Saturday, June 28, 2008

Linton Kwesi Johnson & other poets at the Godiva Festival

The legendary dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson - alongside other exciting poets - will be reading in Coventry on Saturday 5th July as part of the city’s annual free Godiva Festival, held in the War Memorial Gardens on Kenilworth Road.

LKJ, who has been a committed advocate of black people’s rights in Britain for four decades, was the first writer to define “dub poetry” as a distinct genre, fusing reggae music with the spoken word. He has won numerous awards for his work, selling over two million books and albums and in the process becoming a Penguin Classics author in recognition of his pioneering use of language. He will be joined in the Market Tent by a number of new and established writers, hosted by West Midlands poetry publishing house The Heaventree Press.

6:30pm. Music by DJ Kris Connolly
7:00. Michael McKimm:
Eric Gregory Award winning poet – a sensuous new lyric voice.
7:10pm. Coventry’s Scrubber Jack:
Gritty urban rhymes from Stoke Aldermore – as featured in the Coventry Telegraph.
7:20pm. Paul Casey and Billy Ramsell:
Two high velocity Irish performance poets, visiting on a Poetry Exchange from Coventry’s twin city, Cork.

7:50pm. Yusra Warsama:
Manchester-based performance poet and actor brings her blend of poetry and physical theatre to the Festival.
8:00pm. Raffle prize draw:
Tickets available during the day and at the Heaventree bookstall, priced 50p. Prizes include free tickets to concerts and theatres, signed books and records, etc.

8:05pm. Jane Holland:
Warwick’s Poet laureate launches The Lament of The Wanderer, in a new translation from the Anglo-Saxon, published by Heaventree Press.
8:15pm. Mario Petrucci:
The acclaimed author of Heavy Water and Flowers of Sulphur, back from London by popular demand.
8:30pm. Kei Miller:
All the way from jamaica, the Comonwealth Prize shortlisted poet and novelist returns to the city of his first publication.
8:45pm. Dreadlock Alien:
The UK’s National Slam Champion makes a rare appearance on his home turf.

9:00pm. LINTON KWESI JOHNSON.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Moseley Festival: Open Mic

1st July 2008
starts 7.30pm. Doors open 7.00pm. Free entry for all!
The Patrick Kavanagh
Woodbridge Road
Moseley Village
Birmingham

Poetry, comedy, music, storytelling, spoken word with an amazing line up of talent. Paul Rafferty - top notch poetry, Pollie Gilbert - storytelling, Brendan Higgins - The Bard Himself, Jimmy Fantastik - Experimental music/poetry, Richard Bruce Clay - Readings from Richard's novels, Sammy Jo - From the heart poetry, Lizzie Smith - The piffany chronicles, Sarah Leppington - Warm and wise poetry, Louise Stokes - drama and poetry, Tim Bom And His Magic Drumstick - Satire, music, Marcus Zodiac - The King of Moseley! D/o/r/m - Doctor of Rock Music AND OPEN MIC.


Much scope for newcomers and vetreans to come along and join in!

Cambridge: Broken Word

JUNE 29
5.45 doors open (6-8pm)
CB1 Internet Cafe
Mill Road Cambridge CB1

BROKEN WORD is a fortnightly live literature & music event, this Sunday with:

stand-up poet Magic Phil as MC, Manic street preacher Alex Iamb, Local poet/rapper Hollie, Radio 209's Patrick Widdess plus Open Floor Spots for spoken word with Musical Accompaniment from "Ban 'Jo"Jeff Houghton & local singer songwriters

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Galway: Over the Edge

Friday, June 27th
8pm
Sheridan’s Wine Bar,
14-16 Church Yard Street
Galway

Over The Edge presents a reading by poets Caroline Lynch, Drucilla Wall, Neil McCarthy, Terry McDonagh & Charlene Spearen.

There is no entrance fee. All are welcome. For further information contact 087-6431748.

Over The Edge acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council and Galway City Council.

www.overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com

Glastonbury Festival 2008: News from Hammer & Tongue

On your way to Pilton Farm? Know someone who is? Then the following information could prove very useful:

Hammer & Tongue present The Glastonbury Slam!
@ The Enchanted Tent
in The Cabaret Field
3:30 - 6:30pm Sunday the 29th June
Open to all, sign up by 3pm, 3 minute rounds, winner gets a slot at next years festival.
The Enchanted Tent will host some fantastic performance poetry with the usual embarrassment of riches with names such as John Hegley, Kat Francois and our very own regular host Sophia Blackwell (Fri 5-5:20)gracing the stage.


Inflatable Buddha
@ The Bedouin Tent - Tipi Field (not the posh new accommodation bit but the hippie field off the old railway track)
Midnight Saturday
Last chance to see the pioneers of worldfolkpunkskiffle before they vanish to tour North America.
(also playing at Shangri La on Friday - time TBC)

Political Poetry
@ The Speakers Forum
Danny Chivers and Steve Larkin will be leading political poetry sessions gelled with musical interludes from Richard Britherton and Susanna Starling at The Speakers Forum Greenfields Fri 1 - 2, Sat 5:30 - 5:30 Sun 2 -3. There will be opportunities for people to perform at theses sessions, please text 07906 885 069 to organise a slot.

Reduced rate ticket available

Hammer & Tongue have a reduced rate ticket available, which will be cheaper to performers of political poetry. Please text 07906 885 069 if you are interested.

Hope to see you at the huge feast of creative expression that is The Glastonbury Festival.

Boomshanka


The Hammer & Tongue team

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Glastonbury Festival 2008

26th-29th June
from a field somewhere not very near Glastonbury.

It looks like it could be mud-free this year .... or have I spoken to soon?

The line-up in the Poetry&Words Tent includes:

on Friday evening: the ‘scandalously talented’ (Sunday Times) and ‘bleeding marvellous’ (NME), John Hegley. Pop by for merriment and musings on dogs, spectacles and more.

on Saturday evening: the legendary Michael Horovitz, early champion of oral and jazz poetry, whose just published, A New Waste Land, was hailed by The Independent as ‘a deeply felt clarion-call from the radical underground’.

Ably flanking these two greats of the poetry world are: Attila the Stockbroker; Aisle 16; Joolz Denby; Robin Ince; festival website poet in residence and yak lover, A F Harrold; 2007 Glastonbury slam winner, John Berkavitch; Cat Kidd; Sophia Blackwell; Baba Brinkman; Kokumo; Melinda May Deathgoth; Dzifa Benson; Emma McGordon; Olumide Popoola; Adam Horovitz;Libby Houston and others. Comperes: Pete Hunter and Kat Francois.

on Sunday afternoon: the Glastonbury Poetry Slam on , hosted this year by Hammer and Tongue. Sign up, strut your stuff and you could win a spot in next year’s Poetry&Words.

A.F.Harrold sends festival goers this message:

"If you happen to be at the festival this year track me down and tell me interesting things to make into poems. I’m the Official Poet-In-Residence of the Official Glastonbury Festival Website and am supposed to be jotting things down all weekend, which will be mounted on the website in real time – so even people who had the common sense enough to not get tickets can keep in touch. My very fine poetic companion Mr Elvis McGonagall did this job last year and his things can be seen here: www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/glastonline.aspx?folder=99 – and I imagine in time my things will be somewhere similar.

Sunday June 29th – Poetry & Words Stage, The ‘Enchanted’ Tent, Theatre & Circus Field, Glastonbury Festival somewhere in Somerset. 11.35am in the morning before lunch.
There is poetry on stage all weekend and if you’re there, bored on a Sunday morning because there’s very little going on, then wander to the tent and catch 25 minutes of me instead of going to church. For the first time witness me performing topical poems…"

London: Poetry Reading

27th June
7.30pm
St. Mary the Virgin
Mortlake High Street
London SW14

Agnes Meadows
Rosemary Norman
Ruth O’Callaghan

Poets from the Floor Very Welcome

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

London: Rhythm & Muse Summer special

Venue: The Lion,
27 Wick Road,
Teddington,
TW11
Time: 8.30-10.30pm £5/£4 on the door

- two dates in July to celebrate R&M's first birthday!

Thursday 4 July
Aeronwy Thomas (daugther of Dylan and Caitlin Thomas), Annie Taylor, Beryl Myers and Frances White reading as the Words poetry group. Music from Adele Wilding and Steve Antoni.

Thursday 24 July
Guest poets Allison McVety and Susan Utting.
Music from Liz Arcance and John O'Reilly Plus open mic (book in advance). Contact: Alison Hill 020 8977 4610 or email alison-hill@blueyonder.co.uk for more details.

London: Poetry Reading

Wednesday 25 June
7p.m. (doors open at 6.30), £4/£3 Concessions + WINE
St Benets Church,
Queen Victoria Street,
Blackfriars.
(Blackfriars tube: take Mermaid theatre exit and it’s about 100metres past Mermaid on Queen Victoria street.)

Maggie Butt
Barbara Hardy
Alison Hill

Plus 5x5 minute spots available
Poets from the Floor Very Welcome
(if you wish to be considered for the blue chrome anthology please bring a poem to read/leave)
Compere Ruth O'Callaghan)

London: Breton poetry and history

Friday 4th July
7:30pm
The London Welsh Centre
157 - 163 Gray's Inn Road
London WC1X 8UE

With Eve Lerner and Sharif Gemie, plus Caroline Davies

Eve Lerner is a Breton poet and translator, poetry editor of Hopala! Magazine (a sister magazine to Planet: The Welsh Internationalist), and also runs the L'Autre Rive poetry and visual art centre in Lorient.
Sharif Gemie is a Reader in History at the University of Glamorgan, and is author of Brittany 1750 - 1950: The Invisible Nation and Galicia: The Concise History

FREE. Everyone Welcome
Nearest tube: Kings Cross/St Pancras
organised by Common Custom

Coventry:Godiva Festival

Saturday July 5 2008
7pm – 9pm
The Poetry Tent, Godiva Festival, Memorial Park

The Heavetree Press presents:

Linton Kwesi Johnson + Mario Petrucci, Jane Holland, Kei Miller and more!

Acclaimed dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson will perform his work at the West Midlands' biggest free arts festival! upported by Dreadlock Alien, Jane Holland, Kei Miller, Michael McKimm, Mario Petrucci, Scrubberjack and Sista Somalia.
This event is FREE
info@heaventreepress.

Further info on poets:

www.lkjrecords.com
members.lycos.co.uk/richardgrant/
www.janeholland.co.uk
www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?owner_id=853
www.mariopetrucci.com
www.myspace.com

SPICE FESTIVAL SLAM! @ the Hackney Empire

In July, THIRTY plucky poets are WANTED to compete for: the chance to grace the Hackney Empire's main stage supporting top US slam poet Daniel Beaty, a slot in the final of the Hackney Empire's legendary '291' talent show on Friday 25th July, and £100 cash! Each heat begins at 7.30pm in the Hackney Empire's Marie Lloyd Bar and is hosted by the host of Utter!, Mr Richard Tyrone Jones: 'Wonderful compere and poet' – Daljit Nagra. 10 intrepid contestants will competein each heat!

Heat One - Tuesday 1st July - FREE
Special Guest Poets: Niall Spooner-Harvey, 2004/5 UK slam champion, and awesome roots-reggae revivalist Crisis.

Heat Two - Tuesday 8th July – FREE
Special Guest Poets: Polar Bear, shortly due to unleash his one-manshow 'If I cover my nose you can't see me' at the Purcell Rooms, and Kat Francois, 2005 World Slam Champion and BBC3 Poetry Slam winnerwho's conquered the world with her one-woman show.

Heat Three - Tuesday 15th July - FREE
Special Guest Poets: Baden Prince Jr, host of the Marie Lloyd's 'Speakeasy', the 'Isaac Hayes of Poetry' and a very special Mystery Guest…

Tuesday 22nd July – THE FINAL…
The three finalists picked from the Marie Lloyd bar heats will compete against each other on the main stage, forming the barnstorming first half of a show that culminates in Nuyorican Grand Slam Champion Daniel Beaty's unmissably powerful Fringe First and Obie award-winning show 'Emergence-See'. "a dazzling 90 minutes full of memorable moments…intense…hilarious" -New York Times.

So to book your slot, or get more information, press or photos please email richardtyronejones@gmail.com, phone 07912 539 098 or post on the Facebook event now: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=33285936288

Nearest Overground: Hackney Central

Apples & Snakes in Soho

Wednesday 25 June
8pm£8 / £6 concs
Soho Theatre,
21 Dean St,
London W1D 3NE
Book: 0870 429 6883

Jackie Kay; Roger Robinson; Gloria Dawson

Not only is Jackie Kay the author of several poetry collections and the acclaimed novel Trumpet, she's also something of a national treasure. Taking her adoptive upbringing and Scottish-Nigerian heritage as jumping-offpoints, her work probes the notoriously knotty topics of gender, race and identity. She was awarded an MBE for services to literature in 2006. Tonight, especially for you, she presents a choice platter of her finest poems. Plus contributions from Nick Drake ­chronicler of life's serio-comic moments, and past master ofthe stings-like-a-bee school of poetry. Roger Robinson ­ finely-tuned storyteller with buckets of charisma and thelyrical sensibilities of a musician. Gloria Dawson ­ newcomer who plays fast and loose with poetic form,invariably finding beauty in the ensuing chaos. Another Soho night with Apples & Snakes: ­ the heart of poetry in the heart of the city.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Glasgow: Last Monday at Rio

June 30
The Rio cafe, Hyndland Street
Glasgow G11 (Kelvinhall tube)

Eight pee em til ten-fifteenish. Admission Free.

Graham Fulton is our headline act this month at Last Monday. A poet of some pedigree, committing to paper a take on our city which is true to life in love and lust, from snapshot stills to snarling observation. Anyone who has ever grafted in an office will recoil in ghast recognition as he bends his wit to life in the work-pods.

First hour of the evening is open mic. Cairns is your compere. Anyone wishing to read, speak or perform should contact robin.cairns@btconnect.com
I`m still looking for a body to do the "Dive In" spot this month. This is where someone with an axe, hatchet, penknife or small item of cutlery to grind may get up and give us the benefit of their opinion for a few minutes. Polemic not poetry. Claim this spot please someone.

The Shuffle in the Poetry Society Studio

28th June
7:30PM - 9:30PM, £5/3
Poetry Society Studio
Poetry Cafe
Betterton Street
London

with poetry from Camelia Stafford, Martina Thomson, Rachel Curzon, Hannah Murgatroyd, Michael Mc Kimm , Beatrice Garland and Kate Potts.

Summer line-up for The Shuffle reading series, at the is taking shape:

Confirmed for Saturday 25 July 7.30-9.30pm: Richard O'Brien

Confirmed for Saturday 30 August 7.30-9.30pm: Simon Barraclough

September Shuffle all-stars event: Saturday 27 September with launch of the shuffle anthology.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

LONDON: Maggie Butt, Barbara Hardy and Alison Hill

Wednesday, June 25th, 2008, 7pm (doors open at 6.30), £4/£3 concessions.
St Benet's Church,
Queen Victoria Street,
Blackfriars.
(Blackfriars tube: take Mermaid theatre exit and it’s about 100m past Mermaid on Queen Victoria street.)

Poets Maggie Butt, Barbara Hardy and Alison Hill will be reading, plus there will be five five-minute spots available to poets from the floor. If you wish to be considered for the Bluechrome anthology, please bring a poem to read/leave. Compere is Ruth O'Callaghan.

LONDON: Magma 41 launch reading

Monday, June 23rd, 2008, 8-10pm, tickets £6 concessions £5.
The Troubadour,
265 Old Brompton Road,
London,
SW5
Nearest tube station: Earls Court (District & Piccadilly Lines).

Magma 41— poetry magazine launch with special guests John Hegley and Carol Rumens.
Since its first stapled-A5 appearance and its early Troubadour gatherings in the 1990s, Magma, now in its 41st re-incarnation—edited by Karen Green and Linda Black—continues to grow in stature and significance just as its launches have flourished as the vital, seasonal gathering-place for poetry fans and poets. Meet the editors and production team, pick up the latest poetry-packed edition and listen to poets and poems from the current issue, plus special contributions from guest poets John Hegley and poet, playwright, novelist, editor/anthologist and Russian-translator Carol Rumens.

For information, advance booking, season ticket & mailing list enquiries, phone 020 8354 0660.

LONDON: Poetry and Poppadums

Monday, June 23rd, 2008, dining/drinks from 6pm, show 8.15pm, £5/£3
La Kera Restaurant,
4 Coburg Road,
Wood Green,
N22

We are thrilled to tiny bitz to bring you four fabulous and diverse ladies. The much in demand Malika Booker graces our mic with sharp and choice beautifully delivered words. Sarah Daly fuses lyricism and Celtic rhythms into a sensuous live experience. Liz Bentley is "beguiling...an exhilarating experience" (Chortle 2007), and Lucy Leagrave blends issues and innuendos to make you feel you are around a bizarre London dinner party. Host for the night is BBC2's Big Slam Poetry House star Paul Lyalls.

For info or ticket reservations, call 020 8 829 8962 or 020 8 829 8989, or e-mail: info@karamel.co.uk or info@lakera.com

Saturday, June 21, 2008

GLASGOW: Last Monday At Rio

Monday, June 30th, 2008, 8pm-10.15pm, FREE.
The Rio Cafe,
Hyndland Street,
Glasgow,
G11
(Kelvinhall tube)

Graham Fulton is the headline act this month at Last Monday, a poet of some pedigree, committing to paper a take on our city which is true to life in love and lust, from snapshot stills to snarling observation. Anyone who has ever grafted in an office will recoil in recognition as he bends his wit to life in the work-pods.

First hour of the evning is open mic. Robin Cairns is your compere. Anyone wishing to read, speak or perform should contact robin.cairns@btconnect.com

Thursday, June 19, 2008

LEWES: Rachel Pantechnicon @ Pint Of Poetry

Friday, June 20th, 2008, 8.30pm, £5
The Lewes Arms,
Mount Street,
Lewes,
East Sussex

Top comedy poet Rachel Pantechnicon - aka Russell Thompson – will be the latest act from the national spoken word circuit to grace the stage of the club. Lewes audiences have already been wowed by great performances from legendary performance poet Attila the Stockbroker, Birmingham Poet Laureate Dreadlockalien, and Edinburgh Fringe poetry slam champion Ash Dickinson.

Support comes from Lewes poets Ollie Wilson and Peter Maguire. Tickets can be reserved on the Oliver’s Poetry website at www.oliverspoetry.com or bought direct from the Lewes Arms bar.

Ollie said: “Rachel Pantechnicon writes motivational poems for cats and people and produces extraordinary story books. She is the funniest poet I have ever seen.”

For more information about Lewes Pint of Poetry!, check out: www.oliverspoetry.com or email: oliverspoetry@hotmail.co.uk

LONDON: Bluechrome Poets

Friday, 20th June, 2008 at 7pm, £4/£3.
Trinity United Reform Church,
1 Buck St,
Camden Town

Ruth O'Callaghan presents Bluechrome Poets Kevin Bailey, Leah Fritz and Jon Stone. Poets from the floor very welcome (please bring two copies of the poem if you wish to be considered for the Bluechrome anthology). There are at least 10 major poets who will also be contributing to the anthology, including UA Fanthorpe, Fiona Sampson, Marilyn Hacker and Penelope Shuttle.
Proceeds to COLD WEATHER SHELTER.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

GALWAY: Poems From Guantanamo

Thursday, June 26th, 2008, 7pm
Amnesty International Shop,
Middle Street,
Galway

Over The Edge, in association with Amnesty International, presents the Galway launch of Poems from Guantánamo – The Detainees Speak, readings of poems by Guantánamo detainees by Rita Ann Higgins, Mary O Malley, Elaine Feeney, Sheikh Khaled (Imam of Galway Mosque), Stephen Murray, Charlene Spearen and Gary King, on International Day Against Torture.

GALWAY: Over The Edge

Friday, June 27th, 2008, 8pm, FREE
Sheridan’s Wine Bar,
14-16 Church Yard Street,
Galway

Over The Edge presents a reading by poets Caroline Lynch, Drucilla Wall, Neil McCarthy, Terry McDonagh and Charlene Spearen.

Caroline Lynch was born in 1976 and grew up in Cork. She now lives in Galway. While in college, she was the inaugural winner of the Sean Dunne poetry competition. In 2001 she was short listed for the Seacat/Poetry Ireland award. Her poems have appeared in an anthology of new writing, The Incredible Hides in Every House, edited by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, and in Writers Seeking Lovers. She won the Listowel Writers' Week poetry collection competition in 2007. Her debut collection, Lost in the Gaeltacht, is just published by Salmon Poetry.

Drucilla Wall has published poems and essays in a variety of magazines and periodicals. She serves on the executive board for the Western Literature Association and holds membership in the Wordcraft Circle of Native American Writers. She teaches writing at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis.

Neil McCarthy is from Cork but lives in Galway. His poems have appeared in a wide variety of prestigous journals internationally. In 2007 Neil was chosen to take part in both the Poetry Ireland Introductions readings and the Cúirt Festival/Over The Edge showcase reading. He has just returned from a European reading tour with fellow Galway poet, Stephen Murray, which included a highly successful performance at the Prague Fringe Festival.

Terry McDonagh is a poet and dramatist. He recently returned to live in his native Mayo after over 20 years living in Hamburg. He has published several collections of poetry, a book of letters, a play, and a short novel for young people. He has worked in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. His work has been translated into many different languages, including German and Indonesian. His most recent publication, Cill Aodáin & Nowhere Else, is a collection of poems illustrated by artist Sally McKenna – with a preface by Seamus Cashman.

Charlene Spearen is Poet in Residence at the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, South Carolina. She is the Program Coordinator for the University of South Carolina's Arts Institute and Assistant Director of the South Carolina’s Poetry Initiative. Charlene teaches Composition and Poetry classes at the University of South Carolina. She was the 2001 winner of the James Dickey Award for Poetry. Her chapbook Without Possessions won the 2006 Stepping Stone Press Editors Series Award.

All are welcome. For further information, call 087 643 1748.

Over The Edge acknowledges the financial support of the Arts Council and Galway City Council.

http://www.overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com/

LONDON: Apples & Snakes Open Mic

Thursday, 19th June, 2008, 7pm, FREE
Whitechapel Gallery,
80-82 Whitechapel High Street,
London
E1 7QX
If you haven't experienced an Apples & Snakes open mic yet, you haven't spent the evening in the Whitechapel Gallery's lovely café-bar, the air thick with poems and the whole joint jumping with poets of every conceivable kind. An Apples open mic is, indeed, the place where the unlikeliest of poetic bedfellows can share a stage. If you fancy it, please don't hold back. It could be the start of a beautiful relationship with the UK spoken-word scene. Tonight's verbal bonanza features guest slots from Emma Purshouse and Marcia Calame. Spoz will be the compere.
Arrive early to sign up for open mic slot

DUBLIN: Poetry Ireland introductions

Thursday, 19th June, 2008, 6.30pm
The Unitarian Church,
112 St Stephen’s Green West,
Dublin 2,
Ireland

The Poetry Ireland Introductions series, held each year in Dublin, showcases emerging writers with a track record of publication in reputable journals and magazines, who are working towards a first collection. Tonight's poets are Padraig O’Morain, Mags Treanor, Mary Mullen and Philip Quirke.

OAKHAM: Andre Mangeot reading

Thursday, 19th June 2008, 7.30pm, £5
Oakham Castle,
Rutland

Andre Mangeot has published two collections to date: Natural Causes (2003) and Mixer (2005) Рboth widely praised. A wonderful reader and performer, he is also member of the poetry collective The Joy of Six, which has played at festivals across England and Wales, and in New York. His first book of short stories, A Little Javanese, is due out in mid-2008. He is currently writing a novel set in Romania. Andr̩ also has a local connection: his nephew Josh was at Oakham School from 1996-2002, so he knows the town well.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

LONDON: Magma 41 Launch Reading

Monday, June 23rd, 2008, 8-10pm, tickets £6 concessions £5.
The Troubadour,
265 Old Brompton Road,
London,
SW5
Nearest tube station: Earls Court (District & Piccadilly Lines).

Magma 41— poetry magazine launch with special guests John Hegley and Carol Rumens.
Since its first stapled-A5 appearance and its early Troubadour gatherings in the 1990s, Magma, now in its 41st re-incarnation—edited by Karen Green and Linda Black—continues to grow in stature and significance just as its launches have flourished as the vital, seasonal gathering-place for poetry fans and poets. Meet the editors and production team, pick up the latest poetry-packed edition and listen to poets and poems from the current issue, plus special contributions from guest poets John Hegley and poet, playwright, novelist, editor/anthologist and Russian-translator Carol Rumens.

For information, advance booking, season ticket & mailing list enquiries, phone 020 8354 0660.

LONDON: It Looks Like You're Writing A Letter

Thursday, June 19th, 2008, 7.30pm, £3
The Horse & Groom,
26 Curtain Road,
Shoreditch,
EC2A 3NZ

It Looks Like You're Writing A Letter - An evening of readings/talks dedicated to the relationship between literature, imagination and mathematics, written by Joe Dunthorne, Tim Clare and Ross Sutherland. Featuring a series of poems written only in one vowel (Univocalisms) and a story about a failed poetry collaboration with a software program. Support from Chris Hicks and Luke Wright.

"A recipe for madness" - The Londonist.

Poetry Tent at the Godiva Festival

The Heaventree Press presents: Linton Kwesi Johnson, Mario Petrucci, Jane Holland, Kei Miller and more!

Saturday July 5 2008
7pm – 9pm
The Poetry Tent, Godiva Festival, Memorial Park, Coventry.

Acclaimed dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson will perform his work at the West Midlands' biggest free arts festival, alongside Dreadlock Alien, Jane Holland, Kei Miller, Michael McKimm, Mario Petrucci, Scrubberjack and Yusra Warsama.

This event is FREE
Email: info@heaventreepress.com

Monday, June 16, 2008

LONDON: Shearsman reading featuring Lee Harwood and Nathaniel Tarn

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008, 7:30pm, FREE
Swedenborg Hall,
Swedenborg House,
20/21 Bloomsbury Way,
London
WC1A 2TH
The entrance is around the corner on Barter Street.
Closest Tube Stations: Holborn, Tottenham Court Road, Covent Garden. Several buses stop a few yards from the Hall. Disabled access available, but please let us know in advance if it is required.

Featuring Lee Harwood and Nathaniel Tarn
Lee Harwood's Selected Poems is published on June 15th, together with a volume of interviews with Lee by Kelvin Corcoran, titled Not the Full Story. Also published on June 15th is a new book-length poem - Avia - by Nathaniel Tarn, his first UK publication in many years.

LIVERPOOL: Heart Beats

Tuesday, June 17th, 8pm, £3/2 concessions.

Revolution (basement bar)
Fleet Street,
St Peter’s Square.

Featuring:
TRUTH (aka Michelle Sakim) – Multi-talented poet, rap artist and music producer from Liverpool.
Bunty – Hip hop beats, vocal looping and experimental spoken word soundscapes from Brighton.
Ade Jackson – Arguably Liverpool’s best beat poet, bringing dark wit, rock’n’roll rhythms and gritty city streets.
Open mic – come and sign up on the night and become a Heart Beats poet for the evening!

PLUS free cake! What more could you want from a Tuesday evening?

http://www.myspace.com/heartbeatspoetry

LONDON: Poetry and Poppadums

Monday, June 23rd, dining/drinks from 6pm, show 8.15pm, £5/£3
La Kera Restaurant,
4 Coburg Road,
Wood Green,
N22

We are thrilled to tiny bitz to bring you four fabulous and diverse ladies. The much in demand Malika Booker graces our mic with sharp and choice beautifully delivered words. Sarah Daly fuses lyricism and Celtic rhythms into a sensuous live experience. Liz Bentley is "beguiling...an exhilarating experience" (Chortle 2007), and Lucy Leagrave blends issues and innuendos to make you feel you are around a bizarre London dinner party. Host for the night is BBC2's Big Slam Poetry House star Paul Lyalls.

For info or ticket reservations, call 020 8 829 8962 or 020 8 829 8989, or e-mail: info@karamel.co.uk or info@lakera.com

LEAMINGTON SPA: PureandGoodandRight

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Upstairs at The Fox,
Clarendon Avenue,
Leamington Spa,
Warwickshire

PureandGoodandRight stars local favourite Alan Wales, who, together with Gareth Wyn-Owen and Pearl Chick, will present Alan’s poem-play, Under Dead Wood.

There will also be opportunities to present your own poems in our popular open mic slots, so come on down!

Further details are available by logging on to: www.Kellywit.com

LOUGHBOROUGH: Mark Goodwin reading

Monday, July 7th, 2008, 7pm, FREE.
Loughborough Library,
Granby Street,
Loughborough,
Leicestershire

Poet Mark Goodwin will be launching his first collection, Else (Shearsman). For further details or to attend, e-mail: kfeatherstone@leics.gov.uk

Saturday, June 14, 2008

LONDON: Poetry London launch

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008, 6.30pm, FREE
Foyles
113-119 Charing Cross Road,
London,
WC2

An evening of readings to launch the magazine's summer issue. To reserve a place, e-mail:
events@foyles.co.uk

LONDON: Mario Petrucci & Peter Brennan

Saturday, July 26th, 2008, 6.30pm, £2 (refundable on any Perdika pamphlet)
The Big Green Bookshop
Unit 1
Brampton Park Rd,
Wood Green
N22 6BG
Tube: Wood Green/Turnpike Lane (Piccadilly Line)

Multi-award-winning poet Mario Petrucci - “A master of the art” – Poetry Yearbook 2007;
plus Peter Brennan of Perdika, London’s exciting new poetry press.

Free juice & nibbles.

“Salty and subversive… passionate and exciting” The Daily Mail.

Friday, June 13, 2008

LONDON: Rhythm and Muse

Rhythm & Muse Summer Special - two dates in July to celebrate R&M's first birthday!

Thursday, July 4th, 2008, 8.30pm-10.30pm, £5/£4

The Lion,
27 Wick Road,
Teddington,
TW11 9DN

Aeronwy Thomas (daugther of Dylan and Caitlin Thomas), Annie Taylor, Beryl Myers and
Frances White, reading as the Words poetry group. Music from Adele Wilding and
Steve Antoni.

Thursday, July 24th, 2008, 8.30pm-10.30pm, £5/£4
The Lion,
27 Wick Road,
Teddington,
TW11 9DNJohn
Guest poets Allison McVety and Susan Utting. Music from Liz Arcance and John O'Reilly.
Plus open mic (book in advance)

Contact: Alison Hill 020 8977 4610 or email alison-hill@blueyonder.co.uk
for more details.

PETERBOROUGH: The Flag Fen Eisteddfod

Saturday and Sunday, June 14th-15th, 2008

Flag Fen Bronze Age Centre
The Droveway
Northey Road
Peterborough
PE6 7QJ
Tel: 01733 313414

A two-day festival celebrating creativity in both the written and the spoken word. It will include Young Poets of the Year and Battle of the Bands competitions, as well as a wealth of stallholders, art work, ancient crafts, children’s activities, performances, storytellers, poetry and music. Weekend tickets available.

Advance weekend tickets: £10 adult, £9 concession, £7.50 child, £27.50 family ticket
www.flagfen.com

LONDON: 14 Hour - The Aorta Sessions

Saturday, June 14th, 2008, 7pm-late, FREE
Upstairs at The Horse and Groom
26 Curtain Road,
EC2A
Tubes: Liverpool Street/Old Street

14 Hour: The Aorta Sessions
featuring Joshua Idehen, Jacob Sam-La Rose, Anne Brechin, Nick Potamitis and Martin White.

Joshua Idehen is a principal component of acclaimed poetry collective PiP (Poem in Between People) and creator of Poejazzi: "a spoken word and music night with a killer line-up that will see queues right down the street… PoeJazzi was a Time Out No.1 Critic's Choice in January 2007 and was listed among the 101 Things To Do In London 2007." Breakneck.

Jacob Sam-La Rose is a poet, writer, playwright and educator of Guyanese heritage. A former Poet-in-Residence at BBC London, he is a touring writer with the British Council. His programme of international appearances has taken him as far afield as Kiasma, the Museum of Contemporary Art (Finland), Chicago State University, Mylos Theatre (Greece) and the Center of Contemporary Art in Glasgow, amongst others.

Anne Brechin has performed her work widely "flitting twixt fantasy and urban alienation whilst twiddling fetchingly with her hair".

Nick Potamitis has taught Film Studies at various institutions and writes on the history of Greek cinema. He is a printmaker and one of the co-editors of Perdika Press. His work was recently included in the Openned Anthology.

Martin White will be performing his clever mix of accordion riffing and comedic stylings at Glastonbury and Latitude this year. His recording of John Cage's 4'33" was big in Japan.

60s soul and R&B late into the night from guest DJ Tim Wells, editor of Rising.

Back for the summer is guest compere Tom Cubbin, the coffee drinkin', blue jeans wearin' beat poet.

Join the 14 Hour Facebook group to keep up to date with events: http://groups.to/14hour

Thursday, June 12, 2008

LONDON: Fuselit Fox Launch

Fuselit Fox Launch
Saturday, 14th June, 2008, 7pm
Betsey Trotwood
56 Farringdon Road
London EC1R 3BL
Nearest tubes: Farringdon/King's X

Launching Fuselit's 12th issue, Fox, poets will be performing pecha kucha-style sets, accompanied by slideshows.

Performers include:
Kirsten Irving, editor of Fuselit and former runner-up in the New Writer's Best Collection category.
James Midgley, editor of Mimesis and recently shortlisted in the Smith/Doorstep pamphlet competition.
Charlotte Runcie, editor of Pomegranate and former Foyles young poet of the year.
David Floyd, editor of Brittle Star and author of 'War in the Playground'.
Barnaby Tidman, fresh from his appearance at the London Word Festival and supporting Patrick Wolf,
Jon Stone, poetry editor of The Roundtable Review and up-and-coming bluechrome poet,
plus well-known poet W.N. Herbert.

Plus music from Foxes! and What Are Birds.

DUBLIN: Poetry Ireland Introductions

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008, 6.30pm.
Unitarian Church,
112 St Stephen’s Green West,
Dublin 2,
Ireland

Sonia Abercrombie, Joseph Horgan, Leeanne Quinn, Majella Cullinane and David McLoghlin.

Thursday, 26th June, 2008, 6.30pm.
Tom Duddy, Ailbhe Darcy, John Mee, Róisín Tierney and Michelle O’Sullivan.

LONDON: Shuffle reading series

Saturday, June 28th, 2008, 7.30pm-9.30pm, £3/£5
The Poetry Café,
Betterton Street,
London

A fantastic range of readers and poetry at this month's Shuffle,
which features sets from Camellia Stafford, Martina Thomson
and Rachel Curzon, plus shorter sets from Hannah Murgatroyd,
Michael McKimm, Kate Potts
and Beatrice Garland.

MANCHESTER: Comic Poetry

Marvin Cheeseman & Julian Daniel
Friday, June 13th, 2008, 7.30pm, FREE.
Stretford Library (near Stretford Arndale/Mall)

Two of the finest exponents of comic poetry join forces to bring you a marvellous evening of mirth and merriment.

Marvin Cheeseman made his debut as a performance poet at Manchester's Frog and Bucket comedy club in 1998 - we look forward to welcoming the Doyen of Deadpan to wordfest!

Julian Daniel is a stand-up comic with a burgeoning reputation on the Northern circuit, and his recent tongue-in-cheek book How to Dump your Girlfriend, co-written with Henry Pumpkin, has been published to much acclaim

A free wordfest event, but booking essential on tel: (0161) 912 5150.

Free refreshments provided

LIVERPOOL: Heart Beats

Tuesday, June 17, 8pm, £3/2 concessions.
Revolution (basement bar),
Fleet Street,
St Peter’s Square.

Featuring:
TRUTH (aka Michelle Sakim) – Multi-talented poet, rap artist and music producer from Liverpool.
Bunty – Hip hop beats, vocal looping and experimental spoken word soundscapes from Brighton.
Ade Jackson – Arguably Liverpool’s best beat poet, bringing dark wit, rock’n’roll rhythms and gritty city streets…
Open mic – come and sign up on the night and become a Heart Beats poet for the evening!
PLUS free cake! What more could you want from a Tuesday evening?


Monday, June 09, 2008

LONDON: Apples and Snakes in Soho

Apples & Snakes in Soho : Jackie Kay; Roger Robinson; Gloria Dawson
Soho Theatre, Wednesday 25 June


Not only is Jackie Kay the author of several poetry collections and the
acclaimed novel Trumpet, she's also something of a national treasure. Taking
her adoptive upbringing and Scottish-Nigerian heritage as jumping-off
points, her work probes the notoriously knotty topics of gender, race and
identity. She was awarded an MBE for services to literature in 2006.
Tonight, especially for you, she presents a choice platter of her finest
poems.

Plus contributions from

Nick Drake chronicler of life¹s serio-comic moments, and past master of
the stings-like-a-bee school of poetry.

Roger Robinson finely-tuned storyteller with buckets of charisma and the
lyrical sensibilities of a musician.

Gloria Dawson newcomer who plays fast and loose with poetic form,
invariably finding beauty in the ensuing chaos.

Another Soho night with Apples & Snakes the heart of poetry in the heart
of the city.

When: Wednesday 25 June @ 8pm
Where: Soho Theatre, 21 Dean St, London W1D 3NE
Tickets: £8 / £6 concs
Book: 0870 429 6883 / www.sohotheatre.com
Info www.applesandsnakes.org

Friday, June 06, 2008

LEWES: Rachel Pantechnicon @ Pint of Poetry

Friday, June 20th, 2008, 8.30pm, £5
The Lewes Arms,
Mount Street,
Lewes,
East Sussex

Top comedy poet Rachel Pantechnicon - aka Russell Thompson – will be the latest act from the national spoken word circuit to grace the stage of the club. Lewes audiences have already been wowed by great performances from legendary performance poet Attila the Stockbroker, Birmingham Poet Laureate Dreadlockalien, and Edinburgh Fringe poetry slam champion Ash Dickinson.
Support comes from Lewes poets Ollie Wilson and Peter Maguire. Tickets can be reserved on the Oliver’s Poetry website at www.oliverspoetry.com or bought direct from the Lewes Arms bar.
Ollie said: “Rachel Pantechnicon writes motivational poems for cats and people and produces extraordinary story books. She is the funniest poet I have ever seen.”
For more information about Lewes Pint of Poetry!, check out: www.oliverspoetry.com or email: oliverspoetry@hotmail.co.uk

Thursday, June 05, 2008

STROUD: Hoo-Hah Poetry

Sarah-Jane Arbury
Anna-Mai Aberdein
Adam Horovitz

with music from Mockers Club DJ Pavinyl

at Artspace, John Street, Stroud
Thursday, June 12th
8pm, £6/£4 concs on the door

LONDON: 14 Hour: The Aorta Sessions

14 Hour: The Aorta Sessions

featuring Joshua Idehen, Jacob Sam-La Rose, Anne Brechin, Nick Potamitis and Martin White.

Joshua Idehen is a principal component of acclaimed poetry collective PiP (Poem in Between People) and creator of Poejazzi: "a spoken word and music night with a killer line-up that will see queues right down the street… PoeJazzi was a Time Out No.1 Critic's Choice in January 2007 and was listed among the 101 Things To Do In London 2007." Breakneck.

Jacob Sam-La Rose is a poet, writer, playwright and educator of Guyanese heritage. A former Poet-in-Residence at BBC London, he is a touring writer with the British Council. His programme of international appearances has taken him as far afield as Kiasma, the Museum of Contemporary Art (Finland), Chicago State University, Mylos Theatre (Greece) and the Center of Contemporary Art in Glasgow, amongst others.

Anne Brechin has performed her work widely "flitting twixt fantasy and urban alienation whilst twiddling fetchingly with her hair".

Nick Potamitis has taught Film Studies at various institutions and writes on the history of Greek cinema. He is a printmaker and one of the co-editors of Perdika Press. His work was recently included in the Openned Anthology.

Martin White will be performing his clever mix of accordion riffing and comedic stylings at Glastonbury and Latitude this year. His recording of John Cage's 4'33" was big in Japan.

60s soul and R&B late into the night from guest DJ Tim Wells, editor of Rising.

Back for the summer is guest compere Tom Cubbin, the coffee drinkin', blue jeans wearin' beat poet.


Saturday 14th June
Upstairs at The Horse and Groom
26 Curtain Road, EC2A

Tubes Liverpool Street/Old Street

7pm-LATE
FREE ENTRY

Join the 14 Hour Facebook group to keep up to date with events: http://groups.to/14hour

LONDON: Blue Chrome Poets

Friday 20th June 2008 at 7.00
Ruth O'Callaghan presents:

Blue Chrome Poets

Kevin Bailey
Leah Fritz
Jon Stone

Poets from the Floor Very Welcome (please bring two copies of the poem if you wish to be considered for the bluechrome anthology. There are at least 10 major poets who will also be contributing to the anthology inc. UA Fanthorpe, Fiona Sampson, Marilyn Hacker , Penelope Shuttle, to name but a few. )

Trinity United Reform Church
1 Buck St, Camden Town
(2 minutes Camden Town tube.)

Entry £4/£3

Wine

Proceeds to COLD WEATHER SHELTER

LONDON: Shearsman's Reading

The next in Shearsman's 2008 Reading Series takes place on Tuesday, 17 June at 7:30 pm

featuring Lee Harwood & Nathaniel Tarn

Lee Harwood's Selected Poems is published on 15 June, together with a volume of interviews with Lee by Kelvin Corcoran, titled Not the Full Story.

http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2008/harwood08.html

http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2008/harwoodInt.html

Biographical details may be found here:

http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/harwoodA.html

Also published on 15 June is a new book-length poem Avia by Nathaniel Tarn, his first UK publication in many years.

Details of this new book are here:

http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2008/tarn.html


Biographical details are here:

http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/tarnA.html


The venue is

Swedenborg Hall
Swedenborg House
20/21 Bloomsbury Way
London WC1A 2TH

Admission free.

The entrance is around the corner on Barter Street. Closest Tube Stations: Holborn (Central & Piccadilly Lines : 4 minutes' walk), Tottenham Court Road (Central & Northern Lines: 6 minutes), Covent Garden (Piccadilly Line: 10 minutes). Several buses stop a few yards from the Hall. There is an underground carpark close by, underneath Bloomsbury Square.

Disabled access is available, but please let us know in advance if it is required.


Further details here of the venue:

http://www.shearsman.com/pages/editorial/readings.html

LONDON: Apples & Snakes Open Mic at Whitechapel Gallery

Thursday, 19th June, 2008, 7pm, FREE
Whitechapel Gallery,
80-82 Whitechapel High Street,
London
E1 7QX

If you haven't experienced an Apples & Snakes open mic yet, you haven't spent the evening in the Whitechapel Gallery's lovely café-bar, the air thick with poems and the whole joint jumping with poets of every conceivable kind. An Apples open mic is, indeed, the place where the unlikeliest of poetic bedfellows can share a stage. If you fancy it, please don't hold back. It could be the start of a beautiful relationship with the UK spoken-word scene. Tonight's verbal bonanza features guest slots from Emma Purshouse and Marcia Calame. Spoz will be the compere.
Arrive early to sign up for open mic slot

DUBLIN: Poetry Ireland Introductions

Thursday, 19th June, 2008, 6.30pm
The Unitarian Church,
112 St Stephen’s Green West,
Dublin 2,
Ireland

The Poetry Ireland Introductions series, held each year in Dublin, showcases emerging writers with a track record of publication in reputable journals and magazines, who are working towards a first collection. Tonight's poets are Padraig O’Morain, Mags Treanor, Mary Mullen and Philip Quirke.

OAKHAM: Andre Mangeot reading

Thursday, 19th June 2008, 7.30pm, £5
Oakham Castle,
Rutland

Andre Mangeot has published two collections to date: Natural Causes (2003) and Mixer (2005) Рboth widely praised. A wonderful reader and performer, he is also member of the poetry collective The Joy of Six, which has played at festivals across England and Wales, and in New York. His first book of short stories, A Little Javanese, is due out in mid-2008. He is currently writing a novel set in Romania. Andr̩ also has a local connection: his nephew Josh was at Oakham School from 1996-2002, so he knows the town well.

La Langoustine est Morte

Saturday 7 June 2008
Poetry Café
22 Betterton Street
London
WC2H 9BX
7.30pm
www.myspace.com/langoustine

The 'La Langoustine est morte' series continues to showcase the cutting edges of experimental poetics, fiction and text-based performance. This month we are again joined by 4 innovative writers and performers. Michael Mellor, Keston Sutherland, Alyson Torns and James Harvey. As always the emphasis is on reversing polarities with experimentation in verse, prose and performance. Space is limited so arrive early for a seat.

Hosted by Anthony Joseph & Ronnie McGrath.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

MANCHESTER: Comic Poetry

MARVIN CHEESEMAN & JULIAN DANIEL at STRETFORD LIBRARY, FRI,13th JUNE

When : 13th June 2008 - 7:30pm
Where : Stretford Library (near Stretford Arndale/Mall)
Price : FREE

Two of the finest exponents of comic poetry join forces to bring you a marvellous evening of mirth and merriment.

Marvin Cheeseman made his debut as a performance poet at Manchester's frog and Bucket comedy club in 1998 - we look forward to welcoming the Doyen of Deadpan to wordfest!

Julian Daniel is a stand-up comic with a burgeoning reputation on the Northern circuit, and his recent tongue-in-cheek book How to Dump your Girlfriend co-written with Henry Pumpkin has been published to much acclaim

A free wordfest event but booking essential (0161) 912 5150

Free refreshments provided

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

LONDON: The Poetry Of Yellow Mountain

The Poetry of Yellow Mountain
Purcell Room, South Bank Centre

Saturday 7 June 2008, 7.45pm


Hear from a global array of poets whose work has been inspired by the Yellow Mountain festival in China. Yan Liang and WN Herbert introduce Wang Xiaoni, Luo Ying from China, whose readings will be interspersed with those from Arthur Sze (USA), Fiona Sampson (UK), Odia Ofeimun (Nigeria). Don't miss this inspirational evening of poetry in translation.

Book in advance on the South Bank Centre website  for £10 plus booking fee. Concessions half price.

LONDON: July Slam: Poets Wanted!

SPICE FESTIVAL SLAM! @ the Hackney Empire

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=33285936288

In July, THIRTY plucky poets are WANTED to compete for: the chance to
grace the Hackney Empire's main stage supporting top US slam poet
Daniel Beaty, a slot in the final of the Hackney Empire's legendary
'291' talent show on Friday 25th July, and £100 cash!

Each heat begins at 7.30pm in the Hackney Empire's Marie Lloyd Bar and
is hosted by the host of Utter!, Mr Richard Tyrone Jones: 'Wonderful
compere and poet' – Daljit Nagra. 10 intrepid contestants will compete
in each heat!

Heat One - Tuesday 1st July - FREE
Special Guest Poets: Niall Spooner-Harvey, 2004/5 UK slam champion,
and awesome roots-reggae revivalist Crisis.

Heat Two - Tuesday 8th July – FREE
Special Guest Poets: Polar Bear, shortly due to unleash his one-man
show 'If I cover my nose you can't see me' at the Purcell Rooms, and
Kat Francois, 2005 World Slam Champion and BBC3 Poetry Slam winner
who's conquered the world with her one-woman show.

Heat Three - Tuesday 15th July - FREE
Special Guest Poets: Baden Prince Jr, host of the Marie Lloyd's
'Speakeasy', the 'Isaac Hayes of Poetry' and a very special Mystery
Guest…

Tuesday 22nd July – THE FINAL…
The three finalists picked from the Marie Lloyd bar heats will compete
against each other on the main stage, forming the barnstorming first
half of a show that culminates in Nuyorican Grand Slam Champion Daniel
Beaty's unmissably powerful Fringe First and Obie award-winning show
'Emergence-See'.

"a dazzling 90 minutes full of memorable moments…intense…hilarious" -
New York Times.

So to book your slot, or get more information, press or photos please
email richardtyronejones@gmail.com, phone 07912 539 098 or post on the
Facebook event now!

Nearest Overground: Hackney Central.

Sunday, June 01, 2008

NEWSFLASH: Poets on Fire Forum

Due to problems related to the Invision and Zetaboards server, and beyond the control of the board admin, the Poets on Fire forum went offline this weekend without any warning.

I can now confirm that, following a fire and explosion at the server headquarters, our Invisionfree board is now back up and running for the majority of people.

Many apologies for the downtime, folks!