Community Reading Groups
We call our community reading groups Reading Round because a group of people gathers around a table and listens to stories and poetry read aloud. Our groups meet regularly for over thirty weeks of the year and are open to any member of the public with a passion and curiosity for reading.
Participants are immersed in great writing from all corners of the world and travel deep into a poem or short story to discover how writing works and what makes a text sing. Together with a professional writer, the close-knit group will listen, discuss and share with others their thoughts about what they’ve read.
FAQs
There’s no homework or any kind of preparation. The RLF Fellow will supply all the texts – you don’t have to buy them. You will read two new texts every week, a poem, short story or other piece of prose.
No skills or qualifications are necessary. All you need is a willingness to listen to others and be receptive to new ideas, to be open-minded and to appreciate that different people have different points of view. And you need to be curious to know how great writing works.
The text will be read out loud to you by the writer, and then you will discuss how the writing works, what it’s about, and what choices the writer has made when writing it.
There are thirty sessions in a year, each 90 minutes long. You will find that the group really bonds over the weeks and that your presence matters, but of course, everyone will understand if you have to miss the odd session.
Sessions are led by a published, experienced professional writer and RLF Fellow from our Fellowship programme or WritersMosaic contributing writer, our online magazine and developmental resource focused on UK writers of the global majority.
You will gain experience in reading, thinking and talking about all kinds of writing; you will read and discuss a wide variety of texts; you will become more aware of language and how it’s used. And you will become part of a close-knit group intent on exploring great literature together.
All the texts are read aloud, and you will have a copy to read for yourself. The groups are run in venues with good access. Everyone is welcome, and we recommend getting in touch with the RLF Fellow who hosts the group to discuss your requirements ahead of the sessions.
You can certainly join a group. There’s no pressure to speak, and the writer who leads the group will ensure you are included even if you don’t verbally contribute. However, you may find it hard to resist joining in the discussion at some point.
Reading Round Plus
We use the Reading Round model with a variety of groups in diverse settings, such as hospices and recovery colleges. These short courses unite participants in the wonderful gift of story and poetry.