Stephen Payne: The Late Guest (Griffin Books After Hours)

Join us for an evening of verse with Penarth poet and friend of the shop Stephen Payne, as we celebrate the release of his new collection, The Late Guest.

The prose poems in The Late Guest dwell on remembered episodes, accidental encounters, overheard conversations, daydreams and art works to find surprising meaning. It is a playful and deft collection in which pickpockets, psychoanalysts, professors and philosophers run amok. There are exuberant dolphins, aggressive whales and unsolvable arguments. Boys mime causes of death at the swimming pool and a geyser erupts sporadically but a trip to the Repair Café should see you right. Future wives and other interesting characters may be found in the kitchen of a party, if only you could arrive on time.

Stephen Payne was born in Merthyr and lives in Penarth. He has published poems in magazines including The Poetry Review, The Rialto, The North, The Dark Horse, Magma, Poetry Wales and New Welsh Review. His was a Smiths Knoll mentee which led to the publication of his debut pamphlet The Probabilities of Balance in 2010. His first full collection Pattern Beyond Chance was published by HappenStance in 2015 and shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year. It was followed by The Windmill Proof (2021) and a pamphlet The Wax Argument & Other Thought Experiments (2022). Stephen’s most recent post was Professor of Human-Centric Systems at the University of Bath where he is currently Professor Emeritus.

This event forms part of our Griffin Books After Hours series of talks, interviews and discussions, which will take place in the shop.

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Thursday 22 October | 7.30 pm
Griffin Books, 9-9A Windsor Road, Penarth, CF64 1JB*
Tickets: £15.00 including a SIGNED copy of The Late Guest (RRP: £11.00)** / £8.00 Event Only / £5.00 Student Ticket / £5.00 Inclusive Ticket

*IMPORTANT: Please be aware that the toilet at Griffin Books can only be accessed via three steps and so is not accessible for wheelchair users or people with mobility issues. Please contact us on info@griffinbooks.co.uk if this would prohibit you from attending.

**Any book not collected at the event will be held in Griffin Books for three months after the date of the event.