An English-language poetry group in France has published its first anthology, featuring work by 29 different poets on a variety of topics and in a multitude of styles, with no overarching theme.
“It is designed to showcase the diversity of our group and the talent that exists within it. There are some very serious poems and some humorous poems,” said Christopher M. James, 72, a retired poet who assembled the anthology and is founder of the French Stanza Group.
It took around five months for Mr James to compile the collection, which is called It will Happen by Chance.
The collection features works by 29 poetsChristopher James
“I had the idea of publishing it because of the quality of writing I was seeing in the group.
“I am very proud of this project, and I hope the poets are also proud. I have had great feedback.”
A stanza group is a defined group of poets.
“In the UK, there is a body named The Poetry Society, which is not a governing body as poetry is not governed by anyone, but a sort of authoritative one which anyone who is serious about poetry can join,” said Mr James.
“To encourage the development of poetry around the country and around the world, in fact, the Society has a practice of creating stanza groups – a local collection of poets organised by geographical proximity.”
There are around 150 stanza groups throughout the UK.
Mr James, 72, is the founder of the French Stanza GroupChristopher James
Mr James made his an online group for two main reasons: “In France, English language poets are spread across the country with a few more in Paris than elsewhere.
“Additionally, since the pandemic, the poetry world has changed considerably, with as many virtual events as physical ones. Often, there are readings and poetry clinics on Zoom, so it is a very common phenomenon today to have a group that functions purely online. It is also necessary in our case.”
The frequency of the group’s online meetings means members tend to know each other well and those who live close to each other often meet in person: “There are groups in Paris, Aix-Marseille and the east of France who have met up, so it comes naturally.”
The group has 53 members and meets up twice a month for around two hours, with a maximum of 10 poets. This is to ensure that the group has time to go through everyone’s work, critiquing and sharing poems in the time available.
“We could easily talk about poetry for a lot longer, but limiting the session to two hours avoids time wasting and rambling,” said Mr James.
Invitations for a Monday session are sent out on a Thursday. Participating members then send in their poems on a Friday, which are compiled and sent to the other participants, who prepare critiques for the session.
Mr James has been writing poetry for a long time. Part of a stanza group in Chiswick, west London, he wanted to repeat this positive experience in France.
He informed The Poetry Society of his intentions to begin the group, who then informed all their members.
The group was founded in April 2023 with an original 30 members. Since then, more have joined through word of mouth.
Members have different levels of participation, depending often on their inspiration at the time and whether they are writing poems.
“The group is not elitist whatsoever. The whole point of a stanza group is being democratic or egalitarian. If someone wants to join and they are serious about poetry, then they can, unless they are particularly problematic,” Mr James said.
“The role of the group is to nurture prospective poets. We have some well-established poets who are published. and some members who had never published anything before joining, but have since started.”
Members of the stanza group are permanent residents of France for the most part, with some splitting their time between France and the UK, Canada or the US, but all consider France as home. Mr James himself moved to France in 1975.
“Stanza groups live and die by the commitment of their members. When you are serious about writing, you write all the time or you think you should be writing. Exposing writing to positive or negative feedback, but always constructive, is what any writer needs.”
A unique feature of the French group is the auditeur libre. If someone is interested in joining, they may listen in on a session without contributing for a taste of what being a member is like.
