Book launch – Helen Bascand’s time to sing before the dark

Yes, it’s finally about to happen. The text has been given the green light, the cover is amazing, and even the venue is booked. Helen Bascand’s posthumous fifth collection, time to sing before the dark, will be launched by Bernadette Hall on the evening of 13th December 2018.

It’s been a long time getting to this point. I think it’s a damn fine book, and one that Helen would have been proud of. But it’s hard to let it go.

We’re planning a special evening for the launch. There will be drinks and nibbles, and a chance to chat and mingle. The first half will be the usual festivities – Bernadette Hall was a huge influence and an early champion of Helen’s writing, so I’m beyond delighted that she will be our official launcher. Helen’s son Bruce will also speak, and I’ll make a few comments about the process of pulling it all together.

But the second half will be a bit different. The typical launch would conclude with the poet saying a few words, reading a couple of poems, and then finding somewhere to sit and sign copies. We don’t have that option, so instead I’m getting some of the people who were part of Helen‘s poetry world to each choose a poem, and then, in turn, to read it. No comments, no preamble. Just half a dozen or so of us acting as Helen’s proxy for this one night, and taking turns to lend her our voices.

I really hope you can come.

Thursday 13 December 2018
7 pm to 8pm
The Sydenham Room
South Christchurch Library
66 Colombo Street

RSVP by 7 December