Days of Roses ed. Declan Ryan and Malene Engelund

Days of Roses has established itself over the last two years as an exciting series of readings in London. Taking its name from Tom Waits’ song ‘Martha’ (‘And those were the days of roses, poetry and prose’), as a date in the informal literary calendar it has experienced a swell in popularity, with organisers Declan Ryan and Malene Engelund creating a liveliness and warmth that sets the night apart from similar events in the capital. Although Ryan and Engelund completed the Royal Holloway Creative Writing MA course, it hardly belongs to any collegiate coterie; from its inception, Days of Roses has offered a wide pool of participants. Part of the success of the reading nights is that it never feels as if there is a headline act: it treads the balance between an inclusive and a broad-reaching line-up, with well-known names regularly slotted in between novices. Perhaps this is what lends a slight festival-like feel to many of the nights rather that the stillness offered by other readings: snug rather than starchy, couched in talent rather than bombast, the readings are a pleasure to attend and it was with great interest that I picked up a copy of the new

Source: http://www.literateur.com