Wokingham Literary Society

The Wokingham Literary Society exists to encourage the appreciation of literature. In 2005 it celebrated its 50th anniversary and currently the society has a membership of over sixty. An annually-elected committee arranges a varied programme of events.

The core of the programme is a series of fortnightly evening meetings, which run from September to April each year, when talks are given by members on literary topics of general interest. Sometimes these concentrate on a single author or poet; at other times a particular theme may be selected.

These talks usually lead to lively discussions and often introduce members to new books worth reading. It is a great strength of the Society that a sufficient number of attractive topics are offered by members at the AGM for the committee to compile a varied and stimulating programme of meetings.

Occasionally the Society is privileged to have a guest speaker expert in some specialist area. During the 2006-2007 season we had a visiting speaker from Wokingham Theatre whose topic was "The Perfect Play : Says nothing but promises everything".

There is also a programme of play readings, theatre visits, a poetry group, a book group, an annual outing (in 2007 we visited Jane Austen's house at Chawton and Gilbert White's house at Selborne), and an annual dinner.

During the summer months informal "I have been reading" sessions are held at members' houses where we discuss the books we have read recently. There is also an informal evening gathering where members and their families come together for good food, drink and conversation.

The 2007-2008 series of talks will take place in the Baptist Church Lecture Room in Milton Road, Wokingham. The room is immediately beside the church on the right-hand side as you face it. Meetings begin promptly at 7.30pm and finish at 9.30pm with a coffee break in the middle (tea and coffee are free). Parking is available in Milton and Rectory Roads.

The annual subscription for 2007-2008 is £10.00.

The only qualification for membership is an interest in literature in its widest sense. You do not need to live in Wokingham; a number of our members come from outside the town. New members are always welcome and any of the officers of the society will be glad to answer questions about the Society and its activities. Our new programme begins on Thursday 20th September 2007 and we look forward to meeting you.

For more information or encouragement, contact:
Marie Fry (Chairman) - 0118 978 9813
Margaret Wall (Secretary) - 0118 934 1564

Our programme for 2007-2008 is shown below.

 

Sep 20th 2007 Investigating Spies : Exploring Frayn's novel
October 4th Hitching a Lift on the Wagon of Fame : Prequels, sequels, borrowings and rewrites
October 18th A Good Read : Radio 4 Format with Literary Society contributors
November 1st Thresholds : Houses in the Nineteenth Century Novel
November 15th Poets Laureate, all nineteen of them
November 29th The Other Man's Grass
December 6th A Christmas Present from (and by) the Committee
January 17th 2008 Thomas Hardy, the Man and his Poetry
January 31st The Four Gospels : A Literary Triumph
February 7th Creative Literary Partnerships
February 21st Literary London
March 6th From Book to Film
March 27th Some Novels of Robin Jenkins
April 3rd Alive and Well and Writing Poetry : the work of Living Poets
April 24th Annual General Meeting

 

 

History of Wokingham Literary Society

Past Programmes

More about Wokingham
Wokingham Times - getWokingham
Welcome to Wokingham
History of Wokingham

Updated 18 July, 2007