Two Girls and a Beehive

Dr Rosie Jackson and Graham Burchell, two widely published poets, read their collaborative work on artist Stanley Spencer.

The poems, drawing on Spencer’s own writing and letters, as well as his biography, follow his life and explore his vision. They give voice to his personal life – and the near invisibility of his first wife, artist Hilda Carline.

Expect lots of issues – such as art, love, sexual politics, war! The readings will be illustrated by images of paintings and photographs.

Annie Freud (artist and poet) says: “Two Girls and a Beehive is nothing less than a masterpiece of ekphrasis…” (which means works of art vividly and dramatically described in words!).

David Morley (Professor of Poetry, University of Warwick) adds: “This is a marvellous act of dual authorship by two poets at the top of their game. Something magical happens in these pages … the landscapes of paintings rise clear in the mind’s eye; and their subjects speak newly to the mind’s ear.”