Metal

Over what turned out to be a dramatic and stormy sea weekend weatherwise in Southend on Sea, Metal's first Literature Festival of the Sea, Shorelines, in Solomon Monks Pump House in July 2011, was no less awe inspiring than the real waves pounding the shore outside.

Opening with a heart-wrenching reading from Veronique Olmi's 'Beside the Sea' on Friday evening by the actress Lisa Dwan - readings from Sjon (From the Mouth of the Whale), Roma Tearne (The Swimmer) andThomas Joshua Cooper (The Atlas Project) kept the packed house spell-bound, whilst Lara Fiegel (Modernism on Sea) and Sue Jones (Whitstable Biennial) took us on a coastal journey of visual art, poetry and design around the UK, with Southend making its own significant contribution.

Sunday saw a powerhouse panel of Iain Sinclair (Ghost Milk); Robert MacFarlane (The Wild Places) Jay Griffiths (Wild) Yang Lian (Where the Sea Stands Still) Stephen Watts (The Blue Bag) and Rachel Lichtenstein (On Brick Lane) and talking about their relationship both professionally and personally to the Sea.  As well as contributions from Syd Moore (The Drowning Pool), Tom King (The Thames Estuary Trail) Paul Gilson (Tales of a Leigh Fisherman) and Shaun Levin.

All in all a thought-provoking and inspiring weekend.

Donwload a PDF of the full programme here.