Friday, January 29, 2010

LONDON: Kate Tempest Poetry Storm

Friday, 12th February, 2010, 8pm, £8/£5
The Albany,
Douglas Way,
London,
SE8 4AG
Booking: 020 8692 4446 / www.thealbany.org.uk

Kate Tempest Poetry Storm

Funny how people still talk about the tempest that devastated England in 1987. Here in the performance poetry world, we have one in permanent residence – and it’s getting stronger by the day. We speak of Kate Tempest – a young woman who’s driven by words and is on stage because she has to be. Tonight she’ll be doing some of her own 100mph thing for us, and introducing a few artists who are clocking up their own stormforce on the London circuit. With sets from Tshaka Campbell, bleue granada and The Brother’s Grim, and featuring Tempest’s own tips for the top, Dean McCaffrey and Len Hovis.

Batten down the hatches for an event that’s more than just a storm in a teacup.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

GALWAY: Over The Edge Poetry Book Showcase

Friday, February 12th, 2010, 8pm, FREE
Sheridan's Wine Bar,
14-16 Church Yard Street,
Galway

The 2010 Over The Edge Poetry Book Showcase featuring Órfhlaith Foyle, Celeste Augé, Gary King, Gerard Hanberry, Ed Madden, Dave Rock, Edward Lee, John Corless, Patricia Byrne, Colette NicAodha, Geraldine Mills, Mary Hanlon, Eamonn Bonner, James Martyn, Alan Garvey, Deirdre Kearney, Terry McDonagh and Jessie Lendennie with a special guest reading by Japanese poet Hisa Kagawa. In this annual retrospective of the year just past, every Galway-based poet who published a new collection of poems during 2009 will read three poems from the collection in question.

All welcome. For further details phone 087-6431748

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

LONDON: Shearsman Reading Series

Tuesday, 2nd February, 2010, 7.30pm, FREE
Swedenborg Hall
Swedenborg House
20/21 Bloomsbury Way
London
WC1A 2TH

Featuring Sarah Law and Steve Spence.

Details of the recent collections that will be officially launched on the evening:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2009/law2009.html
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2010/spence.html

Biographical details may be found here:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/lawA.html
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/spenceA.html

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.

Subsequent readings -- at the same venue -- will take place as follows:-
10 March -- launch of the anthology Infinite Difference: Other Poetries from UK Women Poets, edited by Carrie Etter, with short readings from fifteen of the poets featured in the book; this event will be hosted by the editor;
20 April -- Jaime Robles and Lars Amund Vaage;
4 May -- Camille Martin & Alasdair Paterson;
1 June -- readers tbc

Please mark your diaries!

An additional reading is scheduled for 2 March, 7:30pm, at Westminster Kingsway College, Victoria, at which the Mexican poet Elsa Cross will read from her recent Shearsman Selected Poems with at least two of her translators; further venue and access details in due course.

MANCHESTER: The Other Room

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010, 7pm
The Old Abbey Inn,
Manchester

The Other Room, with Rob Holloway, Holly Pester and Steve Waling.

Rob Holloway writes in Vauxhall and teaches in Dagenham. His first book PERMIT was published by the US -based poetry collective Subpress in 2009, and a new chapbook MORTMAIN is forthcoming from Stem. From Nov 2002 to March 2004 he hosted the poetry radio show Up for Air on Resonance FM (http://resonancefm.com/). In 2004 he launched the poetry CD label Stem (www.stemrecordings.com).

Holly Pester (1982) is an experimental sound poet and writer undergoing practice-led research at Birkbeck College in Speech and the Archive in Intermedia Poetry. Her performances texts are experiments in the sound and shape of speech, blending pre-verbal noises with semantic surrealism in an affecting investigation into language transmission. Holly’s work is published on Onedit and in City Scapes, a new anthology of London poets (Penned in the Margins) and Zimzalla object 002. Holly Pester performed at the Serpentine Poetry Marathon in October and will take part in the Bury Text Festival 2010.

Steven Waling was born in Accrington, Lancashire in 1958, and has lived in Manchester since 1980. He won the Smith/Doorstop Pamphlet Competition with his first publication, Riding Shotgun, in 1988, and also that year was a prizewinner in the Lancaster Festival Poetry Competition. He has since published four books, including Calling Myself On The Phone (Smith/Doorstop).

Website - www.otherroom.org
Venue - http://otherroom.org/venue/

LONDON: Rrrants Poetry Evening

28th January, 2010, 9.30pm
265 Camden High Street
Regent's Park
London
NW1 7BU

RRRANTS presents an evening of poetry, parody and rant supporting Bard Aid, a benefit night promoting more new poetry in schools!

Featuring legendary punk poet TV Smith with able support from The Antipoet, Rachel Pantechnicon, Rob Auton and Poeterry!

All profits will be transformed into poetry books for London schools.
http://www.bardaid.rrrants.com/

AYR: The Ayrshire Slam

Thursday, January 28th, 2010, 8pm, £3
Libertine,
7 River Street,
Ayr,
KA8 OAX

Slam is the punk of the poetry world. It's free-speech pushed to a competitive max. Rhymers, ravers, rappers and rhapsodists take to the mic for three-minute bursts to impress the panel of judges. Slam poets can be comic, they can be heartfelt, they can be near the knuckle - but they are the voice of the public of Scotland expressing themselves as they see fit. The winner of the Ayrshire Slam will receive prize money of £50 and the chance to take part in the Scottish Slam Championships at the Mitchell Theatre on the first day of the Aye Write Festival on March 5th.

The slam is open to everyone. Each poet will perform twice, for three minutes each time. Don't run over, you will be timed. The judges will mark the participants for poem, for performance and for audience reaction. The three poets who score highest will go into the final on the night, where they will have another three minutes to try to win the title. So you need three pieces of up to three minutes long. All styles of spoken word are allowed but no musical instruments please, and no backing tracks. Robin Cairns is your compere.

Please register to take part by giving your name to robin.cairns@btconnect.com

Monday, January 25, 2010

SHEFFIELD: Slam Jam

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010, 7.30pm-10.30pm
Bloc Studios
4 Sylvester Street
Sheffield
S1 4RN

SLAM JAM is back and at a brand new location - Bloc Studios!

It's the same format as before, different location and cheaper drinks!!! Hosted once more by friend of CAKE, half-pint-sized ghetto superstar (critically acclaimed by the New York Times) Sarah Smizz.

All types of poetry and spoken word welcomed!
If you want to be on the line up get in touch at cake.artgallery@gmail.com but feel free to turn up on the night.

BIRMINGHAM: Poetry Bites, with Michael McKimm

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010, 7.30pm (food available from 6.30pm), £5/£4
Kitchen Garden Café,
17 York Road,
Kings Heath,
Birmingham
B14 7SA
To reserve a place email jacquirowe@hotmail.co.uk or pay at the door.

Jacqui Rowe presents Poetry Bites, with Michael McKimm

Michael McKimm was born in Belfast in 1983 and grew up near the Giant’s Causeway. He graduated from the Warwick Writing Programme in 2004 and won an Eric Gregory Award in 2007. His poetry is most recently published in Dossier Journal (New York), Horizon Review, Magma, Oxford Poetry, PN Review, The Warwick Review, The Wolf and The Best of Irish Poetry 2010 (edited by Matthew Sweeney). He has read his work throughout the UK and Ireland, including at the Ledbury Poetry Festival, the Stanza Festival and the Solstice Festival in Co. Kerry. In November 2009 he was commissioned to write poems for the David Hockney/Frances Stark exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary art gallery. Still This Need, his first full-length collection, was published by Heaventree in 2009. www.michaelmckimm.co.uk

Poetry Bites includes floor spots where you can share your own poetry with an appreciative audience. Please arrive early to book a spot.

“One of the top 10 venues for poetry in the UK” – Radio 4 poet, Susan Richardson

www.jacquirowe.com

Sunday, January 24, 2010

LEICESTER: Nine Arches Press Shindig!

Monday, January 25th, 2010, 7.30pm, FREE
The Looking Glass
(corner of Braunstone Gate and Narborough Road - plenty of free parking available in MFI, off Braunstone Gate)

Nine Arches Press presents SHINDIG!
Live poetry and free open mic, featuring

Tony Williams
Sheffield poet, his debut collection The Corner of Arundel Lane and Charles Street (Salt) has been highly acclaimed nationally.
“…from all our cultural loam and junk, Williams has made real magic.” – The Guardian

Mark Goodwin
Leicester-based, and a member of Inky Fish poets, his work deals with landscape, nature, and their connections to the human world.

Matt Nunn
Birmingham poet, editor and co-founder of Nine Arches, his latest collection Sounds In The Grass is out now.

PLUS

Open Mic – share your poetry at the first of a series of Leicester Shindigs!

Readings start 7.30pm,
Sign up for open mic slots on the door.

www.ninearchespress.com
polyolbion.blogspot.com

DUBLIN: The Glor Sessions

Monday, 25th January, 2010, 9pm, FREE
Glor
International Bar
23 Wicklow Street
Dublin

The Glor Sessions is the weekly night of music and poetry is growing and growing over the last few months. The poet Stephen James Smith is the man behind this night and the line-up is always tasty, a mix of music and the spoken word! This Monday includes the poet, Kate Dempsey, part of the fabulous Poetry Divas Collective.
http://stephenjamessmith.com/Glor.html theglorsessions@gmail.com

GLASGOW: Last Monday at Rio

Monday, January 25th, 2010, 8pm, FREE
The Rio Cafe,
27 Hyndland Street,
Glasgow
G11

Top performers to launch the decade at Last Monday this month are Jo Bell and Tawona Sithole.

Jo Bell is a poet of both rare soul and humour. She's making a welcome foray to our dark and frozen wee land. Co-ordinator of National Poetry Day and Poet Laureate of Cheshire Jo appears to be just as happy reflecting on the still of her river-boat home as she is in the bear-pit of slam competition. She's a must-see so you must come and see her!

Tawona Sithole is our very own Zimbab-Weegie. His work gives us in Glasgow a glimpse of the African culture of music and song under threat from modern ways of living. Hearing Tawona is strong magic.

There's room for 10 open mickeys so get yer dibs in early. Robin Cairns is your compere. Contact on robin.cairns@btconnect.com

LONDON: Ride The Word XX

Monday, January 25th, 2010, 7pm-9.15pm, FREE
Lounge-Bar
The New Players' Theatre
The Arches,
Villiers Street,
Charing Cross
(Tel: 020 7930 598)

Cast: Emily Benet, Graham Buchan, Jay Merill and Vincent De Souza

also guests

Brittle Star Magazine, with David Floyd and readers

plus limited open mic slots

and introducing Rage Wardens - experimental drama and mixed media from Vincent De Souza and Will Brooker

Hosted by Jay Merill & Vincent De Souza
Cash Bar

Saturday, January 23, 2010

LEAMINGTON SPA: PUREandGOODandRIGHT

Sunday, 24th January, 2010, 7.30pm, £3/£2
The Fox,
Leamington Spa

PUREandGOODandRIGHT is an Open Mic poetry event taking place at our old haunt THE FOX, Leamington Spa.

Each month we also invite a fabulous guest performance poet and to start the new year with a real treat we are delighted to welcome the very talented and absolutely fantastic Ash Dickinson, a multiple slam champion with quick-fire rhymes and offbeat lines ruminating on the rubbishness of men's fashion, disappearing models and having his fridge fall in love with him.
"Impressive wordplay" - The Times
"Brilliantly surreal invention...fabulous poems" - Edinburgh Evening News
"Dickinson proves not only to be an incredibly gifted poet, but also a great comedian with a sharp eye for social commentary" - Winnipeg Free Press
For more information please see www.ashdickinson.com

DEFINITELY AN EVENING NOT TO BE MISSED!

With open mic support from…….yes……YOU! Come and share your poems – seasoned poets and first time performers most welcome! As we aim for a 7.30pm start please arrive a bit earlier to book a slot!!!

If you're planning to come along, or would like to know more about the night, please email pgrpoetryandpints@talktalk.net

LONDON: Ruth O'Callaghan

Sunday, 24th January, 2010, 7.30pm, admission according to pocket
Torriano Meeting House
99 Torriano Avenue
NW5

Ruth O'Callaghan is reading poems from her recent trip to Mongolia.
Poets from the floor very welcome - please come and bring poem and support.

Friday, January 22, 2010

BATH: Garden of Awen - The Thorny Rose

Sunday, February 7th, 2010, 7.30pm, 8pm (7.30pm doors), £9 door/£7 advance/£7 concs.
Chapel Arts Centre,
St James Memorial Chapel,
Lower Borough Walls,
Bath
BA1 1QR

Exploring the theme of Love, a line-up to swoon over - the finest songcraft, poetry, storytelling, acoustic music and other amorous delights. Featuring inspiring song-maker/musician, Matt Sage from Oxford ('a great act' Gilles Peterson, BBC Radio 1); international slam-winning performance poet Rosemary Dun; Exeter-based theatrical storytellers Widsith and Deor; Northumbrian smith of words, Wayland the Skald; local poet and publisher Kevan Manwaring (launching his new collection, The Immanent Moment); sublime music from Saravian, the girl with a voice from the other side; and introducing Jack Dean, the new Bard of Bath!

Includes licensed bar and book/CD stall.

Tickets available from Bath Festivals Box Office
Telephone: (01225) 463362 Email: boxoffice@bathfestivals.org.uk
http://www.chapelarts.org/
http://www.awenpublications.co.uk/garden_of_awen.html

LONDON: Camden Poetry Series

Friday, February 5th, 2010, 7pm (doors open 6.30pm), £4/£3, Wine
Trinity United Reform Church,
1 Buck Street,
Camden Town
London
(2 minutes Camden Town tube)

Ruth O'Callaghan presents Acumen Magazine, with Alan Brownjohn, Roy Davids and June English. Poets from the floor very welcome (some longer spots available). Please bring a copy of the poem if you wish to be considered for the new anthology. Proceeds to the Cold Weather Shelter for the Homeless

Thursday, January 21, 2010

LONDON: Open Mic at Free Word

Thursday, February 4th, 2010, 6pm, FREE
Free Word Centre,
60 Farringdon Road,
London,
EC1A 1BB
Booking: 020 8465 6154

Newcomers meet the seasoned performers on equal terms. It’s simple: a roomful of poets, performers and people who just want to hear poetry. Arrive early and claim your all-important slot in the spotlight. Featuring guest artist Vincent Gould and compere Alex Iamb.

LONDON: First Thursdays with Peter Riley

Thursday, February 4th, 2010, 7pm, FREE
Parasol Unit
14 Wharf Road
London
N1 7RW
0207 490 7373
www.parasol-unit.org

First Thursdays event: Poetry Reading by Peter Riley

Peter Riley is a contemporary English poet, essayist, editor and major contributor to The English Intelligencer. He is the author of several books of poetry. Riley’s writing is mostly concerned with places visited, real and imaginary, as leverage onto possible modes of attaching the fullest reality. Latterly this has become concentrated on the Peak District of England and Transylvania, both of which he visits frequently.

LONDON: wordPLAY

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010, 7pm-11pm
The Good Ship,
Kilburn High Road
London

February is definitively the cruellest month, no matter what Mr Eliot says, as it yields Becca's birthday and she is getting OLD OLD OLD! Come and cheer her up please at Feb wordPLAY - the stunning line-up at which is the only prospect keeping Ms. Fenton jolly as the sands of time trickle steadily on...

And in the true spirit of wordPLAY, all of you other unfortunate souls who have a Feb birthday get concession rate of £3.50 on the door on the night when you flash some ID...because misery loves company! ;)

So, enough wallowing...

Our Frenetic Featured Writers:
Annie Freud http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=8335 - Freud has been described as a poet who writes with "real gusto". A Guardian review talks about the "obvious delight' that she takes in language, describing her collection The Best Man That Ever Was as a "magpie-like collection of odd and beautiful words and phrases".

Simon Barraclough http://www.simonbarraclough.com/ - Simon's debut poetry collection, Los Alamos Mon Amour (Salt Publishing) was shortlisted for Best First Collection in last year's Forwards.

Our Gushing Guest Stars:
Denrele myspace.com/denrelepoet writes about love, lust, life and other sexually transmitted diseases. Her work has been published in many journals and anthologies including IC3: The Penguin Anthology of New Black Writing (Penguin, 2000), Velocity: The Best of Apples and Snakes (Black Spring Press, 2003) and A Storm Between Fingers (Flipped Eye Publishing, 2007). She lives in London and dreams of flying.

Obi Iheme http://www.obiiheme.com/ - Obi went down a storm at Amnesty fundraiser eve in 2009, so now makes his first appearance at wordPLAY with his superb short stories.

Martin Plimmer http://www.facebook.com/martin.plimmer - Martin is a journalist, writer, abridger and master short-story teller. Let him entertain you.

Sarah Day http://www.fat-quarter.co.uk/archives/936 stuns with sublime prose that sneaks up and stuns you! Back by very popular demand.

Music: Steven Quincey-Jones http://www.myspace.com/theaccolade plays an aromatic blend of chirpy country and macabre Beatlesesque rock ‘n’ roll. His most recent long EP, Hackney Empire, was release on CDR in September 2009.

Hosted by Becca http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmOKr8GY5CI
Presents welcome but optional ;)

DUBLIN: The Glor Sessions

Monday, 25th January, 2010, 9pm, FREE
Glor
International Bar
23 Wicklow Street
Dublin

The Glor Sessions is the weekly night of music and poetry is growing and growing over the last few months. The poet Stephen James Smith is the man behind this night and the line-up is always tasty, a mix of music and the spoken word! This Monday includes the poet, Kate Dempsey, part of the fabulous Poetry Divas Collective.
http://stephenjamessmith.com/Glor.html theglorsessions@gmail.com

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

LONDON: All-Star Poetry Olympics SuperJam: With Special Guest Steven Berkoff

Friday, January 22nd, 2010, 7.30pm, £12/£10
RICH MIX
35-47 Bethnal Green Road,
London,
E1 6LA

Michael Horovitz presents a galaxy of scintillating superbards: Francesca Beard, Charlie Dark, Salena Godden, Daljit Nagra, and Tim Wells with Pete Lemer’s piano, Annie Whitehead’s trombone, vocals & spoken-word settings, the William Blake Klezmatrix Band, plus special guest Steven Berkoff.

Click to book tickets online or call our Box Office on 020 7613 7498

Click here for more information about our Voices of Freedom season.

info@richmix.org.uk / www.richmix.org.uk / www.richmix.org.uk/bookings

CAMBRIDGE: Upbeat Open Mic

Thursday, January 21st, 2010, 8pm
The Hopbine,
12 Fair Street,
Cambridge
CB1 1HA

Anarchic Open Mic night - music, poetry, comedy, and creative randomness - anything goes on during this weekly night! The headliners are the awesome and incomparable The Antipoet! Turn up before 8pm to sign up or contact the organisers directly on upbeatopenmic@gmail.com. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=24307221386 on Facebook or http://www.myspace.com/upbeatopenmic for a bit of MySpace.

GALWAY: Over The Edge

Thursday, January 21st, 2010, 6.30pm-8pm
Galway City Library

The Featured Readers are Lisa Allen, Paul Conway and David Wheatley. This is a very special occasion as it is now exactly seven years since Over The Edge was born in Galway City Library in January 2003. The reading is sponsored by Poetry Ireland.

Lisa Allen is from Navan, but writes poetry anyway. Lisa studied English and Philosophy at University College, Dublin, and has also dabbled in drama. She has participated in poetry workshops with Kevin Higgins at Galway Arts Centre. Lisa was shortlisted for the Over the Edge New Writer of the Year in 2009 and is a finalist in the 2010 Cúirt Poetry Slam.

Paul Conway is a native of Dublin City. He moved to Galway in 2005, and, like a lot of people, was very fortunate to get stuck there. He works as a freelance video game artist, and in 2008 decided to try his hand at creative writing. He has attended classes with both Kevin Higgins and Susan Millar DuMars at the Galway Technical Institute. He was shortlisted in the 2009 Over The Edge New Writer of the Year Competition.

David Wheatley was born in Dublin in 1970 and now lives in Hull. He is the author of three collections with Gallery Press: Thirst (1997), Misery Hill (2000), and Mocker (2006), and has edited the poems of James Clarence Mangan for Gallery and of Samuel Beckett for Faber and Faber. He edited Metre magazine for many years with Justin Quinn.

As usual there will be an open-mic after the Featured Readers have finished. New readers are always most welcome. The MC for the evening will be Susan Millar DuMars. For further details phone 087-6431748.

Over The Edge acknowledges the ongoing generous financial support of Galway City Council & The Arts Council. http://overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com

LONDON: 14 Hour - flipped eye

Thursday, 21st January, 2010, 7.30pm, FREE
Whitechapel Gallery
77-82 Whitechapel High Street
London
14 Hour: flipped eye
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=261178231762
Nearest Tube: Aldgate East

Featuring Inua Ellams, Jacob Sam-La Rose, Niall O'Sullivan, Emma Hammond and editor Nii Parkes.

Continuing our series of events focusing on small presses, 14 Hour presents a selection of poets from flipped eye publishing. Editor Nii Parkes will be kicking off the readings with a short introduction and history of flipped eye.

INUA ELLAMS is a freelance graphic designer as well as a writer, and his influences range from bargain basement Hip-Hop to winter-sale Heaney. His acclaimed show The 14th Tale is a "...free flowing melodic narrative telling the entertaining exploits of a natural born mischief-maker growing from the clay streets of Nigeria to rooftops in Dublin, and finally to London."

JACOB SAM-LA ROSE: Jacob is a poet, writer, playwright and educator of Guyanese heritage, and is guest host for this event. A former Poet-in-Residence at BBC London, he is a touring writer with the British Council and his books Communion and Handmade Fire are published by flipped eye.

NIALL O'SULLIVAN: Niall O’Sullivan has released two collections of poetry, you’re not singing anymore and Ventriloquism for Monkeys, both with flipped eye. He has performed poetry all over the UK and Europe for over 10 years. In 2009, Niall featured on BBC Radio and Television during his residency at the 2009 Wimbledon Tennis Championships. He runs London’s biggest open mic poetry night, Poetry Unplugged, at the Poetry Café.

EMMA HAMMOND: Co-editor of Radiant Appliance, Emma's work has been published in Fire, The Wolf, and elsewhere. Her collection Tunth-sk is forthcoming with flipped eye.

NII PARKES: Editor-in-chief Nii Parkes will be speaking about flipped eye press. A poet in his own right, his works ballast: a remix and M is for Madrigal are with tall-lighthouse.

14 Hour Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6466752091

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

GUILDFORD: Blank Verse Spoken Word Night

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010, 7pm, FREE
The Boileroom,
13 Stokefields,
Guildford,
Surrey,
GU1 4LS

Open mic plus featured artist (and one of our favourite performance poets)

Sumi Artworking + The Boileroom presents Niall O’Sullivan
- he hosts Poetry Unplugged, has published two books of poetry with Flipped Eye, and has “developed one of this generation’s most original voices” (Amazon reviews). All this and a chance for you to perform as well! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=245724994882 or http://www.theboileroom.net/

Monday, January 18, 2010

AYR: The Ayrshire Slam

Thursday, January 28th, 2010, 8pm, £3
Libertine,
7 River Street,
Ayr,
KA8 OAX

Slam is the punk of the poetry world. It's free-speech pushed to a competitive max. Rhymers, ravers, rappers and rhapsodists take to the mic for three-minute bursts to impress the panel of judges. Slam poets can be comic, they can be heartfelt, they can be near the knuckle - but they are the voice of the public of Scotland expressing themselves as they see fit. The winner of the Ayrshire Slam will receive prize money of £50 and the chance to take part in the Scottish Slam Championships at the Mitchell Theatre on the first day of the Aye Write Festival on March 5th.

The slam is open to everyone. Each poet will perform twice, for three minutes each time. Don't run over, you will be timed. The judges will mark the participants for poem, for performance and for audience reaction. The three poets who score highest will go into the final on the night, where they will have another three minutes to try to win the title. So you need three pieces of up to three minutes long. All styles of spoken word are allowed but no musical instruments please, and no backing tracks. Robin Cairns is your compere.

Please register to take part by giving your name to robin.cairns@btconnect.com

GLASGOW: Last Monday at Rio

Monday, January 25th, 2010, 8pm, FREE
The Rio Cafe,
27 Hyndland Street,
Glasgow
G11

Top performers to launch the decade at Last Monday this month are Jo Bell and Tawona Sithole.

Jo Bell is a poet of both rare soul and humour. She's making a welcome foray to our dark and frozen wee land. Co-ordinator of National Poetry Day and Poet Laureate of Cheshire Jo appears to be just as happy reflecting on the still of her river-boat home as she is in the bear-pit of slam competition. She's a must-see so you must come and see her!

Tawona Sithole is our very own Zimbab-Weegie. His work gives us in Glasgow a glimpse of the African culture of music and song under threat from modern ways of living. Hearing Tawona is strong magic.

There's room for 10 open mickeys so get yer dibs in early. Robin Cairns is your compere. Contact on robin.cairns@btconnect.com

CAMBRIDGE: Upbeat Open Mic

Thursday, January 21st, 2010, 8pm
The Hopbine,
12 Fair Street,
Cambridge
CB1 1HA

Anarchic Open Mic night - music, poetry, comedy, and creative randomness - anything goes on during this weekly night! The headliners are the awesome and incomparable The Antipoet! Turn up before 8pm to sign up or contact the organisers directly on upbeatopenmic@gmail.com. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=24307221386 on Facebook or http://www.myspace.com/upbeatopenmic for a bit of MySpace.

GUILDFORD: Blank Verse Spoken Word Night

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010, 7pm, FREE
The Boileroom,
13 Stokefields,
Guildford,
Surrey,
GU1 4LS

Open mic plus featured artist (and one of our favourite performance poets)

Sumi Artworking + The Boileroom presents Niall O’Sullivan
- he hosts Poetry Unplugged, has published two books of poetry with Flipped Eye, and has “developed one of this generation’s most original voices” (Amazon reviews). All this and a chance for you to perform as well! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=245724994882 or http://www.theboileroom.net/

ST ALBAN'S: An Evening of Rhythmical Ravings and Rants (Rrrants!)

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010, 8pm, FREE
The Goat Pub,
37 Sopwell Lane,
St Albans
AL1 1RN

Following on from the success of their last gig here, the Rrrants boys and girls present feature poets and performers from the Rrrants site local to the Beds Herts and Bucks area. Rrrants are the people responsible for the awe-inspiring duo "The Antipoet!" Check out http://www.rrrants.com for details.

LONDON: Shearsman Reading Series

Tuesday, 19th January, 2010, 7.30 pm, FREE
Swedenborg Hall
Swedenborg House
20/21 Bloomsbury Way
London WC1A 2TH

Featuring Tom Lowenstein and John Welch

Details of the recent collections that will be officially launched on the evening:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2009/lowensteinMura.html
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2009/welch_VE.html

Biographical details may be found here:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/lowenstA.html
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/welchA.html

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


Subsequent readings - all at the same venue - will take place on 2 February 2010 (Sarah Law and another reader tbc), 10 March (launch of the anthology Infinite Difference: Other Poetries from UK Women Poets, with readings from several of the poets featured in the book edited by Carrie Etter); 20 April (Jaime Robles and Lars Amund Vaage); 4 May (Camille Martin & Alasdair Paterson); 1 June (readers tbc). An additional reading is scheduled for 2 March at a venue to be confirmed, at which the Mexican poet Elsa Cross will read with two of her translators, Ruth Fainlight & Anamaría Crowe-Serrano.

LONDON: Grey Hen Press

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010, 7pm-8.30pm
Queens Park Books,
87 Salisbury Road,
London
NW6 6NH

Gerda Mayer, Angela Kirby and Joy Howard will read from the new Grey Hen Press anthology Cracking On: Poems about ageing by older women. Eve Featherstone will also read poems from the anthology by Berta Freistadt, as a memorial to this much-loved poet who sadly died in the summer of 2009.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

BIRMINGHAM: Sunday Xpress Open Mic

Sunday, January 17, 2010, 4.30pm
The Adam and Eve,
54 Bradford Street,
Digbeth,
Birmingham
B12 0JD

Friday, January 15, 2010

LONDON: Peter Pegall

SHEFFIELD: Slam Jam

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010, 7.30pm-10.30pm
Bloc Studios
4 Sylvester Street
Sheffield
S1 4RN

SLAM JAM is back and at a brand new location - Bloc Studios!

It's the same format as before, different location and cheaper drinks!!! Hosted once more by friend of CAKE, half-pint-sized ghetto superstar (critically acclaimed by the New York Times) Sarah Smizz.

All types of poetry and spoken word welcomed!
If you want to be on the line up get in touch at cake.artgallery@gmail.com but feel free to turn up on the night.

LONDON: Jazz Verse Jukebox

Sunday, January 17th, 2010, opens 6.30pm, show from 8pm, £6 on door
Ronnie Scotts Bar (upstairs)
Tube: Tottenham Court Road
Tel: 020 7439 0747
E: jazzversejukebox@me.com
W: http://www:jumokefashola.com

An amazing first show of the year, featuring:

The amazing Zena Edwards
"One of the most refreshing, ever-developing voices in the UK . . . Internationally acclaimed- creates her own intricate, mesmerising and unforgettable performance."
www.myspace.com/zenaedwards

Wordsmith extraordinaire Polarbear
“One of the top spoken word poets in this artic zone. His style is . . . approachable, straight forward yet an insanely thought provoking, break down of real life, real people, and real caves.”
www.homeofpolar.com

The Verbalizer Adisa
"Adisa’s gift to the world is ‘The Word’, his art of Verbalizing opens new doors, makes connections and creates magic.”
www.adisaworld.com

with Anthony Strong
Showcasing infectious feel-good music from his debut album - Guaranteed.
"The real deal"
www.Anthonystrong.com

plus if you fancy having a go… a unique jukebox Open Mic giving you a chance to showcase your poetry or musical skills.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

LONDON: Rhythm & Muse

Thursday, January 28th, 2010, 8.30pm £5/£4
The Lion,
27 Wick Road,
Teddington,
TW11
Nearest rail: Hampton Wick
www.rhythmandmuse.org.uk

Gets the year off to a flying start with an open mic special - loosely based on the theme of new beginnings, or endings... as one decadecloses...

With music from the foot-tapping band Wraggle Taggle and their lively mix of Irish, Scottish, English and American tunes.

Email Alison Hill in advance if you would like to read:
alison-hill@blueyonder.co.uk

BIRMINGHAM: 'Rhymes' @ The Custard Factory

Thursday, January 28th, 2010, 8pm, £5
The Mixing Bowl Theatre,
Custard Factory

We’ve had a great first year at Rhymes showcasing homegrown poetry talent and we’re kicking off the New Year with a new poetry/new poets theme. This month’s poets are:

Charlie Jordan, former Birmingham Poet Laureate previewing extracts from her new show;
Slick and thought-provoking poetics from upcoming talent Ddotti Bluebell;
Dreadlockalien and some of his young protégé’s spit some lyrics;
and Rhymes 2009 Slam Winner Spoz airs some new work and some old favourites

MC Lorna Meehan

Plus the Rhymes Raffle and The Wordbag Challenge and a few more new poets wedged in for good measure! Come get poetical.

www.rogueplay.co.uk

LONDON: Apples & Snakes in Soho featuring Zena Edwards

Wednesday, 27th January, 2010, 8pm, £8/£6
Soho Theatre,
21 Dean Street,
London,
W1D 3NE
Booking: 020 7478 0100 / www.sohotheatre.com

Zena Edwards is well-known as a poet, storyteller and musician – sometimes all three at once, the one flowing fluidly into the other. She’s also a one-woman theatre troupe, as anyone who’s seen her touring show Security (‘Superb’ - The Guardian) will testify. She can probably juggle and eat fire as well, but probably not tonight.

Another poet primed to make that leap into the Premier League is Inua Ellams, who’s been riveting audiences for years with his tightly-written, messianically-declaimed material, and whose show The Fourteenth Tale has recently been snapped up by the National Theatre.

Also on the bill, we have Tom Chivers, the unassuming mastermind behind the London Word Festival, and a hard-working, innovative poet in his own right. And finally, one of the new spoken-word artists that everyone’s currently talking about – hot from the Radio 4 Poetry Slam semi-finals, the splendidly sparky Sabrina Mahfouz.

C’mon, let’s not keep this poetry thing a secret any longer.

BIRMINGHAM: Poetry Bites, with Michael McKimm

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010, 7.30pm (food available from 6.30pm), £5/£4
Kitchen Garden Café,
17 York Road,
Kings Heath,
Birmingham
B14 7SA
To reserve a place email jacquirowe@hotmail.co.uk or pay at the door.

Jacqui Rowe presents Poetry Bites, with Michael McKimm

Michael McKimm was born in Belfast in 1983 and grew up near the Giant’s Causeway. He graduated from the Warwick Writing Programme in 2004 and won an Eric Gregory Award in 2007. His poetry is most recently published in Dossier Journal (New York), Horizon Review, Magma, Oxford Poetry, PN Review, The Warwick Review, The Wolf and The Best of Irish Poetry 2010 (edited by Matthew Sweeney). He has read his work throughout the UK and Ireland, including at the Ledbury Poetry Festival, the Stanza Festival and the Solstice Festival in Co. Kerry. In November 2009 he was commissioned to write poems for the David Hockney/Frances Stark exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary art gallery. Still This Need, his first full-length collection, was published by Heaventree in 2009. www.michaelmckimm.co.uk

Poetry Bites includes floor spots where you can share your own poetry with an appreciative audience. Please arrive early to book a spot.

“One of the top 10 venues for poetry in the UK” – Radio 4 poet, Susan Richardson

www.jacquirowe.com

LONDON: Ride The Word XX

Monday, January 25th, 2010, 7pm-9.15pm, FREE
Lounge-Bar
The New Players' Theatre
The Arches,
Villiers Street,
Charing Cross
(Tel: 020 7930 598)

Cast: Emily Benet, Graham Buchan, Jay Merill and Vincent De Souza

also guests

Brittle Star Magazine, with David Floyd and readers

plus limited open mic slots

and introducing Rage Wardens - experimental drama and mixed media from Vincent De Souza and Will Brooker

Hosted by Jay Merill & Vincent De Souza
Cash Bar

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

LEICESTER: Nine Arches Press Shindig!

Monday, January 25th, 2010, 7.30pm, FREE
The Looking Glass
(corner of Braunstone Gate and Narborough Road - plenty of free parking available in MFI, off Braunstone Gate)

Nine Arches Press presents SHINDIG!
Live poetry and free open mic, featuring

Tony Williams
Sheffield poet, his debut collection The Corner of Arundel Lane and Charles Street (Salt) has been highly acclaimed nationally.
“…from all our cultural loam and junk, Williams has made real magic.” – The Guardian

Mark Goodwin
Leicester-based, and a member of Inky Fish poets, his work deals with landscape, nature, and their connections to the human world.

Matt Nunn
Birmingham poet, editor and co-founder of Nine Arches, his latest collection Sounds In The Grass is out now.

PLUS

Open Mic – share your poetry at the first of a series of Leicester Shindigs!

Readings start 7.30pm,
Sign up for open mic slots on the door.

www.ninearchespress.com
polyolbion.blogspot.com

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

LONDON: Shearsman Reading Series

Tuesday, 19th January, 2010, 7.30 pm, FREE
Swedenborg Hall
Swedenborg House
20/21 Bloomsbury Way
London WC1A 2TH

Featuring Tom Lowenstein and John Welch

Details of the recent collections that will be officially launched on the evening:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2009/lowensteinMura.html
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2009/welch_VE.html

Biographical details may be found here:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/lowenstA.html
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/welchA.html

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


Subsequent readings - all at the same venue - will take place on 2 February 2010 (Sarah Law and another reader tbc), 10 March (launch of the anthology Infinite Difference: Other Poetries from UK Women Poets, with readings from several of the poets featured in the book edited by Carrie Etter); 20 April (Jaime Robles and Lars Amund Vaage); 4 May (Camille Martin & Alasdair Paterson); 1 June (readers tbc). An additional reading is scheduled for 2 March at a venue to be confirmed, at which the Mexican poet Elsa Cross will read with two of her translators, Ruth Fainlight & Anamaría Crowe-Serrano.

LEAMINGTON SPA: PUREandGOODandRIGHT

Sunday, 24th January, 2010, 7.30pm, £3/£2
The Fox,
Leamington Spa

PUREandGOODandRIGHT is an Open Mic poetry event taking place at our old haunt THE FOX, Leamington Spa.

Each month we also invite a fabulous guest performance poet and to start the new year with a real treat we are delighted to welcome the very talented and absolutely fantastic Ash Dickinson, a multiple slam champion with quick-fire rhymes and offbeat lines ruminating on the rubbishness of men's fashion, disappearing models and having his fridge fall in love with him.
"Impressive wordplay" - The Times
"Brilliantly surreal invention...fabulous poems" - Edinburgh Evening News
"Dickinson proves not only to be an incredibly gifted poet, but also a great comedian with a sharp eye for social commentary" - Winnipeg Free Press
For more information please see www.ashdickinson.com

DEFINITELY AN EVENING NOT TO BE MISSED!

With open mic support from…….yes……YOU! Come and share your poems – seasoned poets and first time performers most welcome! As we aim for a 7.30pm start please arrive a bit earlier to book a slot!!!

If you're planning to come along, or would like to know more about the night, please email pgrpoetryandpints@talktalk.net

LONDON: SpeechMotion

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010, 7.30pm, £4/3 (free if you sign up for the open mic/screen)
The Horse and Groom
Curtain Road
Old Street
London

Night of performance and short films
Resident poet SuperPennie (www.myspace.com/superpennie)
Get there early to sign up for open mic/screen - there are always a few spots available. Poets and films still to be announced

Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=97470782383&ref=ts

Pennie Varvarides
Poetry:
www.myspace.com/superpennie
www.youtube.com/peebzzz
0789 052 6346

LONDON: Ruth O'Callaghan

Sunday, 24th January, 2010, 7.30pm, admission according to pocket
Torriano Meeting House
99 Torriano Avenue
NW5

Ruth O'Callaghan is reading poems from her recent trip to Mongolia.
Poets from the floor very welcome - please come and bring poem and support.

LONDON: B.E.A.T. - a different kind of poetry night

Tuesday, 12th January, 2010, 7pm-11pm, FREE
Peter Parker's Rock n Roll Club
4 Denmark Street,
WC2H 8LP
London

Another one bites the dust! BEAT goes Comedy!

So winter is upon us and all UK is white. I'd thought I'd had to come up with sumthin special, ya know, lickle bit a extra, to lure you out of your hiding dens - spice it up with sum a the funniest spoken word performer's around AND skip the fee - yeah, that's right, BEAT is FREE again.

Wicked line up that is:

Sophie Cameron - one of the funnies, raunchiest, female word - spitter's in the UK. Northern Light, not Northern Lite! A performance poet in a style which breaks the boundary between poetry and stand up comedy with a degree in English Lit at Royal Holloway University of London, having grown up in Yorkshire and then living in Devon, she now lives on the outskirts of London. Believe me, we can be happy she's made the journey down to BEAT tonight!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_qt5MS2HLM

Alex Gwyther - A 21st Century Jack the Lad baby faced bohemian with brittle hands from hard graft for a minimum wage packet. Residing South of the River in a small allotment sewing seeds and growing plants of the metaphorical kind. Monday - Friday, he can be found amongst the blur and bustle of London's market stalls selling his fruit and vegetables. Once used his fingertips to twist and build spliffs but replaced this fad with flicking his wrists and scribbling what he thinks. "A much more useful past-time for my hands" he says. In his spare time, he can be found in his shed dancing with the alphabet on the blank paper stage, enjoying the company of fellow gardeners and freestyling spoken word under flickering streetlamps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ur2rOw7S2o

Nikesh Shukla - funny, witty, sharp as a button! Nikesh Shukla/Yam Boy is an author, film-maker and poet caught between the cityscapes of Bombay and the low-swinging chariots of London. His writing has been featured on BBC2, Radio 1 and 4, Resonance fm and BBC Asian Network. He has been published in Tell Tales, Litro, Bad Idea and Transmission Magazine. He has performed at Royal Festival Hall, Apples and Snakes, Soho Theatre, The Big Chill, Rise Festival, The London Mela and Glastonbury. He has travelled to America Europe India and Africa to perform and read his words. In 2008, he was commissioned to make a short film, The Great Identity Swindle, as part of motiroti’s 60 x 60 film experiment. This sixty second short film, based on a poem, won best short film at 2009 Satyajit Ray Foundation award and at the 2008 international Asian First Films Festival.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bluAW3XB1VE

Robert Auton - hilarious and unique take on spoken word - Utter Slam Winner 2009
"I was born in York Now I live in Walthamstow I want to put things in people's heads that are not already there. I like cooking and have a lot of respect for Jamie Oliver's timings. I like painting and have a lot of respect for Francis Bacons empty paint tubes"
http://www.myspace.com/robertauton

Jacqueline Saphra - poet, playwright and screenwriter, has had many plays commissioned and performed in repertory theatres and on national tours. Her poetry been extensively published in magazines and anthologies. She is on the editorial board for Magma Poetry and organizes The Shuffle, a regular live poetry event at The Poetry Café in London. She is one half of the performance poetry duo ‘The Disparate Housewives’, was poet in residence at Good Housekeeping Online and her pamphlet Rock’n’Roll Mamma is published by Flarestack. She won first prize in the London Art Poetry competition judged by Andrew Motion and first prize in the Ledbury Poetry Competition 2007.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ses5VyMiak

Your host: Andreas Grant, celebrated bon vivant & mixologist of tipular fixings. "Dylan Thomas meets X-factor" according to the BIG ISSUE. Kicked of in February this year, since then: Standon Calling & Kimberly Festival, Unlit, Hammer & Tongue, Writer's Block, Book Club Boutique, Rum Punch, Whitechapel Art Gallery, the Social, etc, 209 Radio Cambridge, Xstreameast & Resonance FM London. Beat the Dust lit mag AND just released single: "GUN", collaboration with music producer Cloudfist Conceptz. Has run his own performance nights: Glitterbeast, Not Night, THISISNOTABAR, No Strings Attached and now - BEAT.

"Splendid and clever, with lots of dynamic and surprising phrases" Nikk Quentin Wolf, The Art Show, Xstream East Radio

"Andreas Grant...High class/crass/camp king of the unexpected" Poets On Fire

"Poems of vision and voyage" Art Terry, Is Black Music, Resonance FM

LONDON: Lumen Poetry Series

Tuesday, 12th January, 2010, doors open 6.30pm for 7pm, £4/£3, wine
88 Tavistock Place,
London
WC1
Tubes: Russell Square , Kings Cross, St Pancras.

Ruth O'Callaghan presents Littoral Press, with Derek Adams, Adrian Green and Jill Wallis. Poets from the floor very welcome (some longer spots available). Please bring a copy of your poem if you wish to be considered for the new anthology.

Proceeds to the Cold Weather Shelter for the Homeless

Sunday, January 10, 2010

LONDON: Hammer and Tongue

Monday, January 11, 2010, 7.30-11pm, £5/4
Green Note Café
106 Parkway
Camden
NW1 7AN
Nearest Tube: Camden Town

Hammer and Tongue London Open Poetry Slam, featuring Gerry Potter and Laura Dockrill.
London’s feistiest and finest slam night presents two stunning poets to kick off 2010.

Gerry Potter, or the poet known as the successful regeneration of gay scouse socialist transvestite icon Chloe Poems, returns to the H&T London stage sans falsies and frocks to wow and amaze with his brilliant, moving and enlivening work. Author of Planet Young, published by Flapjack Press.

Dockers MC aka Laura Dockrill is not only one of the best dressed poets we know, but a wickedly brilliant storyteller and a shrewd observer of all of life's oddities. She's headlined the poetry stage at Latitude and has won critical acclaim for her books Mistakes in the Background and Ugly Shy Girl, both published by Harper Collins.

They are both absolutely ace, don't miss them!

There are eight slots up for grabs in the open slam, sign up from 7pm on the door to take a place for your chance to win a place in the H&T London final, hosted by Michelle Madsen, Angry Sam and Sophia Blackwell.

Saturday, January 09, 2010

GALWAY: Over The Edge

Thursday, January 21st, 2010, 6.30pm-8pm
Galway City Library

The Featured Readers are Lisa Allen, Paul Conway and David Wheatley. This is a very special occasion as it is now exactly seven years since Over The Edge was born in Galway City Library in January 2003. The reading is sponsored by Poetry Ireland.

Lisa Allen is from Navan, but writes poetry anyway. Lisa studied English and Philosophy at University College, Dublin, and has also dabbled in drama. She has participated in poetry workshops with Kevin Higgins at Galway Arts Centre. Lisa was shortlisted for the Over the Edge New Writer of the Year in 2009 and is a finalist in the 2010 Cúirt Poetry Slam.

Paul Conway is a native of Dublin City. He moved to Galway in 2005, and, like a lot of people, was very fortunate to get stuck there. He works as a freelance video game artist, and in 2008 decided to try his hand at creative writing. He has attended classes with both Kevin Higgins and Susan Millar DuMars at the Galway Technical Institute. He was shortlisted in the 2009 Over The Edge New Writer of the Year Competition.

David Wheatley was born in Dublin in 1970 and now lives in Hull. He is the author of three collections with Gallery Press: Thirst (1997), Misery Hill (2000), and Mocker (2006), and has edited the poems of James Clarence Mangan for Gallery and of Samuel Beckett for Faber and Faber. He edited Metre magazine for many years with Justin Quinn.

As usual there will be an open-mic after the Featured Readers have finished. New readers are always most welcome. The MC for the evening will be Susan Millar DuMars. For further details phone 087-6431748.

Over The Edge acknowledges the ongoing generous financial support of Galway City Council & The Arts Council. http://overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com

Friday, January 08, 2010

LONDON: 14 Hour - flipped eye

21st January, 2010, 7.30pm, FREE
Whitechapel Gallery
77-82 Whitechapel High Street
London
14 Hour: flipped eye
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=261178231762
Nearest Tube: Aldgate East

Featuring Inua Ellams, Jacob Sam-La Rose, Niall O'Sullivan, Emma Hammond and editor Nii Parkes.

Continuing our series of events focusing on small presses, 14 Hour presents a selection of poets from flipped eye publishing. Editor Nii Parkes will be kicking off the readings with a short introduction and history of flipped eye.

INUA ELLAMS is a freelance graphic designer as well as a writer, and his influences range from bargain basement Hip-Hop to winter-sale Heaney. His acclaimed show The 14th Tale is a "...free flowing melodic narrative telling the entertaining exploits of a natural born mischief-maker growing from the clay streets of Nigeria to rooftops in Dublin, and finally to London."

JACOB SAM-LA ROSE: Jacob is a poet, writer, playwright and educator of Guyanese heritage, and is guest host for this event. A former Poet-in-Residence at BBC London, he is a touring writer with the British Council and his books Communion and Handmade Fire are published by flipped eye.

NIALL O'SULLIVAN: Niall O’Sullivan has released two collections of poetry, you’re not singing anymore and Ventriloquism for Monkeys, both with flipped eye. He has performed poetry all over the UK and Europe for over 10 years. In 2009, Niall featured on BBC Radio and Television during his residency at the 2009 Wimbledon Tennis Championships. He runs London’s biggest open mic poetry night, Poetry Unplugged, at the Poetry Café.

EMMA HAMMOND: Co-editor of Radiant Appliance, Emma's work has been published in Fire, The Wolf, and elsewhere. Her collection Tunth-sk is forthcoming with flipped eye.

NII PARKES: Editor-in-chief Nii Parkes will be speaking about flipped eye press. A poet in his own right, his works ballast: a remix and M is for Madrigal are with tall-lighthouse.

14 Hour Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6466752091

LONDON: B.E.A.T. - a different kind of poetry night

Tuesday, 12th January, 2010, 7pm-11pm, FREE
Peter Parker's Rock n Roll Club
4 Denmark Street,
WC2H 8LP
London

Another one bites the dust! BEAT goes Comedy!

So winter is upon us and all UK is white. I'd thought I'd had to come up with sumthin special, ya know, lickle bit a extra, to lure you out of your hiding dens - spice it up with sum a the funniest spoken word performer's around AND skip the fee - yeah, that's right, BEAT is FREE again.

Wicked line up that is:

Sophie Cameron - one of the funnies, raunchiest, female word - spitter's in the UK. Northern Light, not Northern Lite! A performance poet in a style which breaks the boundary between poetry and stand up comedy with a degree in English Lit at Royal Holloway University of London, having grown up in Yorkshire and then living in Devon, she now lives on the outskirts of London. Believe me, we can be happy she's made the journey down to BEAT tonight!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_qt5MS2HLM

Alex Gwyther - A 21st Century Jack the Lad baby faced bohemian with brittle hands from hard graft for a minimum wage packet. Residing South of the River in a small allotment sewing seeds and growing plants of the metaphorical kind. Monday - Friday, he can be found amongst the blur and bustle of London's market stalls selling his fruit and vegetables. Once used his fingertips to twist and build spliffs but replaced this fad with flicking his wrists and scribbling what he thinks. "A much more useful past-time for my hands" he says. In his spare time, he can be found in his shed dancing with the alphabet on the blank paper stage, enjoying the company of fellow gardeners and freestyling spoken word under flickering streetlamps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ur2rOw7S2o

Nikesh Shukla - funny, witty, sharp as a button! Nikesh Shukla/Yam Boy is an author, film-maker and poet caught between the cityscapes of Bombay and the low-swinging chariots of London. His writing has been featured on BBC2, Radio 1 and 4, Resonance fm and BBC Asian Network. He has been published in Tell Tales, Litro, Bad Idea and Transmission Magazine. He has performed at Royal Festival Hall, Apples and Snakes, Soho Theatre, The Big Chill, Rise Festival, The London Mela and Glastonbury. He has travelled to America Europe India and Africa to perform and read his words. In 2008, he was commissioned to make a short film, The Great Identity Swindle, as part of motiroti’s 60 x 60 film experiment. This sixty second short film, based on a poem, won best short film at 2009 Satyajit Ray Foundation award and at the 2008 international Asian First Films Festival.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bluAW3XB1VE

Robert Auton - hilarious and unique take on spoken word - Utter Slam Winner 2009
"I was born in York Now I live in Walthamstow I want to put things in people's heads that are not already there. I like cooking and have a lot of respect for Jamie Oliver's timings. I like painting and have a lot of respect for Francis Bacons empty paint tubes"
http://www.myspace.com/robertauton

Jacqueline Saphra - poet, playwright and screenwriter, has had many plays commissioned and performed in repertory theatres and on national tours. Her poetry been extensively published in magazines and anthologies. She is on the editorial board for Magma Poetry and organizes The Shuffle, a regular live poetry event at The Poetry Café in London. She is one half of the performance poetry duo ‘The Disparate Housewives’, was poet in residence at Good Housekeeping Online and her pamphlet Rock’n’Roll Mamma is published by Flarestack. She won first prize in the London Art Poetry competition judged by Andrew Motion and first prize in the Ledbury Poetry Competition 2007.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ses5VyMiak

Your host: Andreas Grant, celebrated bon vivant & mixologist of tipular fixings. "Dylan Thomas meets X-factor" according to the BIG ISSUE. Kicked of in February this year, since then: Standon Calling & Kimberly Festival, Unlit, Hammer & Tongue, Writer's Block, Book Club Boutique, Rum Punch, Whitechapel Art Gallery, the Social, etc, 209 Radio Cambridge, Xstreameast & Resonance FM London. Beat the Dust lit mag AND just released single: "GUN", collaboration with music producer Cloudfist Conceptz. Has run his own performance nights: Glitterbeast, Not Night, THISISNOTABAR, No Strings Attached and now - BEAT.

"Splendid and clever, with lots of dynamic and surprising phrases" Nikk Quentin Wolf, The Art Show, Xstream East Radio

"Andreas Grant...High class/crass/camp king of the unexpected" Poets On Fire

"Poems of vision and voyage" Art Terry, Is Black Music, Resonance FM

Thursday, January 07, 2010

BIRMINGHAM: Sunday Xpress Open Mic

Sunday, January 17, 2010, 4.30pm
The Adam and Eve,
54 Bradford Street,
Digbeth,
Birmingham
B12 0JD

LONDON: Hammer and Tongue

Monday, January 11, 2010, 7.30-11pm, £5/4
Green Note Café
106 Parkway
Camden
NW1 7AN
Nearest Tube: Camden Town

Hammer and Tongue London Open Poetry Slam, featuring Gerry Potter and Laura Dockrill.
London’s feistiest and finest slam night presents two stunning poets to kick off 2010.

Gerry Potter, or the poet known as the successful regeneration of gay scouse socialist transvestite icon Chloe Poems, returns to the H&T London stage sans falsies and frocks to wow and amaze with his brilliant, moving and enlivening work. Author of Planet Young, published by Flapjack Press.

Dockers MC aka Laura Dockrill is not only one of the best dressed poets we know, but a wickedly brilliant storyteller and a shrewd observer of all of life's oddities. She's headlined the poetry stage at Latitude and has won critical acclaim for her books Mistakes in the Background and Ugly Shy Girl, both published by Harper Collins.

They are both absolutely ace, don't miss them!

There are eight slots up for grabs in the open slam, sign up from 7pm on the door to take a place for your chance to win a place in the H&T London final, hosted by Michelle Madsen, Angry Sam and Sophia Blackwell.

LONDON: Camden Poetry Series

Friday, 8th January, 2010, 7pm (doors open 6.30pm)
Trinity United Reform Church,
1 Buck Street,
Camden Town
(two minutes Camden Town tube)

Ruth O'Callaghan presents Overstep Books, with Ross Cogan, Giles Goodland and Mandy Pannet. Poets from the floor very welcome (some longer spots available). Please bring a copy of the poem if you wish to be considered for the new anthology.

Proceeds to the Cold Weather Shelter for the Homeless

RICHMOND: Poetry Jam @ The Tea Box

Friday, January 8th, 2010, 7.30pm
The Tea Box,
Richmond,
Surrey

Innocence meets Experience as The Tea Box hosts another open mic Poetry Jam where new voices can perform alongside established performing poets.

Our first event into 2010 will be hosted by Irish poet and entertainer Racker Donnelly will performing poems from the CD Rhymes of the Racker and recent racks. Feed your mind, soul and your belly at this unique event where you can enjoy 60 different teas, and select from fantastic menu of hot or cold food including wine and beer.

The audience are always friendly, supportive and enthusiastic, as are the owners Mike and Jemma, who will ensure you receive a warm welcome and encourage you to join Racker on stage. Would-be participants can sign up beforehand or just wave a hand on the night.

Want to join the Jam? Call 020 8940 3521, e-mail: info@theteabox.co.uk or just stick your hand up on the night.

Monday, January 04, 2010

LONDON: Lumen Poetry Series

Tuesday, 12th January, 2010, doors open 6.30pm for 7pm, £4/£3, wine
88 Tavistock Place,
London
WC1
Tubes: Russell Square , Kings Cross, St Pancras.

Ruth O'Callaghan presents Littoral Press, with Derek Adams, Adrian Green and Jill Wallis. Poets from the floor very welcome (some longer spots available). Please bring a copy of your poem if you wish to be considered for the new anthology.

Proceeds to the Cold Weather Shelter for the Homeless

LONDON: Camden Poetry Series

Friday, 8th January, 2010, 7pm (doors open 6.30pm)
Trinity United Reform Church,
1 Buck Street,
Camden Town
(two minutes Camden Town tube)

Ruth O'Callaghan presents Overstep Books, with Ross Cogan, Giles Goodland and Mandy Pannet. Poets from the floor very welcome (some longer spots available). Please bring a copy of the poem if you wish to be considered for the new anthology.

Proceeds to the Cold Weather Shelter for the Homeless

LONDON: Jazz Verse Jukebox

Sunday, January 17th, 2010, opens 6.30pm, show from 8pm, £6 on door
Ronnie Scotts Bar (upstairs)
Tube: Tottenham Court Road
Tel: 020 7439 0747
E: jazzversejukebox@me.com
W: http://www:jumokefashola.com

An amazing first show of the year, featuring:

The amazing Zena Edwards
"One of the most refreshing, ever-developing voices in the UK . . . Internationally acclaimed- creates her own intricate, mesmerising and unforgettable performance."
www.myspace.com/zenaedwards

Wordsmith extraordinaire Polarbear
“One of the top spoken word poets in this artic zone. His style is . . . approachable, straight forward yet an insanely thought provoking, break down of real life, real people, and real caves.”
www.homeofpolar.com

The Verbalizer Adisa
"Adisa’s gift to the world is ‘The Word’, his art of Verbalizing opens new doors, makes connections and creates magic.”
www.adisaworld.com

with Anthony Strong
Showcasing infectious feel-good music from his debut album - Guaranteed.
"The real deal"
www.Anthonystrong.com

plus if you fancy having a go… a unique jukebox Open Mic giving you a chance to showcase your poetry or musical skills.

LONDON: Grey Hen Press

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010, 7pm-8.30pm
Queens Park Books,
87 Salisbury Road,
London
NW6 6NH

Gerda Mayer, Angela Kirby and Joy Howard will read from the new Grey Hen Press anthology Cracking On: Poems about ageing by older women. Eve Featherstone will also read poems from the anthology by Berta Freistadt, as a memorial to this much-loved poet who sadly died in the summer of 2009.

OXFORD: An evening of lesbian poetry

Thursday, January 7th, 2010, 6pm-7.30pm
9 Magdalen Street,
Oxford,
OX1 3AD

An evening of lesbian poetry with Kate Foley, Christine Webb, Joy Howard and Pat Winslow.

Wine and nibbles. All welcome.

RICHMOND: Poetry Jam @ The Tea Box

Friday, January 8th, 2010, 7.30pm
The Tea Box,
Richmond,
Surrey

Innocence meets Experience as The Tea Box hosts another open mic Poetry Jam where new voices can perform alongside established performing poets.

Our first event into 2010 will be hosted by Irish poet and entertainer Racker Donnelly will performing poems from the CD Rhymes of the Racker and recent racks. Feed your mind, soul and your belly at this unique event where you can enjoy 60 different teas, and select from fantastic menu of hot or cold food including wine and beer.

The audience are always friendly, supportive and enthusiastic, as are the owners Mike and Jemma, who will ensure you receive a warm welcome and encourage you to join Racker on stage. Would-be participants can sign up beforehand or just wave a hand on the night.

Want to join the Jam? Call 020 8940 3521, e-mail: info@theteabox.co.uk or just stick your hand up on the night.