Poet Linda Anderson reads from and discusses her new collection, Against Falling, an exploration of time, ageing and ‘the unfinished’.

Linda Anderson’s second collection of poetry, Against Falling (Pavilion, 2026) examines the lived and remembered moment, questioning ‘the layers of seeing’ that life and its poems present. The collection is punctuated with excerpts from the poet's notebooks, forming surprising connections, and becoming, as Anderson puts it "the shadow text behind the poems". It is a beautiful and haunting work of memory and intellect that converses with artists and musicians such as Stanley Spencer, Frédérick Chopin and Elizabeth Bishop, while reflecting on the fragility of both the body and the planet.

Linda Anderson is Emeritus Professor of English at Newcastle University and has written extensively about autobiography, feminist theory, archives, and Elizabeth Bishop. Her first poetry collection, The Station Before (2020) was shortlisted for the Seamus Heaney First Collection Prize.

Linda will be joined in conversation with Dr John Challis, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at York St John University, and author of The Green Parcel (Bloodaxe Books, 2026) which was longlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection.

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