Cambridge: Broken Word

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

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

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

Galway: Over the Edge

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

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

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

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

www.overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com

Glastonbury Festival 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A.F.Harrold sends festival goers this message:

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

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

London: Poetry Reading

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

Agnes Meadows
Rosemary Norman
Ruth O’Callaghan

Poets from the Floor Very Welcome

London: Poetry Reading

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

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

Apples & Snakes in Soho

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

Jackie Kay; Roger Robinson; Gloria Dawson

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

The Shuffle in the Poetry Society Studio

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

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

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

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

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

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

LONDON: Maggie Butt, Barbara Hardy and Alison Hill

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

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

LONDON: Magma 41 launch reading

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

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

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

LONDON: Poetry and Poppadums

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

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

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

GLASGOW: Last Monday At Rio

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

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

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

LEWES: Rachel Pantechnicon @ Pint Of Poetry

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

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

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

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

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

LONDON: Bluechrome Poets

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

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

GALWAY: Poems From Guantanamo

Thursday, June 26th, 2008, 7pm

Amnesty International Shop,

Middle Street,

Galway

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

GALWAY: Over The Edge

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LONDON: Apples & Snakes Open Mic

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

DUBLIN: Poetry Ireland introductions

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

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

OAKHAM: Andre Mangeot reading

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

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

LONDON: Magma 41 Launch Reading

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

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

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

LONDON: It Looks Like You're Writing A Letter

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

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

"A recipe for madness" - The Londonist.