Countdown begins to the Live Literature Arena, April 1st & 2nd

Hammer and Tongue presents The Live Literature Arena

Saturday, 1 April & Sunday, 2 April • 12 pm-10.30 pm • £8.00 • The Rotunda, Grove House, Iffley Turn, Iffley, Oxford

In case you haven't been reading the fliers or listening to the announcements at clued-up poetry events recently, Hammer and Tongue, the biggest promoters of poetry slams in the UK, are staging a special weekend of live acts at the end of the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival 2006. Specializing in literature that thrives in a live environment, this series of performance poetry and spoken word shows takes place in an eighteenth-century building once owned by Graham Greene and steeped in literary heritage; Grove House was frequented by Lewis Carroll and it's believed the character of The Mad Hatter was based on a former resident!

Featuring some of the best performance poets and spoken word artists that the UK has to offer, including: BBC and world slam champion, Kat Francois; Spoken Word Olympic international champion, Steve Larkin; Motormouth and stand- up poetry genius, Rob Gee; the Hammer and Tongue annual slam champion, A. F. Harrold; the 2005 Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival slam champion, Alan Buckley; and many others, too numerous for me to mention in this particular post ... except perhaps for my own local group of spoken word and stand-up poetry performers, Birmingham's finest New October Poets. What a weekend!

These shows are for children (some are PG or 15 rated) and adults: the full programme of events can be seen at www.hammerandtongue.org, by calling 01865 200550, or by emailing events@hammerandtongue.co.uk

Alternatively, you can wait another week or so until I've got my act together and return here to find a full listing of who's performing what & when.