Viv Newman presents an overview of how three crises impacted on written culture. The First World War led to an outpouring of literature, with professional and amateur writers and poets wielding their pens as they sought to make sense of a world that was irrevocably changing lives. Just over a century later, the Covid-19 pandemic had a similar effect. ‘Lockdown’ may have restricted our movements, but it did not restrict people’s desire to capture and record heartfelt emotion in written words. Then, as Russian tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border, those caught up in Europe’s newest conflict, as well as those who watched from afar, found written words were a way of seeking to make sense of this latest calamity that was once again altering lives in unimaginable ways.
Meet at the Village Hall, Hatfield Peverel, in the room off the bar, from 7:30 for an 8pm start. Entrance donation is £3.50 and, as ever, those who are not members of the WFA are very welcome to attend. There is parking on site, and we have access to the bar