Stories, poetry, histories and memories are all shared in our fortnightly podcast created by Lewisham libraries staff.
We started collecting material at the beginning of Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020 and shared them with customers and residents through Facebook as the weekly series “Lewisham Voices”. We are now publishing them more widely through this podcast.
There are memories from residents of growing up in Lewisham during the 1950s, and local author Caleb Azumah Nelson reflects on a more recent childhood. Poets recite their poetry, and authors read whole stories or share special chapters from their novels. Historians remember famous residents such as Olaudah Equiano and Robert Browning, and a theatre company reveals how they involve the community in their productions.
Each fortnight the podcast will have a different theme or format – but the link is always “words”.
Keep in touch.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lewishamlibraries,
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LewishamLibraries/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LewishamLibraries
www: https://lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/libraries
Music: Forget your feet - Tayler Watts. Artwork: Emily Fellah
Andrew from Lewisham Libraries recently visited Prendergast Vale School in Lewisham to talk to a group of Year 9 and 10 students, their English teacher, and the School Librarian, about all things book related. The students openly discuss the books they love, the books they dislike and the books that leave a lasting impression on the, both good and bad, touching upon topics such as racism, censorship, the separation of art from artist and whether the love of reading is something they can discuss with their friends.
Prendergast Vale School on Twitter
28 Feb 2022
Library Words - LGBT History Month
To celebrate LGBT History month, we have contributions from from two local authors.
First we hear from Simon James Green, a Young Adult's author from Sydenham who talks to us about his five LGBT YA novels and reads an excerpt from one. Then Andreena Leanne, writer, poet and lived experience speaker, reads two of her poems for us.
Interview with Simon James Green
Books by Simon James Green
eBooks by Simon James Green
https://www.simonjamesgreen.com/
Interview with Andreena Leanne
Books by Andreena Leanne
https://www.andreena.co.uk/
17 Jan 2022
Library Words - London Borough of Culture
Lewisham is the London Mayor's London Borough of Culture 2022, with Day One of celebrations kicking off on Friday 28th January.
Rachel from Lewisham Libraries speaks to both Vicky Amedume, Associate Director at The Albany, and Kellie Blake, Senior Producer of Lewisham Council Culture Team. They talk about Lewisham and The Albany's roles this year and We Are Lewisham, which will be co-produced by and with the people of Lewisham for a year of stories and celebrations.
For more information about Lewisham's London Borough of Culture programme and how to get involved, visit "We Are Lewisham"
5 Nov 2021
Library Words - Candice Carty-Williams
On the 18th October, award winning author Candice Carty-Williams came to Lewisham Library to speak to a group of students from Prendergast Vale School. Her debut novel Queenie won book of the year at the British Book Awards and her second novel, Empress & Aniya is a young adult novel that has been called South East London's answer to freaky Friday. She talked to the students about her new book, her love of reading and her writing process and most importantly, her time own time growing up in Lewisham. Afterwards I spoke with some of the students to get their thoughts on the event as well as asking them about what they were currently reading. I was then able to speak with Candice about her career so far, our shared love of 'Point Horror' and about what it was like to come back to Lewisham Library
For further insight into the event, read our accompanying blog written by Paul from Lewisham Library
https://lewishamlibraries.wordpress.com/2021/11/05/you-just-need-to-be-how-you-are-advice-from-author-candice-carty-williams/
Reserve copies of Queenie and Empress & Aniya -
https://tlc.ent.sirsidynix.net.uk/client/en_GB/lewisham/search/results?qu=Carty-Williams%2C+Candice%2C+1989-+author.&lm=LEWISHAM
25 Oct 2021
Library Words - Bob Marley
Last year, Paul from Lewisham Library presented a 3 part look at the music, legacy and positive influence of Robert Nesta Markey to celebrate what would have been his 75th birthday. Listen again as Paul takes us through Marleys career, from his early days in the 'Wailing Wailers' through to his premature death in 1981
7 Oct 2021
Library Words - National Poetry Day
National Poetry Day
Chrissie Gittins lives in Forest Hill in the Borough of Lewisham. She writes poetry, radio drama, short stories and poetry for children. Day to celebrate you leaving home is taken from one of her adult poetry collections Sharp Hills (2019)
Efe Nakpodia a Lewisham resident and poet reads ‘when’ from his second poetry collection White Noise and Carousels.
Sarah Lipton-Sidibeh reads Stagnation from The First Collection (2020) She writes short stories, poetry, plays, children's books, film scripts, song lyrics and educational textbooks.
Sharmay Mitchell reads three poems, Tight-rope, I never let a poem and The loving vice. She is a Londoner of Saint Lucian and Dominican heritage. By day she works in behavioural research and the rest of her time is spent in creative pursuits such as poetry-writing, making stop-motion videos, illustration and jewellery-making. Her debut poetry collection is 'be the Uplifter: Positive Poems' www.sharmaymitchell.com
Copies of the collections are available in Lewisham Libraries – catalogue
24 Sept 2021
Library Words - Banned Books Week
Banned Books week takes place from 26 September – 2 October with the theme Books unite us, censorship divides us.
Lewisham libraries staff read out snippets from their selection of censored books and from the books they think unite us
View the full video here
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1188978444927253
For more information on Banned Books Week, visit...
https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=26579
www.bannedbooksweek.org
10 Sept 2021
Library Words - Jody Burton
Jody Burton co-author of Black London: History, Art & Culture in Over 120 Places talks to Andrew Mohammed, Community Engagement Team Senior Library Assistant about her book written with co-author Avril Nanton and published in June this year. We find out how we need to ‘slow down and look up’ to see what we have missed of black history, culture and art as we have rushed about London. This special travel guide showcases the historical sites where the remarkable individuals who made London a truly global, modern city are celebrated.
Jody grew up in Deptford, South London, and talks about the importance of local history as well as global. She read Caribbean studies and is a librarian in Southwark and a self-acknowledged bibliophile with a particular interest in black history and art.
Copies available from our libraries
https://tlc.ent.sirsidynix.net.uk/client/en_GB/lewisham/search/results?qu=black+london&te=&lm=LEWISHAM
Social media links
https://www.instagram.com/jodyb_21
https://www.instagram.com/blacklondon21/
https://www.instagram.com/avrilswalksandtalks/
27 Aug 2021
Library Words- Jo Clegg
Lewisham Libraries Outreach Officer Rachel New talks to Lewisham author Jo Clegg about her debut novel ‘The Summer Holiday’. A funny light-hearted chat about the summer holidays we probably haven’t been able to go on this year.
Jo Clegg also writes for Hey Duggee on BBC CBeebies, parents of young children will know this well.
Copies of the Summer Holiday and lots of Hey Duggee titles are available in our libraries.
https://joclegg.com
https://twitter.com/jocleggwriter
13 Aug 2021
Library Words - Luke Agbaimoni
In this edition, we hear from Luke Agbaimoni about his book 'The Tube Mapper Project: Capturing Moments on the London Underground'.
A self taught photographer, Luke found himself drawn to sunset and cityscape photography but found it difficult to find the time in the lead up to the birth of his first child. He soon found that he could use the commute to and from work to maintain his passion and slowly built up a collection of photos of every London Underground, Overground and DLR station. This is how 'The Tube Mapper Project' began...
Watch our full video
https://www.facebook.com/LewishamLibraries/posts/10159183316121912
For more information, visit Luke Agbaimoni's website
https://tubemapper.com/
Twitter
https://twitter.com/tubemapper
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/tubemapper/
'The Tube Mapper Project' is available to buy from most online booksellers or signed copies are available here
https://tubemapper.com/london-underground-photography-book/
23 Jul 2021
Library Words - Migration Museum
The Migration Museum explores how the movement of people to and from Britain across the ages has shaped who we are – as individuals, as communities, and as a nation. They are currently based in the heart of Lewisham Shopping Centre and have recently re-opened.
As part of Refugee Week in June, Juan Rey-Torre from Lewisham Libraries spoke to Volunteer Coordinator and Executive Assistant Mona and Creative Producers Cym and Ghaf about the work of the Migration Museum, as well as sharing their own personal stories and book recommendations with us.
To see the full interview go to https://www.facebook.com/LewishamLibraries/posts/10159249480871912
Other Links
Migration Museum https://www.migrationmuseum.org/
Refugee Week https://refugeeweek.org.uk/
9 Jul 2021
Library Words - Vanessa Potter
Outreach Officer Rachel New interviews Vanessa Potter, a South East London author whose second book, Finding My Right Mind, has just been published.
To write the book, Vanessa embarked on a road-trip, exploring ten meditation practices, in collaboration with Cambridge neuroscientists who measured 300 hours of her brain activity alongside Vanessa’s subjective reports of her own experiences.
As well as the science, we get the theory behind the meditation practices and a brutally honest account of her inner journey. Rachel and Vanessa talk about the use of language to describe meditation and its effects, how to get rid of your "inner traffic" and some practical tips for getting started on meditation - even if you're a complete sceptic! The full interview is on Lewisham Libraries facebook page
Social Media:
Facebook @VanessaPotterWrites
Twitter @patienth69
Instagram @vanessapotterwrites
Book links
Finding My Right Mind : One Woman's Experiment to Put Meditation to the Test
Patient H69: The Story of My Second Sight
27 Jun 2021
Library Words - Poetry in and out of lockdown
Francesca La Nave reads Poison Breeze written during lockdown in 2020. She is a member of the monthly South London poetry and spoken word event Beyond Words.
https://www.facebook.com/BeyondWordsPoetry/
Chrissie Gittins reads The Dilruba player and the boy inspired by a music event at the Horniman Museum and from her collection Sharp Hills.Her adult poetry collections Armature (2003), I'll Dress One Night As You (2009) and Sharp Hills (2019) and her children’s poetry collections Now You See Me, Now You... (2002) I Don’t Want an Avocado for an Uncle (2006), The Humpback’s Wail (2010), Stars in Jars (2014) and Adder, Bluebell, Lobster (2016) can be found in Lewisham Libraries.
https://lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/libraries
4 Jun 2021
Library Words - SiLL
We hear from local entrepreneurs about turning their passion into a business and how support from local libraries has played its part in their start-up stories, and particularly benefited BAME and female led businesses.Find out more about the Start-ups in London Libraries programme here http://bit.ly/SiLLinfo See what Lewisham SiLL have been up to on our blog http://bit.ly/SiLLSpring21See our playlist on Facebook for videos from SiLL participants http://bit.ly/SiLLvideosExplore business opportunities, sector guides, legals and much more with COBRA Complete Business Reference Adviser, accessible with a Lewisham Libraries card https://lewisham.cobwebinfo.com/Use our ebook services for business books, newspapers, magazines, journals and more, or reserve physical business books through click and collect https://lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/libraries
24 May 2021
Library Words - Christopher Marlowe
May is Local and Community History month. A time to highlight and raise awareness of the past of our local areas and communities.
Christopher Marlowe, dramatist and poet who lived at the same time as William Shakespeare, died violently in a bar in Deptford in May 1593. He is buried in an unmarked grave in St Nicholas's Church Deptford. Lewisham Library staff member Chris Moore explores the colourful but short life of this talented man from our local history past.
The account with images is in Lewisham Voices on Facebook.
https://www.history.org.uk/historian/resource/1567/local-and-community-history-month
10 May 2021
Library Words - Christine Henley
May is Local and Community History month. A time to highlight and raise awareness of the past of our local areas and communities.
Local resident Christine Henley was born in 1947 and grew up in Hilly Fields, Lewisham. In this episode of Library Words taken from Lewisham Voices Summer 2020, Christine recounts life in the post war years with childhood memories of the prefab she grew up in and the games they played. Her memory for recounting details of her early life, the neighbourhood shops, local community and family life really brings this period of near history alive.
The account with images is in Lewisham Voices on Facebook.
https://www.history.org.uk/historian/resource/1567/local-and-community-history-month
23 Apr 2021
Library Words - Claire Cooper
Novelist Claire Cooper (whose nom de plume is C J Cooper) recorded this for Lewisham Voices during the Spring lockdown 2021. She lives in Lewisham and writes psychological thrillers. The Book Club published in 2019 is a dark thriller revolving around a village book group with neighbours you really wouldn’t want to spend the evening with. Her latest, The Verdict is set in Lewisham, and is an edgy tale of obsession and revenge.
Claire talks about her writing and the books she enjoys, and reads the beginning of her novel The Verdict for us.
The video of this recording is in Lewisham Voices on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/LewishamLibraries
Copies of her books are in our libraries.
https://tlc.ent.sirsidynix.net.uk/client/en_GB/lewisham
7 Apr 2021
Library Words - Caleb Azumah Nelson
Caleb Azumah Nelson, a British-Ghanaian writer and photographer talked to library staff member Andrew Mohammed in January 2021 for Lewisham Voices. The BBC National Short Story Award 2019 shortlisted his story ‘Pray’, and as it was set in Catford, it sparked our interest. We arranged the interview and a display of his photographs in the huge windows of Lewisham Library to promote ‘Open Water', his first novel published February 2021. Caleb talks to Andrew about living and writing in South East London, and about so much more - films, music, photography and even food. The full interview is on Facebook . Copies of Caleb Azumah Nelson's modern romance ‘Open Water’ are available in our libraries.
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