Chester’s historic city walls have inspired a new collection of poetry which will be launched during the city’s literature festival on Wednesday, October 21.
Chester City Walls is the first collection to be published by Ellesmere Port writer Julia McGuinness, who invites readers to travel on a literary journey along the iconic structure and discover the local people whose lives have shaped them.
Julia explained: “Walls hold many levels of meaning. Chester’s Walls form a unique landmark that not only contain a city, but also many aspects of its life and history. They have been a rich resource for writing which I’ve nowhere near exhausted in this collection.
“Over fifty poems take the reader on a walk clockwise round this city’s promenade, from gate to gate, stopping to observe, to reflect and to recall incidents past and present that have shaped the walls and our experience of them.
“From the Civil War to an encounter with visiting students; from elopement to siege, from looking down from walls to looking up at them, inside or out.
Celebrating the Walls
“As I’ve walked the walls and come to know them, they’ve become more than just a paved walkway. They embody Chester’s story down the centuries. It’s something I’ve wanted to celebrate and commemorate,” she added.
Chester City Walls is the sixth time into print for Julia, who is a lay reader at Ellesmere Port’s parish church, St Thomas and All Saints.
She works as a therapeutic counsellor and creative writing tutor and recently graduated with an MA in creative writing from Manchester Metropolitan University where she was a student of the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.
Chester City Walls will be officially launched on Wednesday at 8pm at Alexander’s in Rufus Court, Chester.
It’s a free event and as well as reading from the new book, she is also inviting other poets to come and join in the local celebration at an open mic night. Performance slots are available for ten Chester/Cheshire-themed poems and poets can sign up on the night.
