walls of mottled russet, culvert, cobble
slathered wheel-gape, spindle, stray grindstone
laze, decay, forgiven by lichen and moss.

Longbarrow Press is proud to present the third in a series of walks through Sheffield’s Rivelin Valley. Contraflow is led by poet Fay Musselwhite (as were the similarly-titled walks of spring 2014 and summer 2015) with photographer and poet Karl Hurst. Making a three-mile loop of the tree-lined river (starting and ending at the Rivelin Park Cafe), the two poets reimagine the story of these working, wheel-geared waters, their cycles of industry and recovery; against and with the flow. Meet at Rivelin Park Cafe, Rivelin Park Rd, Sheffield S6 5GE, on Saturday 15 October (2pm prompt start). The walk is free; however, places are limited, and advance booking is essential. To reserve a place, please email longbarrowpress@gmail.com. This event is part of Off the Shelf 2016. Click here for details of Fay Musselwhite’s debut collection Contraflow. You can view Karl Hurst’s related photographic images here.

‘The act of reading becomes a (passing, unrepeatable) act of collaboration, the poem’s colour balance shifting in our minds with each encounter. When we contemplate a contemporary colour wheel, we see that there are no hard boundaries on the spectrum: one colour shades into another, with innumerable gradations between red and orange. […]  Our course (or temperament) may be set, but our position is always relative. The uncertainty of colour is, in many ways, the uncertainty of language.’  Brian Lewis marks the conclusion of the collaborative Rose of Temperaments project (co-curated with artist Paul Evans) with the first of two essays reflecting on colour perception, the development of Goethe and Schiller’s original ‘Rose of Temperaments’ (a colour wheel), and the six sonnets by Angelina D’Roza, A.B. Jackson, Chris Jones, Geraldine Monk, Helen Mort and Alistair Noon that comprise the project (the poems can be accessed here). Click here to read ‘White Point’ on the Longbarrow Blog.

Finally, our limited offer for October: order Chris Jones‘s second collection, Skin (a handsome litho-printed hardback), and you’ll also receive a free copy of Peter Riley’s acclaimed pamphlet The Ascent of Kinder Scout. Click here for more details and to order.