LONDON: Wordamouth presents Open/Wide

30th April, 2011, 7.30pm-11.30pm, £5 (but VERY cheap drinks and FREE cake!) 

Alaska Studios,
Alaska Street,
London
SE1 8XE

OPEN/WIDE is not a slam event! There are no points, judges or eliminations. Simply email to book a spot or turn up early to sign up on the night. There are NO time limits (within reason!!); NO rules banning props, instruments, singing, rapping, nudity etc; and definitely NO clap-o-meters !! Just an open mic, a friendly and participative audience; an intimate venue; A great DJ; the cheapest drinks in town; free cake; and hopefully, YOU!

Following the events, selected artists will be contacted for gigs at other WORDAMOUTH events and one performer will be invited to the summer slam final to win a days recording at Alaska Studios - Easy!!

Contact: poetcurious@gmail.com

EDINBURGH: The Great Divorce! The Poetry of Radical Disconnection with Paul Kingsnorth

Friday, 29th April, 2011, 6.30pm, FREE

Word Power Books   
43-45 West Nicolson Street
Edinburgh
EH8 9DB
Scotland

The Great Divorce! The Poetry of Radical Disconnection with Paul Kingsnorth, author of Kidland , in Edinburgh, Scotland

All Welcome!

'There's a plainness of speech here, a seriousness, a raw first-handedness in intent, that insists on the conclusion that this particular gazer had to grind his crystal ball himself.' - Mario Petrucci on Kidland

Paul Kingsnorth's new book, Kidland, is a collection of poetry about ravens, pine forests, horned gods, English mythology, the end of the world, trees, rape, death, whisky and the Nevada desert.

On the day that Britain loses itself in a beatific, plastic celebration of a Royal Wedding, we offer up a poetry of radical divorce; tales from a society legally separated from nature, memory and destiny. A caustic paean to the human empire, seen from the inside, the poems in Kidland rise from ancient landscapes to confront On barrows and mountains, in yellow fields and green woods, Kidland offers up a radical, uncompromising vision of broken connections and darkening futures.

Tracing its influences back to the early Wordsworth via - among others - Robinson Jeffers, Mary Oliver, W. S. Merwin, Edward Thomas and R. S. Thomas, Kidland is Paul Kingsnorth's first collection of poetry. Paul will be reading from the collection and talking about the poetry of place, land and radical ecology.

Paul Kingsnorth is the author of two non-fiction books - One No, Many Yeses and Real England - and co-founder of the Dark Mountain Project (www.dark-mountain.net)

LEWES: Lewes Poetry

Thursday, April 28th, 2011, 8.30pm

Lewes Arms,
Mount Place,
Lewes,
East Sussex

If you would like to read on the night, please email Olly through the address at his blog at: http://oliverspoetrygarret.blogspot.com/

LONDON: Apples & Snakes in Soho featuring Kate Tempest

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011, 8pm, £8/£6/£6 under 26Soho Theatre,
21 Dean Street,
London
W1D 3NE

Kate Tempest is not so much a poet as an invisible force that knocks you over and leaves you thinking “Where did that come from?” Her praises are sung high and wide from the likes of Roots Manuva and Scroobius Pip (the highlight of my listening year) to the BBC and the RSC. Whether spitting solo or fronting her band (The Sound Of Rum), she’s fast, furious, and surely has something to say. Sharing the bill are poetry peeress Lady Rhymes , serio-comic storyman ZK the Poet and gritty newcomer G.R.E.Ed.S. It’s a show of four halves - all brilliant, all indisputably poetic. The Apples & Snakes in Soho series is an opportunity for audiences to see top-flight poets and writers alongside newer pioneers from the spoken-word scene.

Booking: 020 7478 0100 / www.sohotheatre.com

Info: www.applesandsnakes.org

Link: http://www.sohotheatre.com/pl2139.html

LEWES: Lewes Poetry

Thursday, April 28th, 2011, 8.30pm
Lewes Arms,
Mount Place,
Lewes,
East Sussex

If you would like to read on the night, please email Olly through the address at his blog at: http://oliverspoetrygarret.blogspot.com/

BRIGHTON: Not The Royal Wedding

Thursday, April 28th, 2011, 7.30pm for 8pm start, £5/£4 concs. 

Iambic Arts Theatre

Regent Street,
Brighton

01273 572 101

WATERLOO PRESS proudly presents Not the Royal Wedding – a battle for the soul of Britain

featuring readings from a panoply of poets and the launch of :

 

Wrong Evenings - Simon Jenner 

In a thoroughly admirable way, this work is miles from the prevailing styles admired in  

this country at the moment... There's some very good poetry here.  - Peter Porter

with readings by Waterloo Poets:  

Naomi Foyle - The Night Pavilion / The World Cup

Norman Jope - The Book of Bells and Candles

Alan Morrison - A Tapestry of Absent Sitters

Philip Ruthen - Jetty View Holding

and special guests

Carole Bremson - Actor/Writer/Director

Maggie Sullivan - Tall Lighthouse 

   

Come toast the health of British poetry & get your long weekend of bunting, strikes and riots 

off to a word-flying start!

LONDON: Apples & Snakes in Soho featuring Kate Tempest

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011, 8pm, £8/£6/£6 under 26Soho Theatre,
21 Dean Street,
London
W1D 3NE

Kate Tempest is not so much a poet as an invisible force that knocks you over and leaves you thinking “Where did that come from?” Her praises are sung high and wide from the likes of Roots Manuva and Scroobius Pip (the highlight of my listening year) to the BBC and the RSC. Whether spitting solo or fronting her band (The Sound Of Rum), she’s fast, furious, and surely has something to say. Sharing the bill are poetry peeress Lady Rhymes , serio-comic storyman ZK the Poet and gritty newcomer G.R.E.Ed.S. It’s a show of four halves - all brilliant, all indisputably poetic. The Apples & Snakes in Soho series is an opportunity for audiences to see top-flight poets and writers alongside newer pioneers from the spoken-word scene.

Booking: 020 7478 0100 / www.sohotheatre.com

Info: www.applesandsnakes.org

Link: http://www.sohotheatre.com/pl2139.html

LONDON: Wordamouth presents Open/Wide

30th April, 2011, 7.30pm-11.30pm, £5 (but VERY cheap drinks and FREE cake!) 

Alaska Studios,
Alaska Street,
London
SE1 8XE

OPEN/WIDE is not a slam event! There are no points, judges or eliminations. Simply email to book a spot or turn up early to sign up on the night. There are NO time limits (within reason!!); NO rules banning props, instruments, singing, rapping, nudity etc; and definitely NO clap-o-meters !! Just an open mic, a friendly and participative audience; an intimate venue; A great DJ; the cheapest drinks in town; free cake; and hopefully, YOU!

Following the events, selected artists will be contacted for gigs at other WORDAMOUTH events and one performer will be invited to the summer slam final to win a days recording at Alaska Studios - Easy!!

Contact: poetcurious@gmail.com

LONDON: Inc Magazine Issue 3 Launch

Thursday, April 21st, 2011, 7.30pm-11pm

Railroad Cafe
120-122 Morning Lane,
Hackney,
London
E9 6LH

To celebrate the launch of the third issue of inc. magazine, we are throwing a launch party at Railroad Cafe, Hackney - with live music, live poetry, live illustration and FREE copies of inc. magazine!
Issue 3 is a particularly spectacular affair, as it is a collaboration with inc. magazine, and illustrators elbow, who have done fantastic drawings and pictures to accompany the poems.
http://www.illustratorselbow.com/

Inc. performers so far include:

Nick Murray
Glor Sanders
Benjamin Bethell
Heather Ann-Bennett
Anya Pearson
Will Coldwell

Plus special poetical guests:

Nick Lubran
Vanessa Kisuule

Live illustrators:
Barnie Page: http://http://barniepage.com/
Suzi Kemp: http://www.suzikemp.com/
Hannah Bailey: http://www.illustratorselbow.com/index.php?name=hannah
Alice Pattullo: http://www.alicepattullo.com/
Milly Freeman: http://www.millyfreeman.co.uk/

As well as the poetry, there will of course be plenty of time to have a drink, a chat and best of all, pick up a FREE COPY OF ISSUE 3! All this for the measly sum of £3. See you there!

BOURNEMOUTH: The Winchester Word Slam

Thursday, 21st April, 2011, 7.30pm, £3 on the door or from the venue in advance

The Winchester,
39 Poole Hill,
Bournemouth
BH2 5PW
Info: www.applesandsnakes.org / www.thewinchesterpub.co.uk

In April 2011, 2 teams and 12 poets will gather for battle in Bournemouth but only 1 will be crowned winner and be given the prize of a paid Apples & Snakes gig! A nail- biting, jaw dropping evening which will set your ears on fire as tongue twisters, lyric spitters, obscure odes, smoldering sonnets and more get on their glad rags and take to the stage!

On the Bournemouth team we have:
Ollie Dangermouse
Vince Sligo
Rob Hill
Steve Biddle
Kelli Anne B
Carrie Gooding
On the Southampton team we have :
Anthony Fairweather
Steve Purcell
Rob Casey
Sam Cox
Annette Wincott
Sean Douglas
A night featuring the crème de la crème of Bournemouth and Southampton's spoken word scene. Come listen and perhaps vote for your favorite poem. Plus a superb headline act, all for £3!

LEICESTER: Nine Arches Press Shindig!

Monday, April 18th, 2011, 7.30pm, FREE
The Western,
Western Road,
Leicester
LE3 0GA

Nine Arches Press & Crystal Clear Creators present special guest writers Maria Taylor, Kathleen Bell, Matthew Stewart and Matt Merritt. Sign up for the open mic on the door.

www.crystalclearcreators.org.uk

EDINBURGH: The Great Divorce! The Poetry of Radical Disconnection with Paul Kingsnorth

Friday, 29th April, 2011, 6.30pm, FREE
Word Power Books     
43-45 West Nicolson Street
Edinburgh
EH8 9DB
Scotland

The Great Divorce! The Poetry of Radical Disconnection with Paul Kingsnorth, author of Kidland , in Edinburgh, Scotland

All Welcome!

'There's a plainness of speech here, a seriousness, a raw first-handedness in intent, that insists on the conclusion that this particular gazer had to grind his crystal ball himself.' - Mario Petrucci on Kidland

Paul Kingsnorth's new book, Kidland, is a collection of poetry about ravens, pine forests, horned gods, English mythology, the end of the world, trees, rape, death, whisky and the Nevada desert.

On the day that Britain loses itself in a beatific, plastic celebration of a Royal Wedding, we offer up a poetry of radical divorce; tales from a society legally separated from nature, memory and destiny. A caustic paean to the human empire, seen from the inside, the poems in Kidland rise from ancient landscapes to confront On barrows and mountains, in yellow fields and green woods, Kidland offers up a radical, uncompromising vision of broken connections and darkening futures.

Tracing its influences back to the early Wordsworth via - among others - Robinson Jeffers, Mary Oliver, W. S. Merwin, Edward Thomas and R. S. Thomas, Kidland is Paul Kingsnorth's first collection of poetry. Paul will be reading from the collection and talking about the poetry of place, land and radical ecology.

Paul Kingsnorth is the author of two non-fiction books - One No, Many Yeses and Real England - and co-founder of the Dark Mountain Project (www.dark-mountain.net)

BRADFORD: Word Life

Friday, 15th April, 2011, 7.30pm, £6.50/£5/Students pay what you can

Theatre In The Mill

Bradford

Tickets: 01274 233200
theatre@bradford.ac.uk

Word Life - featuring Denis Jones, Polar Bear, Joe Hakim, Andy Cook and open mic. Hosted by Joe Kriss.

Denis Jones played for Word Life this time last year, and was so good we had to invite him back. Over the last four years he has developed a show-stopping live performance based around the core of his exceptional and unique guitar-playing style and rich, soulful voice. Utilising a loop station and all manner of samplers and effects, Denis creates vast, complex orchestrations of beat-box rhythms, multi-layered vocals and other-wordly sounds which veer from subtle heart-wrenching folk and blues to heavy bass-driven electronica. Denis has collaborated with many high profile artists from all over Europe, including a track with Dusseldorf artist Kemo which was included on Marcus Intelex's Fabric Live 35 compilation. He has also worked with John Ellis and Luke Flowers (Cinematic Orchestra), Jon Thorne (Lamb) and Henry Da Massa (Micah P Hinson). He released his new album called 'Red + Yellow =' in October 2010..

Polar Bear aka Steve Camden is one of the most accomplished performance poets in the UK. His poem 'Jessica' has clocked up over 50,000 views on youtube, and is widely considered to be one of the best individual examples of spoken word in the UK.  Polar Bear has toured the country, appearing at some of the most acclaimed festivals and arts venues including Latitude, Glastonbury, The Jazz Café, Southbank Centre, and has toured three one man shows, exploring the relationship of spoken word between narrative, cinema and music.

Joe Hakim is a writer, poet and spoken word performer from Hull. He was the winner of Poetry Idol 10, a spoken word competition held at Shortfuse in Islington. Since then he has been performing around the UK on a regular basis with residences at Contact in Manchester, Birmingham REP, the Battersea Arts Centre, the Shunt Vault, the Crossing Borders project in Mytholmroyd and Hyperlexic presents: Poetry Boxing. He performed his debut show 'Poetry is Dead' at the Camden Fringe Festival 2008 along with co-writer and performer Mike Watts. His short story 'Difficult People' was the runner up in BBC Radio 3 The Verb's Chekov Short Story competition in January 2010. He first book 'No Light/Might Escape' has just been published by Night publishing.

Andy Cook is a spoken word artist from Sheffield. He is to audiences what card tricks are to kids. He studies English with Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham.

BRISTOL: Spoken Word All Stars

Friday, 15th April, 2011, 7pm

Arnolfini,
16 Narrow Quay,
Bristol,
Avon
BS1 4QA
Tickets: 0117 917 2300 / www.arnolfini.org.uk
Info: www.spokenwordallstars.com

Bristol Spring Poetry Festival with Poetry CAN at the Arnolfini:
Poetry is blasting its way into the hearts and minds of a new generation with high energy and rhythmic poetry sketching out a new literary landscape for the 21st century. Spoken Word All Stars presents an all-star cast of some of the most exciting poets of the day, performing an original live show in partnership with the globally acclaimed sax player Jason Yarde!

Taking five poets and one musician, we have a stellar line-up of international award winners and critically acclaimed performers, including Kat Francois, OneNess, El Crisis and Chris Redmond.

Spoken Word All Stars’ journey began at Latitude Festival 2010, and is featured on TV as a documentary by Sky Arts. But to get the full Spoken Word All Stars experience, come to our live show at Lakeside and witness comedy, tragedy, romance and philosophy; words interwoven with live and improvised loops, beats and melodies.

LONDON: Rowan Arts Poetry Slam

Friday, April 15th, 2011, 8.30pm (doors open 8pm), £3 on door (£2 if performing)The Floirin Pub

563 Holloway Road
London
N19 4DQ

Come along to the first Rowan Arts Poetry Slam! The first 12 poets to sign up at the door compete for the prize, and all performers get a free drink. You have 3 minutes to impress the judges with your poems!

EDINBURGH: Inky Fingers Open Mic

Tuesday, 26th April, 2011, 8pm-11pm, FREE

Forest Café,
3 Bristo Place,
Edinburgh,
EH1 1EY

"To the altar! To the block!" featuring COLIN DONATI and ELIZA LANGLAND and YOU, on our famous open stage
   
On the occasion of what may be either the most momentous ceremony of modern times or a distracting hangover from an outdated despotical tradition best left ignored, Inky Fingers is bringing you a loosely-themed open mic: to the altar, or to the block? We're inviting
some of the city's top poets to contribute their words on the dread wedding, and you can join in to (or ignore the theme entirely at your discretion).

The Inky Fingers Open Mic takes place in the main room of the Forest Café every 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. It is big and celebratory and welcoming and fun. We want to hear from everybody. 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.

Our feature performers this month are Colin Donati, a writer and musician whose work ranges from the beautifully traditional to the startlingly contemporary, and Eliza Langland, whose comically profound words will shake your lungs and tickle your brain all at the same time.

Open Mic slots are five minutes long; e-mail inkyfingersedinburgh@gmail.com to sign up and be sure of a slot!

Find Inky Fingers online at http://inkyfingersedinburgh.wordpress.com,
on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=101994993200164,
and on Twitter @InkyFingersEdin.

GALWAY: 2011 Cúirt Over The Edge Showcase Reading

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011, 3.30pm
Druid Lane Theatre
Galway
All welcome

The 2011 Cúirt Over The Edge showcase reading takes place as part of this year's Cúirt International Festival of Literature at the Druid Lane Theatre, Galway. The writers showcased this year are Sarah Clancy, Nicola Griffin & Paul Casey. The reading will be introduced by regular Over The Edge host, Susan Millar DuMars.

This event has grown since its inception in 2006 to become one of Ireland's premier platforms for showcasing new poets and fiction writers. Participating writers have previously been Featured Readers at Ireland's most successful reading series, the Over The Edge: Open Readings in Galway City Library. This year the three winners of the Cúirt New Writing Prize 2011 (to be announced) will read with the Over The Edge writers. The Cúirt New Writing Prize is kindly sponsored by Tígh Neactain in memory of Lena Maguire. http://www.galwayartscentre.ie/cuirt/literature/118.html

Sarah Clancy is from Salthill. She is a participant in the Galway Arts Centre Poetry Workshops facilitated by Kevin Higgins. This year, in a display of what she describes as beginners luck, Sarah was shortlisted in the poetry section of the WOW awards, the Listowel Writers Week Collection of Poetry Competition and the Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition. Her poems feature in Behind The Masks, a publication of work by participants in the advanced poetry workshop at Galway Arts Centre. A collection of her poems, Stacy and The Mechanical Bull, was published recently by Lapwing Press. Sarah was a Featured Reader at the August 2010 Over The Edge: Open Reading. http://overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com/2010/08/august-over-edge-open-reading-with.html

Nicola Griffin grew up in Cheshire in the North West of England and studied Psychology and Sociology at the University of Keele in Staffordshire. She has lived in East Clare since 1997. She writes poetry, non-fiction and fiction, is a graduate of the MA in Writing at NUIG and a participant in the Advanced Poetry Workshop at Galway Arts Centre. She has a regular column in Inland Waterways News and her poetry has recently been published in Ropes Unravelled, The Sunday Tribune, The Stinging Fly, Behind The Masks, Crannóg and Nthposition.com. Nicola won the poetry section in the 2010 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition. She was a Featured Reader at the September 2010 Over The Edge: Open Reading. http://overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com/2010/09/september-over-edge-open-reading-with.html

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. In June 2010 he completed a poetry-film, The Lammas Hireling, which has been accepted for Berlin’s biennial Zebra International Poetry-Film festival. Paul is working towards his first full collection. He was a Featured Reader at the March 2010 Over The Edge: Open Reading. http://overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com/2010/03/poet-and-fiction-writer-mary-odonnell.html

Over The Edge acknowledges the ongoing support of Galway City Library, Galway City Council, The Arts Council and The Cúírt Festival of International Literature.

http://overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com/2011/03/2011-cuirt-over-edge-showcase-reading.html

LEAMINGTON SPA: PureandGoodandRight

Monday, April 11, 2011, 7.30pm, £3 (£2 Student/OAP)

The Sozzled Sausage,
Leamington Spa
CV32 4NX

Each month we invite a fabulous guest performance poet. This month we are delighted to have the highly amusing Theo, the current Midlands Slam Champion. Although this title carries with it a small silver trophy, it has not made him rich or more attractive to women.  As an ex-radio advertising copywriter, Theo writes poems that sound eerily like carpet warehouse commercials and take exactly 30 seconds to read. He has a day job as a professional author and runs stand-up comedy courses for aspriring wags (as in 'amusing people', not 'wives and girlfriends')
 

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!

If you're planning to come along, or would like to know more about the night, please email pgrpoetry@gmail.com

Remember to check out our blog at http://pgrpoetry.blogspot.com !!!

LONDON: Kid, I Wrote Back

Monday, April 11th, 2011, 7.30pm-10.30pm, £3 on door, free to perform
Bar Kick,
127 Shoreditch High Street,
London
E1 6JE
020 7739 8700

Over the last year KID, I WROTE BACK has been growing into London’s most diverse, eclectic, and most interesting poetry and spoken word nights London has to offer.

They invite 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.

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

KINGSTON: John Cooper Clarke

Sunday, 10th April, 2011, 7.30pm, £12-£19
The Rose Theatre
24–26 High Street,
Kingston
KT1 1HL

John Cooper Clarke supported by LiTTLe MACHiNe and RakerJacq

Following sell-out tours in Ireland, the UK and the Royal Festival Hall, the resurgent ‘Bard of Salford' is finding new audiences for his special brand of high octane ‘punk poetry'.
Now recognised and studied as one of England's most important poets and performers, his verse is biting, satirical, political, very funny and always delivered in his unique rapid-fire performance style. Following on from the days when he supported Joy Division, Elvis Costello and The Buzzcocks, John has plenty to comment on about modern Britain,  as his incisive follow up to ‘Beasley Street', one of his best-loved poems, aptly demonstrates. Now combining an edgy brand of stand-up with his seminal work, John Cooper Clarke delights and provokes in equal measure.
 www.johncooperclarke.com

Supported by South London band LiTTLe MACHiNe - poems classic and obscure are given a new voice in songs crafted by Walter Wray, Steve Halliwell and Chris Hardy. www.reverbnation.com/littlemachine

Plus guest appearance from RackerJacq - performance poet Racker Donnelly and musician Jacquelyn Hynes.

Organised by Rhythm & Muse in collaboration with RBK www.rhythmandmuse.org

Hosted by Nick Poole

Box Office – 0871 230 1552, book online at www.rosetheatrekingston.org, or go in person to The Rose Theatre.