Tuesday, March 30, 2010

LEICESTER: Nine Arches Press Shindig!

Monday, April 12th, 2010, from 7.30pm, FREE
The Looking Glass,
68-70 Braunstone Gate,
Leicester
LE3 5LG

Featured readers are Myra Connell, Lydia Towsey and Simon Turner

Lydia Towsey is a poet and performer. Commissions include: ‘Freedom Showcase’ in 2007 and ‘Beyond Words’ in 2009. Residencies include 2 weeks with Theatre Royal Stratford East and years inside Leicester’s coffee shops... Lydia has performed with John Hegley, Jean Binta Breeze and Keorapetse Kgositsile, the South African Poet Laureate. Her latest publication is within ‘The Great Grandchildren of Albion’ (a forthcoming project of Michael Horovitz). She comperes and coordinates WORD! the longest-running East Mids poetry night (www.myspace.com/wordleicester) and in 2009 was the Artistic Director of The Lyric Lounge(www.lyriclounge.co.uk). She’s doing an MA in Writing and putting together her first collection. She drinks a lot of tea.

Simon Turner was born in Birmingham in 1980. Heaventree Press published his first collection, You Are Here, in 2007. His poems and reviews have appeared in a number of publications, including Tears in the Fence, The Wolf, Horizon Review and The London Magazine. With George Ttoouli, he co-edits Gists and Piths, an experiment in blogging dedicated to the publication and discussion of contemporary poetry, which has been up and running since 2007. He lives and works in Warwickshire.

Myra Connell’s first collection of poems, A Still Dark Kind of Work, was published by Heaventree Press in 2008. Her poems have appeared in various magazines, and her short stories in two collections from Tindal Street Press, Her Majesty and Are You She? She lives in Birmingham and has two grown-up sons.

Sign up on the door for the open mic.

MILTON KEYNES: Poetry Kapow!

Friday, April 9th, 2010, 7.30pm-10.30pm, £5/£4
MADCAP,
Wolverton,
Creed Street,
Milton Keynes
MK12 5LY

Poetry Kapow! bring you an event from the wrong side of the sheets. Bring your vice-ridden verses, your lascivious lyrics and your scandalous scribblings to MADCAP for a night of naughtiness.

Or maybe you'd like to bring some correction to us wicked sinners and extemporise on the virtues of clean living?

Whatever your leanings, bring them along for another bout of poetry slamming, open mic, acoustic barditry from scarily-talented local musician Josh Timmins, special turns from some of the brightest of our local poetry stars (including Donna Scott – Bard of Northampton, and Richard Frost – barred from the First Orchard), written competitions, interactive art and the usual surprise happenings. Your hosts for the evening will be Danni Antagonist and Fay Roberts. You have been warned...

After the success of the last Kapow! we're hoping to be recording the night again and giving you the chance to immortalise your performance. CDs from the last gig will be on sale, along with Monkey Kettle merchandise and all sorts of other goodies.

Watch this space for more announcements.

http://www.poetrykapow.co.uk/
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=294209843377

EXETER: CCANW fundraiser

Monday, April 5th, 2010, 1pm-3pm, FREE
Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World,
Car Park,
Haldon Forest Park
Haldon Hill,
near Exeter

Easter Monday fundraiser for CCANW. Performance poetry, storytelling, music and more!

Hosted by Widsith and Deor Storytelling Theatre and so far starring sensational Storyfella Clive Pig - the man who tells tall tales like he's a one-man movie; the amazing and unstoppable Liv Torc - wondermentalist, comedian and Radio 4 SW heat slam winning poet; renowned storyteller-turned-power-poet Jon Freeman of Tyburn Jig, Jade Moon, performance poet, aka The Green Woman, stand-up philosopher Matthew Hammond and poetry theatre from internationally published poet SV Wolfland.

FREE! But of course, there will be a donation bucket for CCANW. There will also be a book and CD stall with merchandise by the performers. The Ridge Café serves wonderful cake and the Forest is stunning with a wealth of all ability all weather paths and cycle trails.

Check out its Forestry Commission page at; http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-6t7dpl
CCANW; http://www.ccanw.co.uk/

PETERBOROUGH: Poetry Rivals Poetry Slam Grand Final

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010, 3pm-10pm
The Fleet ICA,
Fletton,
Peterborough

Poetry Rivals Poetry Slam Grand Final – A Night to Remember

Who will be crowned the first UK Poetry Rivals champion?

The nationwide search for the first Poetry Rivals Poetry Slam Champion is almost over! Forward Press is hosting the Poetry Rivals poetry slam final. From the 7,000 who entered Poetry Rivals 2009, the top 100 shortlisted poets have been invited to perform their poem in front of the judges in a bid to win a publishing contract and be crowned the first Poetry Rivals Champion. (Under 18s perform first, followed by the adults.)

The judging panel are confirmed as Mark Grist – Peterborough performance poet; AF Harrold – multiple slam winner; Hollie McNish – UK Slam Champion 2008/09; John Paul O’Neill – founder of Farrago Poetry and first British poet to compete in the US National Slam Championships; Deanna Rodger – UK Slam Champion 2007 and Mark Niel – comic poet and host of Milton Keynes’ ‘Tongue in Chic. The judges will also be performing throughout the day.

£1 from every book sold is being donated to Cancer Research UK – almost £3,000 has already been raised and every book sold this year will continue to raise funds. Books will be available to purchase at the slam final.

The last few tickets for the final are on sale now at £5 each. To purchase tickets call 01733 890099 or for more information email info@poetryrivals.com. Doors open at 3pm ‘til 10pm.

LONDON: Lumen Poetry Series

Tuesday, 13th April, 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 Shoestring poets Clare Crossman and John Lucas. Poets from the floor very welcome. Please bring a copy of your poem if you wish to be considered for the new anthology.

LONDON: Daljit Nagra and Dorothea Smartt

Wednesday, 31st March, 2010, 8pm, £8/£6
Soho Theatre,
21 Dean Street,
London
W1D 3NE
Booking: 020 7478 0100 / www.sohotheatre.com

Apples & Snakes in Soho, featuring Dorothea Smartt and Daljit Nagra

Brit-born Bajan poet and playwright Dorothea Smartt, once Brixton Market’s resident writer, is now in demand around the world, whilst still keeping that Electric Avenue vibe intact.

A similarly inspirational figure is Daljit Nagra, who won the 2007 Forward Poetry Prize for his witty, wistful, confrontational collection Look, We Have Coming To Dover!, and hasn’t looked back since.

With featured sets from Southbank artist-in-residence Yemisi Blake, and – presenting part of his show The Cosmos, The CosmeticsNick Field.

Four lovely fresh poets – cheap at twice the price.

Monday, March 29, 2010

CAMBRIDGE: You Are Here

Sunday 11th April, 2010, 10.30am
ADC Theatre,
Park Street,
Cambridge
Tickets: 01223 300085
www.cambridgewordfest.co.uk
www.adctheatre.com

You Are Here – a touring poetry show featuring Colette Bryce, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott.
See www.youareherepoetryshow.wordpress.com for details

Sunday, March 28, 2010

CAMBRIDGE: Headstand at the Maypole

Monday, March 29th, 2010, 7.30pm, £3/£2
Upstairs at The Maypole,
Portugal Place,
Cambridge

Poetry and spoken word from Andrea Porter, Matt Widgery, Fay Roberts and Jonny Marvel, plus limited open mic slots.

Readings will be recorded and podcast on headstand.podomatic.com where you can find recordings of readings from past events.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

LEAMINGTON SPA: PUREandGOODandRIGHT

Sunday, 28th March, 2010, 7.30pm, £3 (£2 Student/OAP)

The Fox,

Leamington Spa

Each month we also invite a fabulous guest performance poet and this month we have the absolutely brilliant Jonny Fluffypunk. Jonny is a seasoned and popular performer at gigs, festivals, schools and, on one occasion, in the bowels of a decommissioned Navy minesweeper. Armed with his trusty banjolele, he’s taken his blend of poems, surreal banter, short songlets and mysterious ‘other things’ to stages as far afield as Aberdeen and the Isle of Wight; Aberystwyth and Southend-on-Sea. Winner of Poetry Slams in Brighton, Bristol, Brixton, Lydney and Ledbury Poetry Festival, Jonny has also co-written and co-starred in 3 acclaimed spoken word shows in the Brighton Festival Fringe and has also had his paintings exhibited several times.

Jonny co-hosts and co-organises Hammer & Tongue slam poetry nights, first in Brighton and now in Bath, and is a committee member of Don’t Feed The Poets, Hammer & Tongue and Stop All The Clocks poetry promotion organisations. He regularly provides workshops of various shapes and sizes to schools, youth groups and adult education centres amongst others and, as a keen evangelist for the bicycle - one of humanity’s greatest successes - Jonny is part of the Hammer & Tongue Pedal Powered Poetry team, providing workshops and performance space featuring their pedal-powered stage and lighting rig.

We are also extremely fortunate to see the return of our very own MC from India - the fantastic Angry George!!

DEFINITELY AN EVENING NOT TO BE MISSED!

With open mic support from…….yes……YOU!

Come and share your poems - seasoned poets & 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 emailpgrpoetryandpints@talktalk.net

Thursday, March 25, 2010

GALWAY: Susan Millar DuMars and Kevin Higgins book launch

Saturday, 3rd April, 2010, 1pm
The City Museum,
Spanish Arch,
Galway

Salmon Poetry invites you to the Galway launch of Dreams for Breakfast, by Susan Millar DuMars, and Frightening New Furniture, by Kevin Higgins. Launch introductions by Annie Deppe and John Kenny.

In her second poetry collection, Susan Millar DuMars patrols the dangerous border between daylight’s fragile peace and the dark reckonings of our dreams. The poems are sensual, surreal, dark and darkly funny. Sarah Palin loses her head; Albert Speer plants a garden; Plato’s ghost stares into an empty fridge while Stephen Fry bestows Champagne kisses. Women lose their faces but find their voices as “We dive into / the language sea.” Go on. Take the plunge.
Purchase the book online at: http://www.salmonpoetry.com/details.php?ID=187&a=39

In poems laced with the blackest humour, Kevin Higgins spares no-one, least of all himself. In this his third collection of poetry, he takes the reader through the hubris of boom time Ireland and out the other side into a strange country where everything is suddenly broken again. Just when Ireland imagined itself to have finally escaped history, the statues of virgins and freedom fighters are on the move again. Higgins goes all the way into the dark to investigate what’s left when youthful political idealism – his ‘old political furniture’ – gives way under the sheer weight of what actually happens. As ever, the City of Galway is one of his pet subjects, and he takes time out to bring to hilarious life its bookshop romancers and women who decide to be fascinating.
Purchase the book online at http://www.salmonpoetry.com/details.php?ID=186&a=108

For further information, please contact Jessie or Siobhán at 065-7081941 or email info@salmonpoetry.com
http://www.salmonpoetry.com

GREAT TORRINGTON: You Are Here

Friday 26th March, 2010, 8pm, £8.50/£8/£7 supporters
The Plough Arts Centre
9-11 Fore Street,
Great Torrington,
Devon
Tickets: 01805 624 624
www.plough-arts.org

You Are Here – a touring poetry show featuring Colette Bryce, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott.
See www.youareherepoetryshow.wordpress.com for details

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

LONDON: wordPLAY

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010, 7pm-11pm, £4.50/£3.50
Good Ship,
Kilburn

Headlined by Kate Tempest and Holly Howitt.
KATE TEMPEST http://www.myspace.com/katetempestwords
HOLLY HOWITT http://hollyhowitt.wordpress.com/

Music:
VILE ELECTRODES http://www.myspace.com/vileelectrodes

Guest-stars:
NIA DAVIES http://niadavies.wordpress.com/
NIKKI DUDLEY http://ellipsisnovel.blogspot.com/
MEGHAN PURVIS http://meghanpurvis.com/
+ your errant host Becca, who likes you. Perhaps toooo much.

Also- Raffle-lit will be working its dublious wonders at the end of the eve, so you might win something nice...truth be told it's likely to be books or wine. Neither to be sniffed at!
Love wordPLAY? Join the wordPLAY page here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/London-United-Kingdom/wordPLAY/83838702308?ref=ts
For more info on wordPLAY: http://www.fat-quarter.co.uk/archives/936
For further info/submissions for consideration: wordplaylondon@hotmail.co.uk

KINGSTON: Rhythm and Muse

Thursday, 25th March, 2010, 8.30pm, £6/£5 in advance via www.kingston.gov.uk and a limited number on the door
The Rose Theatre,
Kingston upon Thames

Rhythm & Muse is on tour again - this time in a special event at the Rose Theatre as part of the Think in Kingston Festival. It features a dynamic and quirky line-up:

Francesca Beard - Described as "the queen of British performance poetry", Francesca performs her "spine-tingling" (Independent) and "utterly magical" (Evening Standard) poetry all over the world. Last year, she was on attachment to the Royal Court as one of Britain’s most promising writers.

AF Harrold - Back at R&M by popular demand, an English performance poet who does things that are not necessarily normal on the page, on the stage and in the bath. "Made me cry", said Leonard Cohen.

Hannah Rose Tristram - A talented musician and songwriter who plays a string of instruments from flute to accordion, Hannah Rose will be accompanied by Tim Fulker and Nomi Helfensteller.

Be prepared for a memorable experience!

More info at www.rhythmandmuse.org or email Alison Hill - alison-hill@blueyonder.co.uk

GALWAY: March Over The Edge Open Reading

Thursday, March 25th, 2010, 6.30pm-8pm, FREE
Galway City Library,
St. Augustine Street,
Galway

The Featured Readers are Jessie Lendennie, Jean Kavanagh and Paul Casey.

Jessie Lendennie's prose poem Daughter was first published in 1988, followed in 1990 by The Salmon Guide to Poetry Publishing and in 1992 by The Salmon Guide to Creative Writing in Ireland. Her poetry has been anthologised in Irish Poetry Now: Other Voices, Unveiling Treasures: The Attic Guide To The Published Works of Irish Women Literary Writers and The White Page/An Bhileog Bhan: Twentieth-Century Irish Women Poets, among others. She has conducted workshops and given readings all over Ireland and the United States for many years. She is the co-founder and Managing Director of Salmon Poetry. In 2008, she edited Salmon: A Journey in Poetry, 1981-2007, an anthology of Salmon Poetry. In 2009 she compiled and edited Poetry: Reading it, Writing it, Publishing it.

Paul Casey was born in Cork in 1968. He has lived in a number of countries in Europe and Africa working mostly in film, multimedia and teaching. Paul taught scriptwriting at the Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. He now organises the weekly Ó Bhéal poetry event in Cork city. His poetry and reviews have appeared in a number of Irish journals including THE SHOp, Revival, Cork Literary Review, Southword and Census. A chapbook of Paul’s longer poems, It’s Not All Bad, was published by Heaventree Press in May 2009 and he is working towards his first full collection.

Jean Kavanagh is originally from Dublin, and is now living in Lahinch, Co.Clare. She co-founded The Cascades writing group in Ennistymon in 2001, and is now partaking in Kevin Higgins’s Advanced Poetry Workshop in The Galway Arts Centre. Last year her work was published in its showcase anthology, Lady Gregory's Townhouse. She has read her poetry at Clifden Arts Week and at last year’s National Poetry Day event for County Clare.

There will be an open-mic when the Featured Readers have finished. This is open to anyone who has a poem or story to share. New readers are always especially 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 and The Arts Council.
http://overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com

BIRMINGHAM: West Brom Words


DJ and Wordsmith Charlie Jordan, fresh from her West Bromwich Albion poetry residency, with team mates Byron Vincent, Matt Windle and Dan Cullen - refereed by Jo Bell. Live Entertainment kicks off 7.30pm.

Charlie Jordan is a dynamic performer who converted the Big Chill festival crowd into WBA fans with heartfelt words. Passions on the pitch & in the stands are immortalised tonight with a voice of razor sharp honesty & beauty. There will be highlights from her work on the online poetry project www.myplaceoryours.org.uk, alongside a hat-trick of fellow performers:

Byron Vincent - one of the best performance poets on the scene.. and a Portsmouth fan, but may be up for conversion

Matt Windle - an award winning boxer, Blues Fan & Lyrical Legend

Dan Cullen - a powerful perfomer at just 17.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

AYR: Stand-Up Poets

Thursday, 25th March 2010, 8pm, £3
Libertine,
River Street,
Ayr

Three fine poets take the stage at Libertine on Thursday night. These are Alex Frew, Jim Monaghan and Michael Malone. Hailing from Killie, Cumnock and the auld toun of Ayr respectively this three will give a full and comprehensive guide to the whole ever-shifting never-shirking concept of Ayrshirism! There will be wit and rumination, warmth and polemic. And there will be open mic for anyone with a mind to step up and say their piece.

Join us in Ayr for a rerr terr! Robin Cairns is your compere.

LANCASTER: You Are Here

Wednesday 24th March, 2010, 7.45pm, £7.50/£6
Litfest,
The Storey Creative Industries Centre,
Lancaster
Tickets: 01524 582 394
www.litfest.org

You Are Here – a touring poetry show featuring Colette Bryce, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott.
See www.youareherepoetryshow.wordpress.com for details

Monday, March 22, 2010

OXFORD: Cabaret Clandestino

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010, 9pm-2am, £6/£5 (concessions/fancy dress)
East Oxford Community Centre,
44 Princes Street,
Cowley Road

Cabaret Clandestino (Sounds of the acoustic underground)

with Gerry Potter (the man behind Chloe Poems) “slamming out verbal rhythm with the pugnacity of a bare-knuckle fighter” (The Independent), plus bluegrass dancing, flamenco, psychedelic rock and more!

www.myspace.com/cabaretclandestino

Pete Bearder

www.myspace.com/petethetemp

www.hammerandtongue.co.uk

LONDON: Daljit Nagra and Dorothea Smartt

Wednesday, 31st March, 2010, 8pm, £8/£6
Soho Theatre,
21 Dean Street,
London
W1D 3NE
Booking: 020 7478 0100 / www.sohotheatre.com

Apples & Snakes in Soho, featuring Dorothea Smartt and Daljit Nagra

Brit-born Bajan poet and playwright Dorothea Smartt, once Brixton Market’s resident writer, is now in demand around the world, whilst still keeping that Electric Avenue vibe intact.

A similarly inspirational figure is Daljit Nagra, who won the 2007 Forward Poetry Prize for his witty, wistful, confrontational collection Look, We Have Coming To Dover!, and hasn’t looked back since.

With featured sets from Southbank artist-in-residence Yemisi Blake, and – presenting part of his show The Cosmos, The CosmeticsNick Field.

Four lovely fresh poets – cheap at twice the price.

KINGSTON: Rhythm and Muse

Thursday, 25th March, 2010, 8.30pm, £6/£5 in advance via www.kingston.gov.uk and a limited number on the door
The Rose Theatre,
Kingston upon Thames

Rhythm & Muse is on tour again - this time in a special event at the Rose Theatre as part of the Think in Kingston Festival. It features a dynamic and quirky line-up:

Francesca Beard - Described as "the queen of British performance poetry", Francesca performs her "spine-tingling" (Independent) and "utterly magical" (Evening Standard) poetry all over the world. Last year, she was on attachment to the Royal Court as one of Britain’s most promising writers.

AF Harrold - Back at R&M by popular demand, an English performance poet who does things that are not necessarily normal on the page, on the stage and in the bath. "Made me cry", said Leonard Cohen.

Hannah Rose Tristram - A talented musician and songwriter who plays a string of instruments from flute to accordion, Hannah Rose will be accompanied by Tim Fulker and Nomi Helfensteller.

Be prepared for a memorable experience!

More info at www.rhythmandmuse.org or email Alison Hill - alison-hill@blueyonder.co.uk

CAMBRIDGE: Headstand at the Maypole

Monday, March 29th, 2010, 7.30pm, £3/£2
Upstairs at The Maypole,
Portugal Place,
Cambridge

Poetry and spoken word from Andrea Porter, Matt Widgery, Fay Roberts and Jonny Marvel, plus limited open mic slots.

Readings will be recorded and podcast on headstand.podomatic.com where you can find recordings of readings from past events.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

LEAMINGTON SPA: PUREandGOODandRIGHT

Sunday, 28th March, 2010, 7.30pm, £3 (£2 Student/OAP)

The Fox,

Leamington Spa

Each month we also invite a fabulous guest performance poet and this month we have the absolutely brilliant Jonny Fluffypunk. Jonny is a seasoned and popular performer at gigs, festivals, schools and, on one occasion, in the bowels of a decommissioned Navy minesweeper. Armed with his trusty banjolele, he’s taken his blend of poems, surreal banter, short songlets and mysterious ‘other things’ to stages as far afield as Aberdeen and the Isle of Wight; Aberystwyth and Southend-on-Sea. Winner of Poetry Slams in Brighton, Bristol, Brixton, Lydney and Ledbury Poetry Festival, Jonny has also co-written and co-starred in 3 acclaimed spoken word shows in the Brighton Festival Fringe and has also had his paintings exhibited several times.

Jonny co-hosts and co-organises Hammer & Tongue slam poetry nights, first in Brighton and now in Bath, and is a committee member of Don’t Feed The Poets, Hammer & Tongue and Stop All The Clocks poetry promotion organisations. He regularly provides workshops of various shapes and sizes to schools, youth groups and adult education centres amongst others and, as a keen evangelist for the bicycle - one of humanity’s greatest successes - Jonny is part of the Hammer & Tongue Pedal Powered Poetry team, providing workshops and performance space featuring their pedal-powered stage and lighting rig.

We are also extremely fortunate to see the return of our very own MC from India - the fantastic Angry George!!

DEFINITELY AN EVENING NOT TO BE MISSED!

With open mic support from…….yes……YOU!

Come and share your poems - seasoned poets & 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 emailpgrpoetryandpints@talktalk.net

LEWES: Martin Newell

Thursday, March 18th, 2010, 8.30pm, £6

Lewes Poetry,

Lewes Arms,

Lewes

The veteran pop poet and rock musician Martin Newell is the guest at Lewes Poetry. He is a class act - up with Attila the Stockbroker in terms of quality and experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIWIzepYMdw

P.S. The gig will be in honour of the Runaway Cafe, at Lewes Station, which is under threat of being closed down.

LONDON: Mehmet Yashin

Thursday, March 18th, 2010, 7pm, FREE

Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art
14 Wharf Road, London, N1 7RW
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7490 7373
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7490 7775
asha@parasol-unit.org

Mehmet Yashin (1958, Nicosia) has been regularly published in literary journals in Istanbul, Nicosia, Athens and London, in Turkish, as well as in English and Greek. He is known as one of the leading figures in post-1974 Cypriot poetry and literature as well as post-1980s Turkish poetry. His poems have been arranged to music and adapted for the stage as well as to visual arts.

Friday, March 12, 2010

LEAMINGTON SPA: Shindig!

Sunday, 14th March, 2010, doors open 6.30pm, readings from 7.30pm, FREE
Wilde's Wine Bar,
The Parade,
Leamington Spa,
Warwickshire

With special-guest poets Luke Kennard, Myra Connell and Matt Merritt. This event is also the Leamington launch of Myra Connell's pamphlet, From The Boat.

Luke Kennard is an award-winning poet, critic, dramatist and research student at the University of Exeter. His first collection of prose poems The Solex Brothers was published by Stride Books. He has worked as regional editor for Succour, a bi-annual journal of poetry and short fiction and as an associated reader for The Kenyon Review. He won an Eric Gregory Award in 2005.
"Recent Salt books include an outstanding first collection of poems and prose by Luke Kennard, The Harbour Beyond the Movie. His language is exciting and it feels to me that he’s a truly 21st-century writer, taking inspiration from all over the place, unafraid of barriers and conventions." Ian McMillan - The Times

Matt Merritt lives near Leicester, England. His first full collection, Troy Town, was published in March 2008 by Arrowhead Press, and his chapbook, Making The Most Of The Light, was published in 2005 by Happenstance Press.

Myra Connell’s first collection of poems, A Still Dark Kind of Work, was published by Heaventree Press in 2008. Her poems have appeared in various magazines, and her short stories in two collections from Tindal Street Press, Her Majesty and Are You She? She lives in Birmingham and has two grown-up sons.

Open Mic – share your poetry at this Shindig! Sign up for open mic slots on the door.

LONDON: Jawdance

Wednesday, 17th March, 2010, 7.30pm, FREE
Rich Mix,
35-47 Bethnal Green Road,
London
E1 6LA
Booking: 020 7613 7498 / www.richmix.org.uk/bookings

Haven’t you heard? Shoreditch is where it’s at. It has everything – beautiful people, happening hotspots, major engineering works, and now – poetry!

That’s right – every third Wednesday, the Rich Mix bar pulsates with poems, vibrates with verbs, and spills over with spoken word. And we’re inviting you to sprawl out on the sofas and help us soak it up.

Yes – it’s freewheeling, it’s free, it’s JAWDANCE!

Hosted by Pete The Temp, that irrepressible king of footstomping pavement–poetry, our March session will feature sets from:

John Challis
Jonas McCloud
Danni Antagonist
Bridget Minamore
Lady de Bavardage

plus that crazed bunny of acoustic pop, Jammie Sammy.

So come on, me old china plates, toddle down to Rich Mix and watch a bit of jawdancing.

Brought to you by Apples & Snakes – pulling poets out of the hat since 1982.

GREAT TORRINGTON: You Are Here

Friday 26th March, 2010, 8pm, £8.50/£8/£7 supporters
The Plough Arts Centre
9-11 Fore Street,
Great Torrington,
Devon
Tickets: 01805 624 624
www.plough-arts.org

You Are Here – a touring poetry show featuring Colette Bryce, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott.
See www.youareherepoetryshow.wordpress.com for details

Thursday, March 11, 2010

LANCASTER: You Are Here

Wednesday 24th March, 2010, 7.45pm, £7.50/£6
Litfest,
The Storey Creative Industries Centre,
Lancaster
Tickets: 01524 582 394
www.litfest.org

You Are Here – a touring poetry show featuring Colette Bryce, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott.
See www.youareherepoetryshow.wordpress.com for details

GALWAY: March Over The Edge Open Reading

Thursday, March 25th, 2010, 6.30pm-8pm, FREE
Galway City Library,
St. Augustine Street,
Galway

The Featured Readers are Jessie Lendennie, Jean Kavanagh and Paul Casey.

Jessie Lendennie's prose poem Daughter was first published in 1988, followed in 1990 by The Salmon Guide to Poetry Publishing and in 1992 by The Salmon Guide to Creative Writing in Ireland. Her poetry has been anthologised in Irish Poetry Now: Other Voices, Unveiling Treasures: The Attic Guide To The Published Works of Irish Women Literary Writers and The White Page/An Bhileog Bhan: Twentieth-Century Irish Women Poets, among others. She has conducted workshops and given readings all over Ireland and the United States for many years. She is the co-founder and Managing Director of Salmon Poetry. In 2008, she edited Salmon: A Journey in Poetry, 1981-2007, an anthology of Salmon Poetry. In 2009 she compiled and edited Poetry: Reading it, Writing it, Publishing it.

Paul Casey was born in Cork in 1968. He has lived in a number of countries in Europe and Africa working mostly in film, multimedia and teaching. Paul taught scriptwriting at the Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. He now organises the weekly Ó Bhéal poetry event in Cork city. His poetry and reviews have appeared in a number of Irish journals including THE SHOp, Revival, Cork Literary Review, Southword and Census. A chapbook of Paul’s longer poems, It’s Not All Bad, was published by Heaventree Press in May 2009 and he is working towards his first full collection.

Jean Kavanagh is originally from Dublin, and is now living in Lahinch, Co.Clare. She co-founded The Cascades writing group in Ennistymon in 2001, and is now partaking in Kevin Higgins’s Advanced Poetry Workshop in The Galway Arts Centre. Last year her work was published in its showcase anthology, Lady Gregory's Townhouse. She has read her poetry at Clifden Arts Week and at last year’s National Poetry Day event for County Clare.

There will be an open-mic when the Featured Readers have finished. This is open to anyone who has a poem or story to share. New readers are always especially 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 and The Arts Council.
http://overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com

LONDON: The Word's A Stage

Friday, 12th March, 2010, 8pm, £8/£5
The Albany,
Douglas Way,
Deptford,
London
SE8 4AG
Booking: 020 8692 4446 / www.thealbany.org.uk
Four new poems – get them while they’re hot

What does it take to be a spoken-word artist? Is it about the writing? The stage presence? The knack of stringing a story together? Actually it’s about all of these things and more, as this line-up will be amply demonstrating.

As part of our ongoing mission to nurture new writing, we’ve been putting four poets through their paces with top director Mike Kirchner. Their metaphors are now sharper-than-sharp, they’ve got more presence than the British Charisma Society, and their narrative skills are all revved-up and ready to go.

For the price of a single ticket, you can pull up a chair for a fateful, hip-hop-flavoured meal with Simon Mole, set sail with Esther Poyer for the sights and sounds of a new world, enjoy a brief encounter aboard Jahnell’s rhythmic train of thought, and start seeing things (and then start worrying) with Fay Roberts.

It’s not so much a poetry gig as a premier gala. So put on your glad-rags and shimmy down to The Albany.

BIRMINGHAM: West Brom Words


DJ and Wordsmith Charlie Jordan, fresh from her West Bromwich Albion poetry residency, with team mates Byron Vincent, Matt Windle and Dan Cullen - refereed by Jo Bell. Live Entertainment kicks off 7.30pm.

Charlie Jordan is a dynamic performer who converted the Big Chill festival crowd into WBA fans with heartfelt words. Passions on the pitch & in the stands are immortalised tonight with a voice of razor sharp honesty & beauty. There will be highlights from her work on the online poetry project www.myplaceoryours.org.uk, alongside a hat-trick of fellow performers:

Byron Vincent - one of the best performance poets on the scene.. and a Portsmouth fan, but may be up for conversion

Matt Windle - an award winning boxer, Blues Fan & Lyrical Legend

Dan Cullen - a powerful perfomer at just 17.

Monday, March 08, 2010

LONDON: Shearsman Reading Series

Wednesday, 10th March, 2010, 7.30pm, FREE
Swedenborg Hall
Swedenborg House
20/21 Bloomsbury Way
London
WC1A 2TH

The launch of the anthology, Infinite Difference. This event will be MCd by the editor, Carrie Etter, and will feature short readings by Sascha Akhtar, Isobel Armstrong, Caroline Bergvall, Andrea Brady, Emily Critchley, Claire Crowther, Catherine Hales, Frances Kruk, Rachel Lehrman, Wendy Mulford, Redell Olson, Frances Presley, Sophie Robinson, Zoë Skoulding and Harriet Tarlo.

Details of the anthology that will be officially launched on the evening:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2010/infinite.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.htmla

LONDON: Mehmet Yashin

Thursday, March 18th, 2010, 7pm, FREE
Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art
14 Wharf Road, London, N1 7RW
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7490 7373
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7490 7775
asha@parasol-unit.org

Mehmet Yashin (1958, Nicosia) has been regularly published in literary journals in Istanbul, Nicosia, Athens and London, in Turkish, as well as in English and Greek. He is known as one of the leading figures in post-1974 Cypriot poetry and literature as well as post-1980s Turkish poetry. His poems have been arranged to music and adapted for the stage as well as to visual arts.

LONDON: Lumen Poetry Series

Tuesday, 9th March, 2010, 6.30pm for 7pm, £4/£3, wine
88 Tavistock Place,
London
WC1
Tubes: Russell Square , Kings Cross, St Pancras.

Lumen Poetry Series - Patron: Carol Ann Duffy

Ruth O'Callaghan presents Jane Elizabeth Martin Memorial. 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.

Sunday, March 07, 2010

LONDON: Magma launch

Monday, 8th March, 2010, 8pm-10pm, £7/£6, season tickets 30% off...
The Troubadour,
263-267 Old Brompton Road
LONDON
SW5
nr. junct. Earls Court Rd & Old Brompton Rd
nearest Tube station: Earls Court (District & Piccadilly Lines)

A major moment in the poetry season is when the latest Magma rolls off the presses, but a mega-moment in Magma's poetry-magazine history is when David Boll, who has MC'd hundreds of Magma contributors onto the Troubadour stage since Issue 13 in January 1999 and introduced dozens of guest poets, and well and truly launched 33 issues here, hosts his last launch as editorial committee chairman.

Helping celebrate this Magma milestone will be Magma 46 editors, Jacqueline Saphra and Norbert Hirschhorn, the regular Magma team, a wide selection of Magma 46 contributors and two guest poets:

Anne-Marie Fyfe (b. Cushendall, Co. Antrim, lives in London) who organises Coffee-House Poetry at the Troubadour readings and workshops, latest collection The Ghost Twin (Peterloo, 2005).

Penelope Shuttle (b. Feltham, lives in Falmouth) founder-member of the Falmouth Poetry Group - her 10th poetry collection, including a Selected, is Redgrove's Wife (Bloodaxe, 2006)

for info, booking, season ticket & mailing list enquiries,
t: 020-8354 0660, e: coffpoetry@aol.com w: www.coffeehousepoetry.org
or write to Anne-Marie Fyfe, Coffee-House Poetry, PO Box 16210, LONDON, W4 1ZP

Saturday, March 06, 2010

CHELTENHAM: Buzzwords Poetry Night

Sunday, March 7th, 2010, 7pm onwards, £3, £5 if you are able
upstairs at The Exmouth Arms,
Bath Road,
Cheltenham

Guest poet: Chris Kinsey
7pm Workshop led by Chris Kinsey
8pm - Readings and open mic

LONDON: Lovesongs for Extinct Creatures

Sunday, March 7th, 2010, 8pm, £3
RICH MIX
35 - 47 Bethnal Green Road,
London,
E1 6LA

Part of our Philip Ridley season.
Here, for one evening only, Philip Ridley will read sequences of his own poems that chart the journey of a love affair; from wanting love through to the grief of losing that love.

"Ridley is a visionary." Rolling Stone Magazine

BOXOFFICE 020 7613 7498
OFFICE/ADMIN 020 7613 7490 / FAX 020 7613 7499
info@richmix.org.uk / www.richmix.org.uk / www.richmix.org.uk/bookings

Friday, March 05, 2010

CORK: Ó Bhéal

Monday, 8th March, 2010, 9pm, FREE
The Long Valley,
Winthrop Street,
Cork

Original poetry, storytelling and unplugged ceol. The night begins with a Poetry Challenge starting around 9pm. This Monday the guest poet is Kate Dempsey, after which there is the usual open-mic session. Be sure to come early to get good seats!

http://www.obheal.ie/blog/

GLASGOW: Scottish Slam Championships

Friday, March 5th, 2010, 9pm-11pm, £4
The Mitchell Theatre,
Granville Street,
Glasgow
Friday March 5
Book on 0844 847 1683 or www.ayewrite.com

On the first night of Glasgow's Aye Write literary festival some of the world's finest slam poets go head to head to win the title of Scottish Slam Champion 2010.

The line-up includes Milton Balgoni, Anne Connolly, Colin Donati, Andy Fleming, Leo Glaister, Laura Hainey, Kevin McCabe, Monica Pitman, Sofia, Colin Storrie and Chris Young. There will also be one wild card poet included in the contest so if you fancy sneaking up on the rails and winning the National come along and put your name down on the list. Tickets are selling well but we would like to match the crackling atmosphere we had last year in the Mitchell Theatre so please support your poetry pals.

As the man said, "Come and have a go if you think you're bard enough!" Robin Cairns is your compere. See you on Friday night.

OXFORD: Cabaret Clandestino

Saturday, March 6th, 2010, 9pm-2am, £6/£5
The East Oxford Community Centre,
corner of Cowley Road and Princes Street,
Oxford

With Byron Vincent, one of the funniest and most talented stand-up poets in the country, with support from The Binewski Murder (gypsy folk from Cambridge) and The Potato Potato Band (sublime progressive folk from Oxford and London). Hosted by Pete The Temp (UK Hammer & Tongue Slam Champion).

LONDON: Camden Poetry Series

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

Camden Poetry Series – Patron: Carol Ann Duffy

Ruth O'Callaghan presents Dark Age Press, featuring John Gohorry and Ian Harrow. 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.

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

LONDON: Ruth O'Callaghan launch

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010, 6.30pm, FREE
Oxfam Bookshop,
Marylebone High Street
London

Ruth O'Callaghan launches her new collection, Goater's Alley.

LONDON: The Word's A Stage

Friday, 12th March, 2010, 8pm, £8/£5
The Albany,
Douglas Way,
Deptford,
London
SE8 4AG
Booking: 020 8692 4446 / www.thealbany.org.uk
Four new poems – get them while they’re hot

What does it take to be a spoken-word artist? Is it about the writing? The stage presence? The knack of stringing a story together? Actually it’s about all of these things and more, as this line-up will be amply demonstrating.

As part of our ongoing mission to nurture new writing, we’ve been putting four poets through their paces with top director Mike Kirchner. Their metaphors are now sharper-than-sharp, they’ve got more presence than the British Charisma Society, and their narrative skills are all revved-up and ready to go.

For the price of a single ticket, you can pull up a chair for a fateful, hip-hop-flavoured meal with Simon Mole, set sail with Esther Poyer for the sights and sounds of a new world, enjoy a brief encounter aboard Jahnell’s rhythmic train of thought, and start seeing things (and then start worrying) with Fay Roberts.

It’s not so much a poetry gig as a premier gala. So put on your glad-rags and shimmy down to The Albany.

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

GLASGOW: Scottish Slam Championships

Friday, March 5th, 2010, 9pm-11pm, £4
The Mitchell Theatre,
Granville Street,
Glasgow
Friday March 5
Book on 0844 847 1683 or www.ayewrite.com

On the first night of Glasgow's Aye Write literary festival some of the world's finest slam poets go head to head to win the title of Scottish Slam Champion 2010.

The line-up includes Milton Balgoni, Anne Connolly, Colin Donati, Andy Fleming, Leo Glaister, Laura Hainey, Kevin McCabe, Monica Pitman, Sofia, Colin Storrie and Chris Young. There will also be one wild card poet included in the contest so if you fancy sneaking up on the rails and winning the National come along and put your name down on the list. Tickets are selling well but we would like to match the crackling atmosphere we had last year in the Mitchell Theatre so please support your poetry pals.

As the man said, "Come and have a go if you think you're bard enough!" Robin Cairns is your compere. See you on Friday night.

Monday, March 01, 2010

LONDON: Magma launch

Monday, 8th March, 2010, 8pm-10pm, £7/£6, season tickets 30% off...
The Troubadour,
263-267 Old Brompton Road
LONDON
SW5
nr. junct. Earls Court Rd & Old Brompton Rd
nearest Tube station: Earls Court (District & Piccadilly Lines)

A major moment in the poetry season is when the latest Magma rolls off the presses, but a mega-moment in Magma's poetry-magazine history is when David Boll, who has MC'd hundreds of Magma contributors onto the Troubadour stage since Issue 13 in January 1999 and introduced dozens of guest poets, and well and truly launched 33 issues here, hosts his last launch as editorial committee chairman.

Helping celebrate this Magma milestone will be Magma 46 editors, Jacqueline Saphra and Norbert Hirschhorn, the regular Magma team, a wide selection of Magma 46 contributors and two guest poets:

Anne-Marie Fyfe (b. Cushendall, Co. Antrim, lives in London) who organises Coffee-House Poetry at the Troubadour readings and workshops, latest collection The Ghost Twin (Peterloo, 2005).

Penelope Shuttle (b. Feltham, lives in Falmouth) founder-member of the Falmouth Poetry Group - her 10th poetry collection, including a Selected, is Redgrove's Wife (Bloodaxe, 2006)

for info, booking, season ticket & mailing list enquiries,
t: 020-8354 0660, e: coffpoetry@aol.com w: www.coffeehousepoetry.org
or write to Anne-Marie Fyfe, Coffee-House Poetry, PO Box 16210, LONDON, W4 1ZP

CHELTENHAM: Buzzwords Poetry Night

Sunday, March 7th, 2010, 7pm onwards, £3, £5 if you are able
upstairs at The Exmouth Arms,
Bath Road,
Cheltenham

Guest poet: Chris Kinsey
7pm Workshop led by Chris Kinsey
8pm - Readings and open mic

LONDON: Hammer and Tongue

Monday, March 1st, 2010, 7.30pm
Green Note Cafe
Camden
London

We've got two of our very favouritest and most brilliant poets performing tonight, plus the penultimate open round of the H&T London slam, so come along early to grab a seat, eat some suspect sugary stuff which I am yet to bake, and sign up on the door from 7.15 to take one of eight places in the slam and get in for FREE!

ELVIS MCGONAGALL - One of the most engaging, witty and downright hilarious poet/raconteurs performing in the UK today. check him out at http://www.elvismcgonagall.co.uk/

SALENA GODDEN - described in the Times today as the 'Mae West' of the literary salon, Salena is delicious, macabre, filthy, tender and the host and more of the Book Club Boutique ("the Boutique is the bomb: It's not as much as on the grapevine as the entire vineyard." Lemn Sissay). She's a tour de force, if you have never seen her perform, brace yourself.

LONDON: Shearsman Reading Series

Tuesday, 2nd March, 2010, 7.30pm, FREE
Westminster Kingsway College
Escoffier Room
St Vincent Square
London
SW1P 2PD

An extra date in Shearsman's 2010 Reading Series, featuring Mexican poet Elsa Cross, on a very brief visit to the UK. This is her only reading in the country; Ruth Fainlight, one of her translators will read some translations, as will others.

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

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

Access to the reading venue is available via the restaurant entrance (rather than the main entrance), which in turn is at the Rochester Row end of the Square. Nearest tube stations: Victoria, St James' Park and Pimlico.

Google map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en&q=SW1P+2PD&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=London+SW1P+2PD,+UK&ei=8uRzS9eMD4uRjAfu8sGYCg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAkQ8gEwAA