My name is Malika Booker and I am Poet in Residence at the RSC. I have been commissioned to write poems responding to the re-opening of the building. The poems will be inspired by the new RSC building as well as the people who work and visit.
January 19, 2012
I remember the evening clearly. It was dark outside, that deep winter darkness hugged the building and I was sitting in the Reading Room in the Swan all warm and cosy, listening to the recordings that I had made that day. The place seemed quiet and intimate as if no one else was around but I knew that there were staff members, and visitors. That evening was an unveiling for all the patrons who had taken part in the Take Your Seat initiative.
by Malika Booker
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January 19, 2012
There is story within a story here and I remember everything. That moment of contemplation, sitting in The Swan Room after seeing 'Love is My Sin' in the Swan Theatre. This was a performance of Shakespeare's sonnets by Michael Pennington (who has the greatest voice for recitation that I have ever heard) and Natasha Parry.
by Malika Booker
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August 5, 2011
I am the member of a number of writing communities. One of these is a closed facebook group called, The 30/30 Poetry Challenge. The idea is that each time there is a thirty-day month any of us could enter the 30/30 poetry challenge where seven poets commit to creating writing prompts for a particular day of the week and the other poets have to respond to these prompts each day. Our objective is to write and post a first draft poem every day for thirty days.
by Malika Booker
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August 5, 2011
I sat down to write the first poem obsessing about absence and presence within the theatre and as a concept. I knew that I wanted to evoke a devotional tone in a poem with a wide sweep that swells to some sort of crescendo. But apart from that I had no idea where to start?
by Malika Booker
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August 5, 2011
I am no longer in Stratford upon Avon. I am sitting at my desk in my office looking at: all the flip chart paper stuck around my walls with people's personal memories of the RSC, a notebook full of post-it notes and personal letters with people's RSC desert island disks or listening to the recorded interviews, looking at video footage and photos of different areas of the building. All of this is quite cool.
by Malika Booker
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March 18, 2011
The day that I went to visit Graham was magical. There was something exciting about visiting a vicarage in a small country town to meet a person who kept records of their passion as well as collected and maintained memorabilia of their visits to the theatre.
by Malika Booker
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February 17, 2011
I was so proud to have met such a dedicated and enthusiastic writer and I was buzzing from our conversation. It is unusual to meet a young writer so dedicated to creating poems and who would volunteer to spend a part of her weekend meeting a poet, writing a poem and talking about the writing process. It was a pleasure meeting her.
by Malika Booker
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December 17, 2010
Do you know anyone who met at the RSC? Has anyone got a romantic story for me?
by Malika Booker
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December 10, 2010
On the first week of the reopening there were over 18,000 visitors, the RSC is absolutely huge!
by Malika Booker
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December 10, 2010
I have been given a writing home in the famous Reading Room. It is a great space with an excellent installation designed by RSC designer Tom Piper, assisted by Lily and Helena.
by Malika Booker
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