AS PART of the Laurie Lee Centenary Celebrations, poet Adam Horovitz will be spending September celebrating Slad Valley and Laurie Lee as the first ever Poet in Residence at The Museum in the Park. The appointment runs in conjunction with an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Laurie, at the museum, which were discovered under his bed after he died.

Like Laurie Lee, Adam grew up in the Slad Valley and his writing is profoundly influenced by the beautiful landscape of his childhood home. He has recently published A Thousand Laurie Lees (History Press, 2014), a poetic memoir in the spirit of Cider With Rosie, which celebrates and reassesses the valley Laurie immortalised, looking at it from the 1970s to now.

“The museum is full of stories just waiting to be told, and offers writers and artists endless sources of inspiration,” said Ann Taylor, Museum Learning Officer.

“We’re delighted that Adam Horovitz is our first ever Poet in Residence. His poetry is part of the local area’s rich literary tradition; he is contributing his own unique voice and contemporary perspective to the cultural and literary heritage of the Stroud Valleys.”

Much sought after for poetry readings across the UK, Adam is delighted to have a chance to write and read at his local museum for a change. As a child, Adam knew Laurie Lee, who encouraged him in his writing.

"It has been a delight and an honour to help celebrate Laurie's centenary," said Adam, "and I am looking forward to working with the museum to help deepen the ties between this lyrical, inspiring and ecologically important landscape, the people who visit and inhabit it and the literature that has helped preserve it."

Adam will be working at the museum on Fridays during the Laurie Lee exhibition. The exhibition shows previously unseen drawings by the celebrated writer, revealing that the celebrated author of Cider with Rosie and As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning had a lyrical visual side to his creativity that deeply complemented his literary talents.

Visitors who meet Adam at the museum can also take advantage of a very special Slad Poetry Jukebox. To help raise funds for the restoration of the museum's walled garden, visitors can donate £1 and choose to have Adam read a poem set in the Slad Valley to them, either by Laurie Lee, Frank Mansell, Frances Horovitz, Michael Horovitz or Adam himself, all of whom were were inspired by and had close connections with Slad. On Saturday, September 20, Adam will also be leading a creative writing workshop at the museum.

www.museuminthepark.org.uk