Author Archives: Sarah Barr

I live in Dorset UK and write poetry and fiction. My short poetry collection 'January' is published by Maytree Press.

WWG Successes!

Penny’s story, ‘Getting into Narnia’,  is to be published by Henshaw Press in an anthology. Her poem ‘Ruth walking’ will soon be published in South poetry magazine. Mary won 2nd prize at the Story Slam which was part of the Purbeck Literary Festival, in Bere Regis. Her story, ‘Blue Pig’, will soon be published by Tethered by Letters . Julie, Penny and Mary have all recently had flash fiction stories published on Paragraph Planet.  Congratulations, everyone! The afternoon group of Wimborne Writing Group had its inaugural meeting yesterday. There were interesting discussions and very good writing was read during the two-hour seminar. We met at the Community and Learning Resource Centre where the morning group has also been meeting for a number of years now.

Singapore Night Zoo

Singapore Night Zoo

 

Black bushes, blacker grass,

a night without stars or moon,

 

the animals are silent,

still as illustrations

 

in  a children’s picture-book –

a mottled giraffe, leggy hyenas,

 

dusky lions, tiny mouse-deer

hidden by leaves,

 

a fishcat dipping its paw

into a pool,

 

a rhinoceros with tusks,

elephants too large for their page.

 

Don’t photograph or feed them.

Talk only in whispers.

 

Like childhood fears,

these shadow-shapes loom,

 

separated from us by ditches

and flimsy fences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah Barr

 

©

Sarah Barr

2011

Published in 2013 in  ‘Poems from the Oak Room’

ISBN 978-0-9562778-4-8

Wimborne Literary Festival

wb051358The festival starts this Monday, 3rd November. There is a varied and fascinating programme. Tickets for some events have sold out and the festival promises to be the best so far. So, to secure your place, buy your ticket!  I am looking forward to meeting friends old and new at my writing workshop on Wednesday, November 5th 2.30pm at Allendale house. This will be a sparkling, crackling, fun-filled, pyrotechinic afternoon! With plenty of writing, I hope.

WWG Successes

Wimborne Writing Group resumed last week after a refreshing summer break. Everyone has so been busy writing and one morning wasn’t long enough to hear everything. Looking forward to our next get-together! One of Ruth’s poems was commended in a national competition (and won her a prize) and Gail’s short story is being included in the latest Cafe Lit publication. Keep this up, team!

Wimborne Writing Group

Wimborne Writing Group re-starts in one week’s time. I’ve had a busy summer and am looking forward now to seeing all my lovely writing friends and getting a writing discipline back into my life.  Writing something every day is a good start but so is thinking about what I want to say and why. Although thinking too much about our readers can be inhibiting,  good writing is always crafted. This summer has been too full of war and strife across the world. What do poetry and fiction have to offer  in dark times?  is a question that preoccupies me.

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This photo is of a huge and ancient tree  used for a music and light show in Bayeux last month. Next day we visited Caen memorial Museum and were completely immersed in WW2 and particularly how it affected Normandy.

World Book Night yesterday

Yesterday evening World Book Night celebration at Gullivers Bookshop in Wimborne was very well attended. Great to see so many local people and so many members of Wimborne Writing Group! I can’t wait to start reading some of the books we were given. I also bought a cookery book – ‘A Girl Called Jack’ – having a real weakness for cookery books! (I do like cooking, too.)

I fervently believe that we should support our local independent bookshops so that we help to keep them going.  

I was pleased to see today that my story has been longlisted for the Jane Austen Short Story Award 2014 run by Chawton House Library.