On 20 May the School of English hosted a book launch to celebrate the publication of Nancy Gaffield’s most recent collection of poetry Continental Drift. Attended by friends, family and colleagues from across the university, the celebration featured an introduction from friend and colleague Patricia Debney and a reading of several of the poems from the collection.
The collection (published by Shearsman Books) is about place and about the attachments and appropriations that shape our relationship with the land. Continental Drift is Nancy Gaffield’s second collection. Tokaido Road, published in 2011, won the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize.
Nancy has recently worked with composer Nicola LeFanu to adapt the Tokaido Road poems into a libretto, which is now a multi-media chamber opera. Created and commissioned by Okeanos, this 50-minute work, composed by Nicola LeFanu with a libretto by Nancy Gaffield, is set in the rich, hedonistic ‘Floating World’ of Japan’s Edo period. A composite of music, poetry, mime, dance and visual imagery, Tokaido Road draws inspiration from the ravishing mix of art forms enjoyed by the wealthy members of Edo society.The opera, featuring Okeanos Ensemble, will be premiered at the Cheltenham Festival in July. You can read more about the project in the Tokaido Road blog.