ORLAM – The Book Tour 2022

[TheNightingale]

I thought it might be nice to have a thread collecting all of Polly's upcoming poetry readings / book tour appearances. Here are ones announced so far:

PJ Harvey with Max Porter – Orlam: A Conversation
Saturday 14th May, 12pm–1pm
Komedia, Bath

PJ Harvey will recite poems from her new book, Orlam, and join in conversation with renowned English writer Max Porter as part of The Bath Festival.

https://bathfestivals.org.uk/the-bath-f ... versation/

•

PJ Harvey talks to Paul Farley: Orlam
Friday 27th May, 5.30pm
Hay Fesitval, Hay-on-Wye

In this spoken-word event PJ Harvey recites poems from her new book and discusses the lyric line with renowned British poet and writer Paul Farley.

https://www.hayfestival.com/p-18857-pj- ... arley.aspx

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PJ Harvey in Conversation: Orlam
Thursday 2nd June, 8pm
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

PJ Harvey recites poems from her new book, Orlam, and joins poet Paul Muldoon in conversation.

https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats ... tion-orlam

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PJ Harvey in conversation with Kasper Holten
Saturday 4th June
Heartland Festival, Copenhagen, Denmark

PJ Harvey will join Heartland with a spoken-word performance, reciting poetry from her forthcoming book, 'Orlam', and a conversation with the Director of The Royal Danish Theatre, Kasper Holten.

https://heartlandfestival.dk/pj-harvey/

[DrDark]

Added "2022" to the thread title.

[TheNightingale]

Today in Bath:

PJ Harvey really brought the Dorset Magic to Bath today Komedia Bath and what an astounding experience it was! Big thank you to Max Porter for giving us that extra insight into the inspiration behind Orlam.

The atmosphere was cold and ere, almost hypnotic, each eye fixed on the poet. We were no longer in the main room of Komedia, but had somehow transcended into the world of a Dorset fairy-tale. Utterly bewildered by this magnificent array of music, art and poetic literature we were but envious that childhood magic had been captured so perfectly within the pages of this book.

‘I wanted to collapse those boundaries of eras and the past, present and future. You’re not quite sure what era you’re in. It’s almost futuristic, questioning whether the ghosts are really ghosts.’

“Being a creative artist, I haven’t had boundaries and you need to have that freedom to create song, poem etc. The imaginative world is not separated from my real world.”

[BobSimms]

A separate topic from Orlam I realize, but just FYI: someone who attended the reading in Bath reported Polly said she’d be playing London in September or October next year in support of her new album.

[TheNightingale]

^ Yay, good news!

Here's one more picture from Polly's socials:

Spoiler! :

Judging from some comments I've read online, the reading was accompanied by some sort of 'ambient soundtrack' in the background and Polly's illustrations on the screen.

[derbyshirepaul]

Any indication of whether there will be book signings at these readings?

[TheNightingale]

Judging from the attendees' pictures on Instagram and Twitter, Polly did sign the books so I assume it's very likely for the upcoming events as well.

[derbyshirepaul]

Judging from the attendees' pictures on Instagram and Twitter, Polly did sign the books so I assume it's very likely for the upcoming events as well.

Thanks - the message I was hoping to see!

[TheNightingale]

Today was Polly's second (I think? - following the proto-White Chalk concert in 2006?) appearance at the Hay-on-Wye festival. An Orlam reading and a conversation with Paul Farley - not sure if any of the Gardeners attended and would be able to tell us more; a quick Twitter/Instagram search brings only some blurry photos.

[TheNightingale]

Some closeups of the dress she's wearing to the readings:

Spoiler! :

RSN Degree Students have created a unique hand embroidered dress for musician and poet, PJ Harvey. The dress was inspired by Harvey’s new book Orlam, a beautiful and profound narrative poem, set in a magic realist version of the West Country (south west England) and will be worn for her poetry recital tour.

Inspired by Harvey’s own drawings of insects and birds, our Degree Students have captured the essence of the book’s narrative and beautifully translated it through the art of hand embroidery. The specialist needlework was designed to connect with the embroidery heritage of the West Country and features a combination of traditional stiches, including Dorset Feather, Buttonhole, Chain and Fly Stitch. These are stitches which are known worldwide, but also have a distinctive connection to the locality.

Designer Todd Lynn and RSN Degree Course Leader Angie Wyman spearheaded the project. Angie said:

“To connect directly with an artist through their drawings is such a powerful experience. Hand embroidery was the perfect medium to translate the sensitivity of the drawn mark and bring the imagery to life. It not only captured the notion of the maker and the hand, but also a contemporary interpretation of a traditional process.”

RSN Degree Technician and Graduate, Jasmine Dawson, managed the project development through the hand embroidery sampling stages. Jasmine then worked directly with the students, who hand embroidered individual components. Each embroiderer worked to a defined colour palette which contributed to the overall composition whilst offering the artistic freedom to interpret the image through colour and stitch. The final garment was assembled by RSN Textile Technician, Emily Howse.

https://royal-needlework.org.uk/degree- ... pj-harvey/

[AineteEkaterini]

... the dress ...

Thank you for finding this - passed on to a friend of mine who was both born in Dorset and studied at the Royal School of Needlework!

[TheNightingale]

passed on to a friend of mine who was both born in Dorset and studied at the Royal School of Needlework!

Oh how cool!

The book mini-tour seems to be over - at least for now - with today's reading in Denmark being the last one scheduled. I don't think any recordings of these events have popped up? Has anybody found anything? I've only seen (surprisingly few!) photos on social media.

Spoiler! :

ETA: And here are some pro-shot ones from Southbank Centre with Paul Muldoon:

Spoiler! :

[TheNightingale]

Spoiler! :

pjharveyofficial It has been such a pleasure to read from Orlam over the last few days at Hay Festival, London Literature Festival, and Heartland Festival. Thanks to Paul Farley, Paul Muldoon, and @kasperholten for such engaging conversation. And special thanks to the thousands of you who have come out to listen - it means the world to me.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CejDw9Lo7tq/

[Romario11]

for those in the UK with Sky Arts tune in tonight (10 june) at 11pm for her interview with Frank Skinner at the Hay festival

[BobSimms]

Don’t think this has been posted anywhere on this forum yet, right? A must-listen for anyone interested in Orlam. Great to hear from her again, in long-form.

https://infofrz.podbean.com/e/pj-harvey ... versation/