Words and Music

What better way to chill out on a sweltering summer night than with some super cool tunes and verse? Malvern Books had y’all covered last Friday, when we played host to local musicians and poets Harold Whit Williams and David Longoria.

They’re a mighty talented pair: Harold (below left) is guitarist for the rock band Cotton Mather and his latest poetry collection, Backmasking, won the 2013 Robert Phillips Poetry Chapbook Prize. And as for David (below right), when he’s not writing poetry, he’s playing guitar and harmonica, and performing or touring with bands like Yo La Tengo, Fiery Furnaces, and Voxtrot.

Harold and David

They treated our foot-tappin’ audience to some fantastic music (Harold was ably accompanied by Jon Bookout), and then—but wait, there’s more!—the night got even better with a double dose of awesome poetry! Thanks to Harold, Jon, David, and everyone who came out to enjoy an evening of engaging words and music. Do check out our footage from the event below. And if you feel inspired to fill your summer nights with a few more literary escapades, well, you’re in luck—we have heaps of splendid stuff coming up!