LONDON: Hammer and Tongue Hackney

Tuesday, 6th March, 2012, 8pm-11pm (doors and DJ from 7pm), £5/£4

The Victoria,

451 Queensbridge Road,

London

E8 3AS

samberkson@gmail.com
07853 0817676

Live poetry from Latitude Festival Slam Champion, Anna Freeman and ex Katch-22 MC turned 'griot for the willing', HKB Finn. Plus open mic slam competition, arrive early for slam sign-up.

HEBDEN BRIDGE: Víctor Rodríguez Nuñez

Wednesday, 7th March, 2012, 8pm

Víctor Rodríguez Nuñez is reading at The White Lion Hotel in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire

Accompanied by his wife and translator, Katherine Hedeen, Victor is over for just a few days in March and Arc Publications are hosting an informal reading and 'in conversation'.

He has described his search for a poetry that is "... participatory yet not political ... communicative yet not explicit... Cuban yet not essentially nationalistic..." This sentiment is evident in the lightfooted dance his poems weave between countries, people, music and silence.

A hugely charismatic reader of his work, Victor is also a thoughtful and lively communicator. This promises to be a wonderful evening and we hope you can join us. It is a free event.

LONDON: Camden Poetry Series

Friday, 2nd March 2012, 7pm (doors open 6.30pm), £5/£4, WINE

Trinity United Reform Church,

1 Buck Street,

Camden Town

1-2 mins, Camden Town tube

Ruth O'Callaghan presents The Poets of Malika's Kitchen.  

            

Poets from the floor very welcome

Please bring a copy of the poem if you wish to be considered for the new anthology.

LONDON: The Word's A Stage

Tuesday, 13th March, 2012, £8/£6 concessions

Soho Theatre,

21 Dean Street,

London

W1D 3NE
www.applesandsnakes.org / www.sohotheatre.com / 020 7478 0100

Apples and Snakes presents
THE WORD’S A STAGE
Some poems are over too quickly – bam, bam, bam, and they’re gone. But in The Word’s a Stage, we’ve invited four poets to produce four new mini-epics: 20 whole minutes each. We’ve put them through their paces at a series of workshops with superduper Radio 4 poet Aoife Mannix, and now they’re fully primed and ready to go.
See how they wield their new-found narrative skills! Gasp as they grapple with the wild beasts of mood and pacing! Raise an eyebrow as they straddle the gap between live poetry and spoken-word theatre! (No pressure, then, poets.) But most of all – just buy a ticket!
Featuring Joshua Idehen, Belinda Zhawi, Alain English and Clair Whitefield.

LONDON: Wise Words Women's Open Mic

Wednesday, 7th March, 2012, 7.30pm, £3/£2 concessions & open mic

Vibe Bar,

91-95 Brick Lane,

London

E1 6QL
www.applesandsnakes.org / www.alternativearts.co.uk

 

Alternative Arts, with support from Apples and Snakes, presents
WISE WORDS WOMEN’S OPEN MIC
An open-mic poetry night with special guest slot from Hollie McNish, who’s been UK Poetry Slam Champion on at least one occasion. Also featuring the nicely feisty Vanessa Kisuule (no mean collector of slam trophies herself) and guitar-twanging funnywoman Cecilia Delatori.
The atmosphere will be electric, the air thick with poems, and if you’d like to throw a few of your own into the ether, arrive early and sign up. Part of the Wise Words Festival. Tickets on the door.

BARNSTAPLE: Hip Hopping Speaks

Friday, 2nd March, 2012, 7pm, £12.50 / £8 (young person)

Studio@QT,

Queens Theatre,

Boutport Street,

Barnstaple

EX31 1SY
www.applesandsnakes.org / www.northdevontheatres.org.uk / 01271 32 42 42

Apples and Snakes presents
HIP HOPPING SPEAKS

Start your evening with the superb sounds of 7-piece band The Breaks Collective followed by the intense and powerful spoken words of Toby Thompson. Topping things off is the infamous Dizraeli and the Small Gods, bringing their fresh new take on hip hop to North Devon. Stay after the show for a post show discussion with the artists and find out what gets these poets and musicians out of bed in the morning!

LONDON: Grey Hen Press reading

Thursday, March 8th, 2012, 7pm-8.30pm, wine and nibbles

Queens Park Books,

87 Salisbury Road

NW6

A reading from the Grey Hen Press anthology Get Me Out of Here!

With: Joy Howard, Angela Kirby, Gerda Mayer, Rosemary McLeish and Ruth Smith.

LONDON: Carol Ann Duffy

Monday, March 12th, 2012, £10

Dugdale Centre,

Thomas Hardy House,

LOUGHBOROUGH: Speech Bubble, with Psychicbread

Monday, March 5th, 2012, doors 7pm

Students Union,

Loughborough University,

Epinal Way

Tel: 01509 222 881

Open mic night, with special guest reader Psychicbread.

LONDON: Storycraft

Monday, 27th February, 1.30pm-2.30pm, £2 per child

Rich Mix,

35-47 Bethnal Green Road,

London

E1 6LA
www.applesandsnakes.org / www.richmix.org.uk

Apples and Snakes and RichMix present STORYCRAFT 

Led by a different storyteller or poet every month the sessions are aimed at mums, dads and carers with children aged 2 to 5, and encourage families to enjoy stories together in an active and fun way. Using puppets and percussion instruments, stories are animated and involve actions, singing and discussion. All sessions feature a hands-on craft activity. Featuring: Surya Turner

BALLYMALOE HOUSE: A Melody Of Words

Friday, February 24th, 2012, 8pm, €15/€10

The Grainstore,
Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry,
Co. Cork

A wonderful night of poetry and harp music in the beautiful setting of Ballymaloe. Acclaimed poets Thomas McCarthy and Gerard Smyth will read from their work. Throughout the evening classical harpist Sarah Noonan will perform pieces by JS Bach, Grandjany, Weiss, Hasselmans, Tournier, Dussek, O'Carolan and Salzedo.

Ballymaloe House is offering an excellent package deal of €60 for early 6pm dinner plus event or €140 for dinner, B&B and entrance to the event. Ballymaloe pride themselves on offering a warm welcome, tastefully decorated bedrooms and award-winning cuisine which celebrates the best of local, seasonal produce.

For more details please contact Rebecca at The Grainstore - thegrainstore@ballymaloe.ie

KINGSTON: Rhythm & Muse

Thursday, February 23, 2012, 8.30pm, £6/£5 on door

Ram Jam Club,

46 Richmond Road,

Kingston

KT2 5EE

www.rhythmandmuse.org

www.grey-horse.co.uk

Guest Poet - Sue Johns

Sue Johns was born in Penzance, Cornwall and now lives in South London. Sue began writing and performing as a ‘punk poet’ and is a veteran of the London circuit. She has performed at festivals and cabarets around the country as a solo performer and with Dodo Modern Poets and also writes and performs theatrical monologues. Sue’s work is honest, thought provoking and often deeply personal.  She has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies and her sixth collection, ‘Hush’, was published by Morgan’s Eye Press in 2011.

Music - Baker Henderson

"A vision... her father’s footsteps... feet burning on Ethiopia's hot sand... " Baker Henderson presents the poetry of Adrian Moody.

A short collection of poems from a longer collection of years, performed to jazz standards and original compositions arranged in collaboration with John Pope (electric bass), Adrian Moody (saxophone) and with guest percussionist Martin Pyne.

For more information see www.myspace.com/bakerhendersonlondon

Plus open mic - sign up in advance. Email alison-hill@blueyonder.co.uk for more information.

GALWAY: February Over The Edge Open Reading

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012, 6.30pm-8pm, FREE

Galway City Library

 

The Featured Readers are Chris Binchy, Anne Irwin and Philip Abbink. 

 

Chris Binchy was born in 1970. He studied English and Spanish at UCD and later graduated from the master's course in creative writing at Trinity College Dublin. He has published four novels. The Very Man was shortlisted for Irish Novel of the Year in 2003. Since then he has published People Like Us, Open-handed and in 2010 Five Days Apart was published by Harper Collins US. He lives in Dublin.

Anne Irwin was born in Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo. She has lived in Galway since 1988. She studied English and Philosophy at U.C.G and is a practising Homeopath. She has been attending poetry workshops with Kevin Higgins for the past two years. Anne has previously read her poems at Clarinbridge Arts Festival, the 2011 NUI Galway Alumni literary evening and the Flat Lake Festival. She was long-listed in the Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition in both 2010 and 2011. Her poetry has been published in the 2011 issue of the ROPES literary journal.

When Philip Abbink’s wife got a job in Ireland, he quit his job as a Canadian lawyer and became the official Writer in Residence at their new flat in Galway.  The Residency funded writing classes at GTI and Galway Arts Centre.  Philip has written short stories, children’s books, and an entire novel (if you add up two unrelated halves).  Several stories have provoked polite rejections from respectable publications and one was shortlisted for the Over the Edge New Writer of the Year competition in 2011.

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

BIRMINGHAM: Hit The Ode

Thursday, 23rd February, 2012, 7.30pm, £5

The Victoria,

48 John Bright Street,

Birmingham

B1 1BN
www.applesandsnakes.org / www.thevictoriabirmingham.co.uk

Apples and Snakes presents HIT THE ODE, featuring Paul Murphy, Vanessa Kisuule, Jon Sands and Ken Arkind.

An electrifying night of spoken word poetry by the best performers from around the corner - and around the world. Each Hit the Ode features one act from the Midlands, one from elsewhere in the UK, and, uniquely, one international guest. Expect an eclectic and carefully selected mix of performers and a boisterous but discerning audience.
Open mic: half of the open mic slots available via email (bohdan@applesandsnakes.org), the other half can be claimed on the door on the day of the event.

LONDON: Jawdance

Wednesday, 22 February, 2012, 7.30pm, FREE

Rich Mix,

35 – 47 Bethnal Green Road,

London,

E1 6LA
www.applesandsnakes.org / www.richmix.org.uk

Apples and Snakes presents JAWDANCE
Yes - poetry; a stage; a microphone; you. Put it all together and you’ve got Jawdance, the spoken-word show that’s hipper than a thousand Shoreditch hipsters wearing hipsters. And let’s not neglect to mention the special guests, the poetry films, the competitions and the genial host. Also open mic available, email russell@applesandsnakes.org

BARNSTAPLE: Opposition

Tuesday, 21st February, 2012, 8pm, £10 / student £5

Queens Theatre Studio,
Boutport Street,
Barnstaple
EX31 1SY
www.applesandsnakes / www.hannahsilva.wordpress.com / www.northdevontheatres.org.uk 

A Barbican Theatre production, in association with Apples and Snakes presents OPPOSITION
 
In her new solo show Opposition, award-winning writer, performer and vocal gymnast Hannah Silva uses multiple art forms to dissect and parody political language, revealing the meaning, music and claptrap beneath the rhetoric of today’s (big?) society.

LONDON: Lumen Poetry Series

Tuesday, 21st February, 2012,  doors open 6.30pm for 7pm, £5/£4, WINE

Lumen,
88 Tavistock Place,
WC1

Tubes: Russell Square, Kings Cross, St Pancras.

Ruth O'Callaghan presents Alan Jenkins, Fiona Sampson and Ahren Warner. Poets from the floor very welcome

SOUTHAMPTON: 451

Monday, 20th February, 2012, 7pm, £5 / £3 open mic

Nuffield Studio,

University Road,

Southampton

SO17 1TR
www.applesandsnakes.org / www.nuffieldtheatre.co.uk

Apples and Snakes presents 451
All the right words in the right order. A bi-monthly showcase of local, national and international spoken word. Expect articulate artistry, expressive eloquence and verbal thrills’n’spills.
Featuring: Nathan Filer and Rachel Pantechnicon.

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE: Scratch Tyne

Sunday, 19th February, 2012, 4pm, FREE

Floor 2,

Commercial Union House,

29 - 47 Pilgrim Street,

Newcastle

NE1 6QE
www.applesandsnakes.org

A monthly night where you can be the first to hear new poems from spoken word artists both established and unfamiliar. This is a short but intense hour of work rehearsed throughout the afternoon, offered up for your considered opinion as a critical friend of poetry in the north east. We welcome anyone with skills and expertise in creative writing, drama and performance or other forms of stagecraft.

BALLYMALOE HOUSE: A Melody Of Words

Friday, February 24th, 2012, 8pm, €15/€10
The Grainstore,
Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry,
Co. Cork

A wonderful night of poetry and harp music in the beautiful setting of Ballymaloe. Acclaimed poets Thomas McCarthy and Gerard Smyth will read from their work. Throughout the evening classical harpist Sarah Noonan will perform pieces by JS Bach, Grandjany, Weiss, Hasselmans, Tournier, Dussek, O'Carolan and Salzedo.

Ballymaloe House ais offering an excellent package deal of €60 for early 6pm dinner plus event or €140 for dinner, B&B and entrance to the event. Ballymaloe pride themselves on offering a warm welcome, tastefully decorated bedrooms and award-winning cuisine which celebrates the best of local, seasonal produce.

For more details please contact Rebecca at The Grainstore - thegrainstore@ballymaloe.ie

EDINBURGH: Inky Fingers Open Mic

Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 8pm-11pm, FREE

The Third Door,

Lothian Street,

Edinburgh

Inky Fingers Open Mic, featuring Ken Arkind and Jon Sands

This month, we’re incredibly excited to be featuring two top US poets, Ken Arkind and Jon Sands, as part of their UK tour.

Ken Arkind is a National Poetry Slam Champion, Nuyorican Poets Cafe Grand Slam Champion and full-time touring artist who has performed across the US, been published in numerous anthologies, and featured in HBO, CBS, NBC and Borders.com’s Open Door Poetry series

Jon Sands is a full-time teaching and performing artist. His first full collection of poems, The New Clean, was released in 2011 from Write Bloody Publishing. Jon is currently the Director of Poetry Education at the Positive Health Project.

The Inky Fingers Open Mic takes place on the fourth Tuesday of the month, from 8-11pm. It’s free to come and free for anyone to perform, regardless of style, experience, or identity. We want to hear from everybody, and we want to support everybody in performing for a friendly audience. We want your poems, your rants, your ballads, your short stories, your diaries, your experimental texts, your heart, your mind, your body. We want the essay on your summer holidays you wrote when you were four, your adolescent haiku, and extracts from your eventually-to-be-completed epic fantasy quadrilogy. We want to hear your best new work as well. And we want people to care about the way words are performed.

Spaces to perform are limited, so please email inkyfingersedinburgh@gmail.com to reserve a space.

KINGSTON: Rhythm & Muse

Thursday, February 23, 2012, 8.30pm, £6/£5 on door

Ram Jam Club,

46 Richmond Road,

Kingston

KT2 5EE

www.rhythmandmuse.org

www.grey-horse.co.uk

Guest Poet - Sue Johns

Sue Johns was born in Penzance, Cornwall and now lives in South London. Sue began writing and performing as a ‘punk poet’ and is a veteran of the London circuit. She has performed at festivals and cabarets around the country as a solo performer and with Dodo Modern Poets and also writes and performs theatrical monologues. Sue’s work is honest, thought provoking and often deeply personal.  She has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies and her sixth collection, ‘Hush’, was published by Morgan’s Eye Press in 2011.

Music - Baker Henderson

"A vision... her father’s footsteps... feet burning on Ethiopia's hot sand... " Baker Henderson presents the poetry of Adrian Moody.

A short collection of poems from a longer collection of years, performed to jazz standards and original compositions arranged in collaboration with John Pope (electric bass), Adrian Moody (saxophone) and with guest percussionist Martin Pyne.

For more information see www.myspace.com/bakerhendersonlondon

Plus open mic - sign up in advance. Email alison-hill@blueyonder.co.uk for more information.

LONDON: Realtalk

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012, 8pm-midnight, £5

Bedroom Bar,
Rivington Street,
London
EC2A 3AY

Poetcurious & Angry Sam aka WORDAMOUTH return to Bedroom Bar to host a Post Valentines Night orgy of spoken word...

The first REALTALK of 2012 features the urban-legendary Chester P and money-making Mongo alongside the fresh styles of Adam Kammerling - 3 Hiphop poets of the highest calibre indeed. REALTALK

If you want to join this heavyweight line up there are also open mic spots for early birds and poetry mates! REALTALK - served up in the comfortable surroundings of Bedroom Bar in the heart of trendiest Old Street.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/318782144824667/

LONDON: Storycraft

Monday, 27th February, 1.30pm-2.30pm, £2 per child

Rich Mix,

35-47 Bethnal Green Road,

London

E1 6LA
www.applesandsnakes.org / www.richmix.org.uk

Apples and Snakes and RichMix present STORYCRAFT 

Led by a different storyteller or poet every month the sessions are aimed at mums, dads and carers with children aged 2 to 5, and encourage families to enjoy stories together in an active and fun way. Using puppets and percussion instruments, stories are animated and involve actions, singing and discussion. All sessions feature a hands-on craft activity. Featuring: Surya Turner

LONDON: Kid, I Wrote Back

Monday, February 13th, 2012, 8pm, £3 on door, free to perform
Bar Kick

127 Shoreditch High Street,

Shoreditch,

London,

E1 6JE

Artists: Chimene Suleyman, Dylan Sage

Ticket link: http://www.cafekick.co.uk/bar-kick/contact.html

KID, I WROTE BACK invites both established and as yet unheard talent to the stage to perform – offering a much needed dose of full-on liberalism and authenticity – that will really agitate, challenge and tickle your minds.

It is a platform for current words from current poets of all styles and experience who are looking to share words and hear others in a friendly and lively environment. It is the brainchild of Chimène Suleyman, a writer and poet who performs as part of the Rhymes Won’t Wait collective and Dylan Sage, a writer and emcee who has entertained with the likes of The Nextmen and Breaking Bread.

If you would like to perform email kidiwroteback@instorage.org.uk or get there early on the night to sign up.

kidiwroteback@instorage.org.uk
www.facebook.com/kidiwroteback
www.myspace.com/kidiwroteback

LEAMINGTON SPA: PUREandGOODandRIGHT

Monday, 13th February, 2012, 7.30pm, £3 (£2 Student/OAP)

The Sozzled Sausage,

Leamington Spa

CV32 4NX

This month's guest poet is the fabulous, multi slam winning, Mark Niel, a much-loved performance poet at PureandGoodandRight, who has a deft ability to blend humour, pathos and provocative material. He runs Tongue in Chic, which presents showcases at festivals and events around the country. Last year, he won the Farrago Zoo Award for the 'Best Performance by a UK poet'. 

Mark's breakthrough was winning the prestigious Camden Crawl Slam, which has led him to headlining gigs. His  performance poetry has gone on to dazzle audiences at literary festivals, as well as, Latitude, Green Man and Wychwood, and the Shepherds Bush Empire. He has also written and recorded for BBC 3 Home Counties Radio. In 2011, Mark became the 'First Poet Laureate of Milton Keynes,' and debuted his first one man show: 'Poet in Motion' at the Wenlock Poetry Festival.

Mark's material ranges from deeply personal reflections to barn-storming performance pieces. Whether despairing about his frequently misspelt name, or raging about frustrations of fridges in shared houses, he is always by turns engaging, comic and moving.

DEFINITELY AN EVENING NOT TO BE MISSED!
With open mic support from…….yes……YOU!
Come and share your poems or enjoy the talent of others- seasoned poets & first time performers most welcome!

If you would like to know more about the night, please email pgrpoetry@gmail.com

LONDON: Hammer and Tongue Camden

Monday, February 13th, 2012, 7.30pm-11pm, £5

Green Note Café
106 Parkway
Camden
Nearest tube: Camden Town

Hammer and Tongue Camden Feb feat. DIZRAELI and SOPHIA WALKER

The UK's biggest poetry slam network welcomes special guest and BBC Radio4 slam winner  DIZRAELI and SOPHIA WALKER.

OPEN SLAM, 8 PLACES, FIRST POETS TO SIGN UP ON THE DOOR GET ON THE LIST.

For those who saw Diz with Kate Tempest in December, or know of him from his work as frontman in Bad Science and The Small Gods or as MC alongside beatboxers Shlomo or Bellatrix, producers like Tom Caruana, DJ Downlow and Jamie Simmonds, MCs like Jam Baxter and Baba Brinkman and even legendary folk musician Chris Wood, you'll know him as a young man who has already made a long career as a prodigious talent. Twice the winner of UK National Slams, with the BBC and with Farrago, he is a spoken word artist who has shown the rest of us how to do performance, An amazing honesty, an upbeat clarity, his work is uplifting, full of love for humanity and composed with an unparralled gift for the verbal craft. He promises not to repeat anything he did in December (unless we really ask him nicely) - so look out for some new stuff!

Check his verse on the latest single by Brighton hiphop The Menagarie. It's sick! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HgexOeGnEI&feature=youtu.be

Or watch him do a little freestyle on the streets of Manchester with Bellatrix. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnE0MetlXfk&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Diz will be joined by SOPHIA WALKER, variously described as a 'diminutive yank firebrand' and one of the freshest talents to hit stages across the UK and Scotland since she crossed the pond. check her out here defending her stature.
 

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

First 8 poets to sign up on the door come in for free and enter the competition.

Hosted by Michelle Madsen
Contact:  07514 296242
www.hammerandtongue.co.uk
http://twitter.com/hammerandtongue
http://www.myspace.com/hammerandtonguelondon

LONDON: Jazz Verse Jukebox

Sunday, 12th February, 2012, doors 6.30pm, show from 7.30pm, £8 (on the door only)

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club (Upstairs),

47 Frith Street,

London

W1D 4HT
Tube: Tottenham Court Road or Leicester Square
Web:www.jumokefashola.com
Email: JazzVerseJukebox@me.com

The JAZZ VERSE JUKEBOX celebrates the ‘love season’ with a stunning line-up of  Spoken Word Artists & Vocalists. Join us for what promises to be a thrilling night of diverse spoken word & jazz from some of the freshest exponents on the scene.
With live jazz trio & Open Mic.  With cushions to lunge on, cocktails to imbibe & surprises, this is the one night not to miss!

Special Guests include:
Anthony Joseph, G.R.E.E.Ds, Indigo Williams, Keith Jarrett plus music from Kersha Bailey, PLUS Open Mic for poets/singers.

Compered by & with music from Jumoké Fashola
(www.jumokefashola.com)

Anthony Joseph is a Trinidadian born poet, novelist, academic and musician. His publications include Desafinado, Teragaton, The African Origins of UFOs (Salt, 2006) and Bird Head Son (Salt, 2009). His work has also been included in several anthologies, including Identity Parade (Bloodaxe), Red (Peepal Tree, 2010) and Black, Brown & Beige (University of Texas Press, 2009). He performs and lectures internationally and tours with his band The Spasm Band. Joseph lectures in creative writing at Birkbeck College, University of London. He lives in London. His fourth collection is entitled Rubber Orchestras.  Taking its name from a poem by American surrealist Ted Joans, this is an energetic, sensuous and intriguing collection of poems, written using an (as yet) undisclosed method of composition the writer calls ‘Liminalism’.
The leader of the Black avant garde in Britain”. Ikley Literature Festival.
“Afro-blue to astro-black and what glimmers in between” -The Times
www.anthonyjoseph.com

Indigo Williams is a writer and performance artist from South London who is generating a buzz on the UK spoken word scene-and if you have seen her live you will know why. She is a dynamic performer that commands the stage with gripping presence and powerful poetry. With both substance and passion her work is emotive and thought provoking. She has performed at various places and events such as, The Big Chill festival, iTunes Festival, Camp Bestival, The RoundHouse, BBC Radio 4’s ‘Bespoken word’ and many more. She is an associate artist of The RoundHouse and is fast becoming known as a name to watch out for.
www.thestufflifeismadeof.tumblr.com/

G.R.E.Ed.S (Generating Rhymes to Engage the EnlighteneD Soul). A performer, a poet, an entertainer with a love for music. Poetry provides him with a therapeutic space that has no boundaries where he can create his own pace, and tell his story his way. His journey is taking a new twist...His latest track 'There She Goes' was BBC 1xtra's Home grown track of the week

www.iamgreeds.com

Born and raised in East London, Keith Jarrett has written poetry and prose from an early age, inspired by hip-hop and jazz. Since 2005, he has performed at various poetry events in English and Spanish, and was a runner up in the Radio 4 Slam Finals in 2007. He is London and UK Farrago Poetry Slam Champion for 2010 and a semi-finalist in the World Cup Slam in Paris. He is currently writing a collection of short stories and a novel.

Singer, songwriter and self-taught guitarist Kersha Bailey performs indie-soul fusion, drawing upon a range of influences such as George Benson, Frank McComb, Jill Scott and Prince. At 21 with a three octave range, she has already performed in an impressive array of venues, and is fast becoming one to watch on the acoustic soul scene.
www.myspace.com/kershabailey

GALWAY: February Over The Edge Open Reading

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012, 6.30pm-8pm, FREE

Galway City Library

 

The Featured Readers are Chris Binchy, Anne Irwin and Philip Abbink. 

 

Chris Binchy was born in 1970. He studied English and Spanish at UCD and later graduated from the master's course in creative writing at Trinity College Dublin. He has published four novels. The Very Man was shortlisted for Irish Novel of the Year in 2003. Since then he has published People Like Us, Open-handed and in 2010 Five Days Apart was published by Harper Collins US. He lives in Dublin.

Anne Irwin was born in Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo. She has lived in Galway since 1988. She studied English and Philosophy at U.C.G and is a practising Homeopath. She has been attending poetry workshops with Kevin Higgins for the past two years. Anne has previously read her poems at Clarinbridge Arts Festival, the 2011 NUI Galway Alumni literary evening and the Flat Lake Festival. She was long-listed in the Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition in both 2010 and 2011. Her poetry has been published in the 2011 issue of the ROPES literary journal.

When Philip Abbink’s wife got a job in Ireland, he quit his job as a Canadian lawyer and became the official Writer in Residence at their new flat in Galway.  The Residency funded writing classes at GTI and Galway Arts Centre.  Philip has written short stories, children’s books, and an entire novel (if you add up two unrelated halves).  Several stories have provoked polite rejections from respectable publications and one was shortlisted for the Over the Edge New Writer of the Year competition in 2011.

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: Elvis’s Big Love Night

Friday, 10th February, 2012, 7.30pm, £5 / £4 concessions

Earl Spencer,
260 - 262 Merton Road,
London
SW18 5JL

Apples and Snakes and Sherger Productions present Elvis’s Big Love Night
Something's stirring down in SW18: a  pre-Valentine treat for all you poets, lovers and, well, poetry-lovers. Elvis McGonagall will be delivering his greatest hits and ensuring poetical fair play. Joining him are the award-winning Ardella Jones and feisty newcomer Mia Jerome. And if you fancy razzle-dazzling the audience with a little romantic verse of your own, either self-penned or just your all-time favourite, then arrive early to sign up for an open-mic slot.

www.applesandsnakes.org

GALWAY: 2012 Over The Edge Poetry Book Showcase

Friday, February 10th, 2012, 8pm, FREE

The Kitchen @ The Museum

Galway

The 2012 Over The Edge Poetry Book Showcase featuring Moya Cannon, Stephen Murray, Ndrek Gjini, Lorna Shaughnessy,  Jack McCann, Mae Leonard, Sarah Griffin, Pauline Fayne, Pete Mullineaux, Susan Lindsay, Kate Dempsey and Sean Kavanagh will take place at The Kitchen @ The Museum, Spanish Arch, Galway on Friday, February, 10th at 8pm.

In this annual retrospective of the year just past, Galway-based poets who published a new collection of poems during 2011 are invited to read three poems from the collection in question. There will also be short readings from the anthologies Bicycles with Umbrellas (NUI Galway MA in Writing class of 2010), Monday Miscellany (Westside Writers) and Mosaic (Skylight Poets/Galway Arts Centre Advanced Poetry Workshop).

All welcome. For further details phone 087-6431748.

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

http://overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com

BIRMINGHAM: Hit The Ode

Thursday, 23rd February, 2012, 7.30pm, £5

The Victoria,

48 John Bright Street,

Birmingham

B1 1BN
www.applesandsnakes.org / www.thevictoriabirmingham.co.uk

Apples and Snakes presents HIT THE ODE, featuring Paul Murphy, Vanessa Kisuule, Jon Sands and Ken Arkind.

An electrifying night of spoken word poetry by the best performers from around the corner - and around the world. Each Hit the Ode features one act from the Midlands, one from elsewhere in the UK, and, uniquely, one international guest. Expect an eclectic and carefully selected mix of performers and a boisterous but discerning audience.
Open mic: half of the open mic slots available via email (bohdan@applesandsnakes.org), the other half can be claimed on the door on the day of the event.

LONDON: Jawdance

Wednesday, 22 February, 2012, 7.30pm, FREE

Rich Mix,

35 – 47 Bethnal Green Road,

London,

E1 6LA
www.applesandsnakes.org / www.richmix.org.uk

Apples and Snakes presents JAWDANCE
Yes - poetry; a stage; a microphone; you. Put it all together and you’ve got Jawdance, the spoken-word show that’s hipper than a thousand Shoreditch hipsters wearing hipsters. And let’s not neglect to mention the special guests, the poetry films, the competitions and the genial host. Also open mic available, email russell@applesandsnakes.org

BARNSTAPLE: Opposition

Tuesday, 21st February, 2012, 8pm, £10 / student £5
Queens Theatre Studio,
Boutport Street,
Barnstaple
EX31 1SY
www.applesandsnakes / www.hannahsilva.wordpress.com / www.northdevontheatres.org.uk

A Barbican Theatre production, in association with Apples and Snakes presents OPPOSITION
 
In her new solo show Opposition, award-winning writer, performer and vocal gymnast Hannah Silva uses multiple art forms to dissect and parody political language, revealing the meaning, music and claptrap beneath the rhetoric of today’s (big?) society.

LONDON: Lumen Poetry Series

Tuesday, 21st February, 2012,  doors open 6.30pm for 7pm, £5/£4, WINE

Lumen,
88 Tavistock Place,
WC1

Tubes: Russell Square, Kings Cross, St Pancras.

Ruth O'Callaghan presents Alan Jenkins, Fiona Sampson and Ahren Warner. Poets from the floor very welcome

CAMBRIDGE: Hammer & Tongue featuring Dizraeli and Inja

Wednesday, 8th February, 2012, 7.30pm for 8pm start, advance £5/£3.50, £2 for slammers; on the door, £6.50/£5, £3 for slammers

The Fountain Inn,

12 Regent Street,

Cambridge

CB2 1DB

Sign up as one of the eight to compete in the poetry slam for a place in the Regional Final, or just dive in and soak up the night’s atmosphere and talent. Dizraeli is a renowned rapper, singer, and poet. Local fella Inja does everything from dubstep to freestyle poetry.

Contact details: cambridge@hammerandtongue.com or 07904 488009

Website: http://www.hammerandtongue.co.uk

LONDON: Templar Poetry reading

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012, 7pm, FREE

The Compass,

58 Penton Street,

Islington,

London

NI 9PZ

Chris James, Matt Bryden and Jane Weir read at the inaugural Templar Poetry readings at The Compass. This is the opening event for our new monthly live poetry sessions in London with three of our published poets.