Sonnets, songs... and cider!

Friday 03 May 2019

Drink a cider, listen to a poem, repeat!... Such is the premise of a event mixing tasty tipples and clever word combinations being held tonight.

'Cider, Sonnets and Songs' will take place at the Société Jersiaise, as part of the second 'Fête du Jèrriais'.

The event is being held in partnership with La Poèt'tie, a collective of poets recently launched by Juliette Hart and Stefan Le Marquand, who spoke to Express about their love of the written word...

At first glance, Juliette Hart and Stefan Le Marquand make an unlikely duo. Whilst they both started writing at a young age and were later inspired to carry on by their teachers, their writing styles could not be any different.

Stefan describes Juliette as a “fiddler of poetry.” While Stefan writes “here and there, in the moment” and then forgets about the result of his musings, Juliette likes to spend time writing and reading her poems, over and over again.

Pictured: Stefan Le Marquand and Juliette Le Marquand. 

“I sometimes write things in 20 minutes,” Stefan confesses, explaining that poetry has grown from a means to “just brain dumping my thoughts and feelings” into a “creative outlet” for him. 

“Poetry can mean so many different things to different people for different reasons, that is what makes it beautiful!” he says.

His poems started out being “very emotionally connected,” they then took a metaphysical turn before going on to explore the visuals of spirituality in the day-to-day world. Now, Stefan says he has found his niche, which he describes as “The Art of the Mundane.” 

“This can be taking the most ordinary circumstances, and making them poetic, giving them power... Writing about tube journeys, or trying to avoid stopping and chatting in the high street!”

Pictured: "Poetry adapts to the person: my mood, emotions and surroundings are reflected in what I’m writing," Juliette says.

Juliette’s poems are inspired by the people she loves, the places she’s been and the tales she’s been told. Jersey, particularly its coast and history, also stirs the pot of her creative mind. 

 “I take light relief in writing self-deprecating poems about myself, in rhyme,” Juliette explains. “Poetry adapts to the person: my mood, emotions and surroundings are reflected in what I’m writing. It’s a very immersive process, although the seed of an idea can take months, even years, to grow. When the time is right, the poetry takes over and will keep nudging me until it finds its place on the page.”

Juliette and Stefan met at the Curiosity Coffee Shop in Sand Street where Juliette “bullied” Stefan into reading one of his poems. 

Pictured: Juliette and Stefan met again last year at a Pizza & Poetry event.

Their paths crossed again last year, during the Festival of Words, at a Pizza & Poetry event. After mulling over the idea of creating his own poetry group for years, Stefan asked Juliette if she would set one up with him. “I said yes to everything,” Juliette says.

The two poets complete each other like opposite rhymes and out of their collaboration came La Poèt’tie. The name – picked with the help of Jèrriais specialist Gerraint Jennings – means “collective of poets, a place where poets gather, a place where poetry is made.” 

It also fits the diverse and inclusive ethos of the group like a glove. “It’s for anyone with a love of poetry,” Juliette says, “we just love poetry and we want to share it with other people.”

Pictured: Stefan writes “here and there, in the moment.”

The group, which officially launched in March, is meeting monthly and the doors are open to anyone who wants to come read out their poems, or others’. Every meeting starts with an hour-long discussion to get everyone’s creative juices flowing. 

While La Poèt’tie is still in its infancy, it is already making waves, says the pair. “It’s been an amazing little journey,” Juliette says. 

“It’s been absolutely crazy,” adds Stefan. “It’s been refreshing to see the new faces with different styles. We couldn’t ask for better.” 

Pictured: Everyone can take to the mic at La Poèt'tie.

Juliette and Stefan have big hopes for La Poèt’tie, they not only want to “ignite inspiration” and start up a creative movement among islanders, they want to bring poetry back to its former glory. 

“Poetry is not as popular as other creative arts,” Juliette explains. Stefan adds: “It’s changing but it’s still lagging behind other written arts. We want to be part of the change.”

This article first appeared in Connect magazine. Read the May edition by clicking here.