JOHN GREGORY: BRISTOL'S RADICAL POET

bristol | media and culture | announcement Thursday May 07, 2009 11:31 by Will - Bristol Radical History Group thewillsimpson at yahoo dot co dot uk

Sublime Bar, King St - Tuesday 12th May

Bristol Radical History Group presents a celebration of the life and work of John Gregory, a local radical literary figure who has been forgotten for too long.

Bideford born shoemaker, John Gregory (1831-1922) wrote poetry, was a pioneer trade unionist, socialist, co-operator and peace activist. Through his life and work it is possible to trace working-class political thought from Chartism through Radicalism to Socialism. Admired for his trade union work by Ernest Bevin and Ben Tillet and for his poetry by both Tennyson and H G Wells, the time has come for him to be rediscovered. Biographer Gerrard Sables talks about Gregory’s life, his works and his relevance today, interspersed by readings of his most evocative poems.

The event is upstairs at the Sublime Bar on King St, this coming Tuesday (the 12th) from 7.30pm. Admission: Just donations.