A brain injury survivor will give his first public poetry reading later this month at a Words on Wednesday event at Verey Books in Pooley Bridge.
Charles Lowther, a Cumbrian native and owner of Askham Hall and CIEL Hotels, will take the stage on Wednesday, 25 February, to share poems from his debut collection, Connected Ramblings of a Lakeland Poet.
Mr Lowther began writing poetry in 2024, aged 46, after a traumatic brain injury (damage to the brain caused by external force) reshaped his outlook on life.
Much of his work was composed while walking in the northern Lake District.
He said: “When I reflect on this outpouring of words that has almost ‘happened’ to me over the past year, I keep coming back to the idea that they are actually a collection of ‘mind hacks and metaphors’ for living in the present.
“Any artist has to get into a state of presence and be in the moment to create – it’s the holy grail of art, a zen state.”
“For me, learning to actively do this, consciously rewiring my brain to leave behind the white noise, the confusion, the interrupting thoughts – it’s been transformative.”
“I can’t wait to share this poetry with people at Al’s inspiring bookshop.”
At the event, Mr Lowther will read selected poems and discuss his recovery journey in conversation with Al, owner of Verey Books.
Al said: “‘The Connected Ramblings of a Lakeland Poet’ are exactly that: a wordsworthian calling to hear the peace of the fells and the peace within.
“Quite simply – Zen in the Lakes. Charles Lowther’s poems are a skein of geese; they are the rivers and fields, blackthorn blossom, the majesty of Scafell.
“I read them and feel free.”
