A Living Almanac

A Living Almanac, Ongoing Workshop Series

Almanacs were the most popular form of printed publication for centuries, so much so that they were read to bits and not many survive. But the tradition goes on – e.g. Old Moore’s Almanac is still in circulation every year. Almanacs come packed with knowledge and foreknowledge – of important dates, of beliefs and stories, portents and charms. They are like calendars, but they offer an alternative form of time-keeping, local and personal.

During the pandemic, while we have all been – or most of us - suspended in the anxiety of being cut off from friends and strangers alike, almost everyone has experienced time behaving strangely. An almanac is a calendar but with a difference: it looks forward to the coming time and fills it with hopes and dreams.

A Living Almanac will gather us all kinds of lore that is important for us now and in the near future. Days can be marked by such lore as local weather, tides, migrations of birds and other creatures, dates propitious for planting, important days such as birthdays. Fantastical and prophetic material is also typical of an almanac - horoscopes, wonders, miracles, superstitions, the folkloric and the surreal.

A proposal to create a Living Almanac was first written by Marina Warner and Isobel Armstrong, shared with the European Alliance of Academies, before finding its first iteration of workshop sessions as part of Essex Book Festival 2022.

A Living Almanac, Workshop I
Part of Essex Book Festival 2022, workshop held at Firstsite, Colchester
4 June, 2022, 12-4pm

This was the first part of a workshop, where we began gathering ideas for a Living Almanac.

Marina was joined by writers Philip Terry, Adrian May and Isobel Armstrong, as well as writer/artist Hannah Machover. With thanks to Rosalind Green, Emma Kittle and all the volunteers who lent a hand on the day.



A Living Almanac, Workshop II
Part of Essex Book Festival 2022, workshop held at Firstsite, Colchester
3 July, 2022, 12-4pm

This was the second part of a workshop. In this session, artist Sophie Herxheimer started us off with sharing prophecies with her Index Cards before we created our own absurdist collages that were shared on the washing line and added to the Almanac. We proceeded to add to the month of 'Rose' various local folkloric stories, attaching festivities to each day, presented as a scroll. There are plenty of photos from the two-part workshop available to look at here!

Marina was joined by artist and poet Sophie Herxheimer, writers Philip Terry, Adrian May and Isobel Armstrong, as well as Hannah Machover. With thanks to Rosalind Green, Emma Kittle and all the volunteers who lent a hand on the day.



A Living Almanac, Workshop III
Workshop held with Birkbeck, Contemporary Poetics Research Centre
WBH Foster Room, Woburn House, 20-24 Tavistock Square, WC1H 0HW
12 December, 2022, 6pm-9pm

This was the third workshop in the series, and took place with students on the MA Poetry Workshop Class, led by Dr Stephen Willey. Marina was joined by Birkbeck fellow Dr Soody Gholami, poet Daisy Syme-Taylor and artist/writer Hannah Machover.