Poet Town
a peek into this new collaboration & raising funds for Refugee Week
Sharing a peek at these new portraits for the Hastings Poet Town project taken by photographer Maxine Silver. We chose the Fire Hills for this shoot. This place is home to me, the smell of blooming yellow gorse, so glorious and coconutty, the greens, blues and turquoise of the sea and the sky, all the salt in the air and all those delicious colours and feelings. I love it up here.
Hastings is a seaside resort with an illustrious poetic history. Once a haven for Pre-Raphaelite poets and Victorian authors, it is still a hub of creativity today. It continues to be home to artists, musicians, and renowned contemporary writers. Edited by Richard Newham-Sullivan and with a foreword by Salena Godden, this new collection 'Poet Town: Poets & Poetry of Hastings & Thereabouts' is an anthology that brings together the best classic, modern and spoken word poets, linked to this uniquely creative coastal town.
So far Poet Town has received phenomenal quotes and endorsements from the mighty poets, Joelle Taylor and Luke Wright, see below, thank you. The wheels are in motion now, and this fantastic crowd-funded Hastings poetry anthology and photography book, celebrating 200 years of poetry from Hastings and thereabouts will be launched by Moth Light Press on September 1st 2025.
There will be a gig and an exhibition of the Maxine Silver portraits and launch party with Hastings Book Festival, and many more lovely things in the pipeline. Please watch all of our pages for news and updates on all of this….
Find and follow #PoetTown on your socials and take a look at:
Poet Town Patreon - patreon.com/PoetTown
Poet Town in The Hastings Independent - hastingsindependentpress.co.uk
Poet Town X Refugee Buddy Project
June 19th 2025, 7.30pm
The Print Works, Hastings
A dozen or so of the poets involved in the Poet Town anthology and collective will gather for the first time to perform together to raise funds for Refugee Week and the Refugee Buddy Project in Hastings.
The Refugee Buddy Project is working hard to connect newly arriving people seeking refuge with people living locally. They are a refugee and migrant led registered charity offering buddying, advocacy and casework, plus emotional and financial support.
Poets and musicians raising the roof for this vital work and very special event will include fabulous local talent and feature literary superstars such as Penny Pepper, Henry Normal, Lucas Howard, AK Bennett, Emma Joliffe and many more.
This show is curated and hosted by Poet Towners Salena Godden and Oli Spleen, with music from The Smithmanthers, Coyote Cash and also DJ James Endeacott … spread the word, see you down there!
Tickets & Donations: tickettailor.com/events/poettown/1729348
Read more via Poet Town Patreon - patreon.com/PoetTown