Chapter One Bookshop in Narberth is honoured to present an evening of poetry with poet, and playwright Patrick Jones.

Patrick’s new book of poems, Antidotes to Dissolution, is being published by Parthian Books in September.

Patrick, originally from Tredegar, is a well-established Welsh poet, having previously had eleven books of poetry published.

He has appeared at Hay Literary Festival and worked with musicians such as Billy Bragg, Martyn Joseph, Amy Wadge and James Dean Bradfield, writing lyrics for Bradfield’s album Even In Exile (2024). He is also the author of six performed works.

In 1993 Patrick set up the Blackwood Young Writers Group at Blackwood Miners Institute. In 1999 he released his spoken track album, Commemoration & Amnesia, where he was described in the presses as Wales’s “Shakespeare digging through the dirt to get at its truth”.

Readings from his first poetry collection, The Guerilla Tapestry (1995) were performed by Welsh actors such as Mathew Rhys and Ioan Gruffydd at the Welsh Assembly ‘Voices of a Nation’ concert in 1999 for the opening of the Welsh National Assembly.

His poetry was described by Harold Pinter as “Very powerful stuff.”

Antidotes to Dissolution, his first poetry book since the Fuse/Fracture in 2021, contains several poems concerning Palestine following Patrick’s visit to the Occupied West Bank in 2023.

The book offers a first-hand experience of the people and place and documents the genocide taking place in Gaza. A separate section of the book, subtitled Hold the Dust, details poems of a more personal nature where he addresses wellbeing and the environment through poems on sea-swimming, breathwork, meditation and yoga, all practices that he has worked on to help him through years of loss, grief, surgery and toxic relationships.

The evening which takes place on Thursday, October 8, will include a short Q&A with local award-winning poet Mark Lewis, followed by readings from the new book by Patrick, interspersed with occasional poems by Mark, and an open Q&A session where the audience will be invited to ask Patrick about his work.

Signed copies of the new book will be available on the night.

The performance, which will last about an hour, starts at 7pm and tickets are £5 which includes 10% off the book.

Tickets can be booked in person or via this link: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/NKFB2WZ5S7ZCG--