Carcanet online book launch: Like a Tree, Walking by Vahni Capildeo

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

Book now

Like a Tree, Walking by Vahni Capildeo: Online Book Launch

1 December 2021

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Vahni (Anthony Ezekiel) Capildeo
Poet Vahni (Anthony Ezekiel) Capildeo.
Book now

You don’t even need to step out into the cold, dark evening to celebrate the launch of Vahni Capildeo’s latest poetry collection, Like A Tree, Walking, as Manchester’s Carcanet Press are very kindly streaming the event live to a small screen near you. We’ve seen Vahni Capildeo read IRL here in Manchester in days of yore, and they are definitely worth checking out again, with a mesmeric quality to their voice, not to mention the rhythmic patterns of their poems.

Vahni (Anthony Ezekiel) Capildeo FRSL is a Trinidadian Scottish writer of poetry and non-fiction, Writer in Residence and Professor at the University of York, a Visiting Scholar at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and an Honorary Student of Christ Church, Oxford. Their eight books and eight pamphlets include 2020’s Odyssey Calling (Sad Press) and The Dusty Angel, which came out with Oystercatcher Press earlier this year. The 2021 Poetry Book Society Winter Choice, Like A Tree, Walking is Vahni’s fourth collection with Carcanet, following 2019’s Skin Can Hold, the Forward Prize for Best Collection-shortlised Venus As A Bear (2018) and Measures Of Expatriation (2016), which won both the Forward Prize for Best Collection and the Poetry Book Society Choice and was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize. They are also co-editor of the Carcanet-published Brotherton Poetry Prize Anthology I (2020) and Brotherton Poetry Prize Anthology II (upcoming in 2022).

We’ve seen Vahni Capildeo read IRL here in Manchester in days of yore, and they are definitely worth checking out again, with a mesmeric quality to their voice, not to mention the rhythmic patterns of their poems.

Vahni Capildeo’s Like A Tree, Walking has been described as “a fresh departure, even for this famously innovative poet”. Taking its title from a story of sight miraculously regained, this book draws on Capildeo’s interest in ecopoetics and silence. Many pieces originate in specific places, from the alternating series of Walk, Nocturne and Lullaby poems inspired by the hilly Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobego, to Vahni’s so-called “stillness exercises” recording microenvironments – emotional and aural – around English trees. Vahni takes guidance from vernacular traditions of sensitivity ranging from Thomas A Clark to the participants in a Leeds libraries project on the Windrush. There’s a remix of Iain Crichton Smith’s Deer On The High Hills (1962), there are crossings-out, there are examples of erasure poems. And it’s a hefty tome, so there’s plenty to get from it.

The event will feature readings and discussion, and Vahni will be joined by Eric Gregory Award-winning poet Padraig Regan, a contributor to Carcanet’s New Poetries VIII anthology, whose much-anticipated first collection, Some Integrity, is due out with Carcanet in January 2022. Padraig Regan was born in 1993 in Belfast. They are the author of two poetry pamphlets: Delicious (Lifeboat, 2016) and Who Seemed Alive & Altogether Real (Emma Press, 2017). They hold a PhD on creative-critical and hybridised writing practices in medieval texts and the work of Anne Carson from the Seamus Heaney Centre, Queen’s University Belfast. Vahni says of their work: “To look up from Padraig Regan’s words is to find oneself gently re-fitted into the world.”

As always with Carcanet Press events, extracts of the text will be shown during the reading so that you can read along, and audience members will have the opportunity to ask their own questions. Registration for this online event is £2, redeemable against the cost of Like A Tree, Walking – attendees will receive a discount code and details of how to get hold of the new book during and after the event.

Like a Tree, Walking by Vahni Capildeo
Like a Tree, Walking by Vahni Capildeo

Where to go near Carcanet online book launch: Like a Tree, Walking by Vahni Capildeo

Stevenson Square
Manchester
Stevenson Square

Stevenson Square, the central hub of bars and cafes in Northern Quarter. Home to some of the best bars in the city.

CUPRA City Garage DJ Decks
City Centre
Café or Coffee Shop
CUPRA City Garage

Already based in Paris, Mexico City, Sydney and Vienna, CUPRA’s international expansion is driven by culture as much as cars, and Manchester’s creative energy has clearly caught their attention.

Ancoats
Restaurant
Bruco

Bruco is a new restaurant in Ancoats, serving up stylish Italian small plates.

Samsi
Manchester
Restaurant
Samsi

Long-standing Japanese restaurant on Whitworth Street in Manchester with a pleasingly affordable menu.

The Pavilion Gardens, which also houses the Pavilion Arts Centre, is a beautiful, historic venue dating back to 1871 which superbly shows off the Victorian splendour of Buxton. Set within twenty three acres of magnificent, landscaped gardens and play areas, the venue provides the perfect setting for fun and relaxing family days out, with great food and drink, shopping and over 100 events and festivals throughout the year.
Buxton
Cinema
Pavilion Arts Centre

A historic gem in Buxton’s Pavilion Gardens, Pavilion Arts Centre houses an intimate 360-seat theatre and cinema.

Leeds
Gallery
The Sculpture Gallery

The Sculpture Gallery is an outstanding new gallery, of pure sculpture, showcasing the work, not only of the six owners but guests also.

A club bedroom at Malmaison Leeds
Leeds
Hotel
Malmaison Leeds

Malmaison Leeds is a historic and dramatic building, full of character and individual style. Beautifully refurbished quirky bedrooms with power showers, blackout curtains and great beds.

On The Wall is a funky independent shop that sells a wide range of creative and artistic items including, posters, art prints, canvases, greeting cards and merchandise/gifts. They also offer a bespoke framing and canvas printing service and a screen printed t- shirt service. If you are looking for something more unique and inspiring they also sell work by local artists.
Leeds
Shop
On The Wall

Bright, bold and full of character, On the Wall pairs expert framing with prints, posters and gifts inside Leeds Corn Exchange.

Leeds
Restaurant
Canned Heat

Canned Heat is an independent bottle-shop & bar in the heart of Chapeltown, Leeds. Born out of a passion for Music, Art and Community.

What's on: Literature

LiteratureLeeds
Lisa Jewell at the Old Woollen

“Twisty page-turners. Domestic dramas. Bone-chilling suspense.” That’s how #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jewell is described by her publisher Simon & Schuster on their home page for her.

From £18.00
Jenn Ashworth at Blackwell's Manchester
LiteratureManchester
Jenn Ashworth at Blackwells

Jenn Ashworth is back at Blackwells bookshop for the Manchester launch of her latest work, reading extracts and chatting to Helen Mort about how The Parallel Path came about.

From £4.00
LiteratureLeeds
Chemistry at The Chemic

Leeds live literature regular Chemistry offers an exciting mix of open mic acts and invited poets – this month the headliners include Rosie Garland.

Free entry
Poet Mike Garry. Photo Paul Wolfgang Webster
LiteratureManchester
Word Central at Central Library

Word Central is a long-standing live literature favourite at Central Library and features open mic performers and a special guest, brought to you by Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press.

Free entry

Culture Guides

European Poetry Festival European Camarade
Literature Events in the North

From tongue-twisters to twisty page-turners, we have all kinds of spoken word surprises in the latest literature round-up.

Theatre in Manchester
Theatre in the North

Summer signals theatre festivals, world premieres and open-air spectacle - from MIF25 to comedy, outdoor circus and beyond, here’s what we’re looking forward to.

Cloudwater Production One
Tours and Activities in the North

Go forth with wild abandon to dance the pavements, dabble with the paint and down the pints in this month's tours and activities guide.

Star Nhà Ease
Cinema in the North

July's cinema highlights include spotlights on international cinema, a new cult classic, plus a visit from one of our favourite directors.

Exhibitions in the North

Captivating, urgent and intimate - we bring you our top exhibition picks, with even more art festivals, artist-led shows and new venues.

Helena Hauff
Music in the North

Shape-shifting bands, scorched-earth techno, and off-grid festivals. Our latest music picks catch the live scene at its most urgent, inventive and alive.