Thursday, 13th May, 2010, 6.45pm, FREE
The Reliance,
336 Old Street,
London
Telephone: 020 8340 3566
Ambit's 200 words competition – winners' reading
Featuring David Gaffney and Naomi Foyle – hear the winners of the Ambit 200 Words Competition read their entries. Meet the Ambit team and enjoy a drink at one of the funkiest bars in London.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
LONDON: Les Murray lecture
Tuesday, 11th May, 2010, 7pm
Tickets: £12 (£8 Poetry Society members and concessions). Tickets can be booked on line at www.poetrysociety.org.uk or telephone 0207 420 9886. All welcome.
Beveridge Hall,
University of London
Senate House, Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HU
Les Murray, Australian “super-league” poet, delivers the Poetry Society’s Annual Lecture - Infinite Anthology: Adventures in Lexiconia, a talk about words and the poems they inspire.
In a rare UK appearance, Australian poet Les Murray gives the Poetry Society's annual lecture, in which he'll explore his life-long fascination with word-collecting. From the folk words and country speech he heard as a child, to the new coinages he collects for the Macquarie Dictionary, Murray explains how he has used poetry as a word-store. From rangas and pobbledonks to belly leggings and jail tats Murray serves up some of the words that have most inspired him, while discussing how he's chosen to direct each word's unique potency. He finishes the evening with a poetry reading.
"There is no poetry in the English language now so rooted in its sacredness, so broad-leafed in its pleasures, and yet so intimate and so conversational." Derek Walcott on Les Murray.
Supported by the Institute of English Studies, University of London
Tickets: £12 (£8 Poetry Society members and concessions). Tickets can be booked on line at www.poetrysociety.org.uk or telephone 0207 420 9886. All welcome.
Beveridge Hall,
University of London
Senate House, Malet Street
London
WC1E 7HU
Les Murray, Australian “super-league” poet, delivers the Poetry Society’s Annual Lecture - Infinite Anthology: Adventures in Lexiconia, a talk about words and the poems they inspire.
In a rare UK appearance, Australian poet Les Murray gives the Poetry Society's annual lecture, in which he'll explore his life-long fascination with word-collecting. From the folk words and country speech he heard as a child, to the new coinages he collects for the Macquarie Dictionary, Murray explains how he has used poetry as a word-store. From rangas and pobbledonks to belly leggings and jail tats Murray serves up some of the words that have most inspired him, while discussing how he's chosen to direct each word's unique potency. He finishes the evening with a poetry reading.
"There is no poetry in the English language now so rooted in its sacredness, so broad-leafed in its pleasures, and yet so intimate and so conversational." Derek Walcott on Les Murray.
Supported by the Institute of English Studies, University of London
LONDON: Lumen Poetry Series
Tuesday, 11th May, 2010, doors open 6.30pm for 7pm, £5/£4, Wine
88 Tavistock Place
London
WC1
Tubes: Russell Square , Kings Cross, St Pancras.
Ruth O'Callaghan presents Jan Fortune Wood's The Cinnamon Press Anthology off The Cold Weather Shelter Poets.
88 Tavistock Place
London
WC1
Tubes: Russell Square , Kings Cross, St Pancras.
Ruth O'Callaghan presents Jan Fortune Wood's The Cinnamon Press Anthology off The Cold Weather Shelter Poets.
LONDON: Shearsman Reading Series
Tuesday, 4th May, 2010, 7.30pm, FREE
Swedenborg Hall
Swedenborg House
20/21 Bloomsbury Way
London
WC1A 2TH
Featured readers are Camille Martin and Alasdair Paterson.
Details of the books that will be officially launched on the evening:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2010/martin.html
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2010/paterson.html
Author bios here:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/martinA.html
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/patersonA.html
Disabled access is available, but please let us know in advance if it is required.
Swedenborg Hall
Swedenborg House
20/21 Bloomsbury Way
London
WC1A 2TH
Featured readers are Camille Martin and Alasdair Paterson.
Details of the books that will be officially launched on the evening:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2010/martin.html
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2010/paterson.html
Author bios here:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/martinA.html
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/patersonA.html
Disabled access is available, but please let us know in advance if it is required.
LONDON: Hammer and Tongue London Slam Final!
Monday, May 3rd, 2010, 7.30pm
The Green Note Café,
Camden Parkway
London
This Bank Holiday Monday, treat yourself to a feast of verbal sparring at Hammer and Tongue London Slam Final!
Remember, the winner qualifies for the Hammer and Tongue National Slam, where the winners of the regional heats compete against each other…more details TBC, but some very exciting opportunities are surely in store for whoever takes home this year’s London Slam crown!
Finalists include, among others: Curious, Alan Wolfson, Catherine Brogan, Monkey Poet, Clair Whitefield, Bridget Minamore, Charlie DuPre and George.
With special guest, last year’s National Hammer and Tongue Slam Champion, showing us all how it’s done: PETE THE TEMP!
Hosted by Angry Sam and Sophia Blackwell
The Final consists of multiple rounds, with the usual impartial audience judges. Feel free to bring everyone you know to cheer, boo and generally make some noise.
Any questions about the Slam or the lineup, please contact me: sophiablackwell@gmail.com
The Green Note Café,
Camden Parkway
London
This Bank Holiday Monday, treat yourself to a feast of verbal sparring at Hammer and Tongue London Slam Final!
Remember, the winner qualifies for the Hammer and Tongue National Slam, where the winners of the regional heats compete against each other…more details TBC, but some very exciting opportunities are surely in store for whoever takes home this year’s London Slam crown!
Finalists include, among others: Curious, Alan Wolfson, Catherine Brogan, Monkey Poet, Clair Whitefield, Bridget Minamore, Charlie DuPre and George.
With special guest, last year’s National Hammer and Tongue Slam Champion, showing us all how it’s done: PETE THE TEMP!
Hosted by Angry Sam and Sophia Blackwell
The Final consists of multiple rounds, with the usual impartial audience judges. Feel free to bring everyone you know to cheer, boo and generally make some noise.
Any questions about the Slam or the lineup, please contact me: sophiablackwell@gmail.com
BRADFORD: Word Life
Theatre In The Mill,
Bradford
Denis Jones (http://www.myspace.com/denisjones) has over the last three years 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).
http://www.myspace.com/denisjones
Tim Turnbull is an award-winning writer and performer. In 2006 he won the Contenders, the Arts Foundation's £10,000 prize for performance poetry (as featured on BBC2's Culture Show), and his book, Stranded in Sub-Atomica, was nominated for the Forward Prize for best first collection. Starting out in punk bands, Turnbull developed an engaging stage presence and has delighted audiences across the UK, the USA, Ireland and Germany.
http://www.timturnbull.co.uk/
Mike Garry is an acclaimed Mancunian poet. He has performed poetry since 1994, worked in hundreds of schools and held residencies in prisons, hospitals and art galleries. His work celebrates the beautiful ugliness of the city. His heroes are the underdogs and lost souls who wander the streets searching for answers. A finalist in a Poem for Manchester judged by Andrew Motion and winner of numerous poetry slams worldwide. Mikes' poetry has been published widely and his live performances are explosive and unmissable. As well as his work in education and the community, he has performed poetry on BBC Radio 4, Granada Television and on many local radio stations. A prolific writer, he has published three collections of his own poetry.
Kayo Chingonyi is a poet, performer and creative facilitator based in London. He has performed his work at Shakespeare's Globe, Tate Modern, Soho Theatre, The Southbank Centre and Buckingham Palace as well as countless live venues across the country. His work has been broadcast on Radio Five Live, Sheffield Live and Colourful Radio. He has won a number of slam titles including the Poetry Society's 'Respect' Slam 2003, The Roundhouse Slam 2007 and Farrago Easter Slam 2008. He is currently working towards a pamphlet and first collection.
http://kchingonyi.wordpress.com/
Hosted by Joe Kriss. A poet in his own right and project manager of Word Life - an organisation dedicated to promoting poetry in performance and on the page.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
LONDON: Ride The Word XX
The Phoenix
Artists Club
Charing Cross Road
(1 Phoenix Street)
London WC2H ODT
Book launch of God of the Pigeons, by Jay Merill, short story collection, published by Salt, April 2010, and also starring Vincent De Souza, Salt poet (Weightless Road, Resurrecting Knives)
plus special guests Waterloo Press, with readers John Donoghue, Simon Jenner, Niall McDevitt and Naomi Foyle
also Completely Novel, introduced by Anna Lewis with readers
FLOOR SPOTS WELCOME!
on first-come, first-served basis
Hosted by Jay Merill and Vincent De Souza.
Monday, April 26, 2010
LONDON: Flambard Press 20th anniversary reading
Monday, May 10th, 2010, 8pm-10pm
The Troubadour
263-267 Old Brompton Road,
London
SW5 9JA
Celebrate Flambard’s twentieth with Rebecca Goss, Cynthia Fuller, Ellen Phethean, Kelley Swain, Anna Mckerrow, SJ Litherland, Nancy Mattson and Wanda Barford.
Newcastle-based Flambard Press celebrates 20 years of poetry publishing with special emphasis on promoting North-of-England writers:
- Rebecca Goss - The Anatomy of Structures (2010) - grew up in Suffolk, lives in Liverpool;
- Durham-based Cynthia Fuller teaches for Open University & Newcastle University - fifth Flambard collection, Background Music (2009);
- Ellen Phethean (Breath, 2009) co-founded Diamond Twig;
- Kelley Swain (Darwin's Microscope, 2009) is Secretary of the British Society for Literature & Science;
- Anna McKerrow, 1st collection, The Fast Heat of Beauty, 2008, is Associate Editor for New Fairy Tales;
- SJ Litherland (b. Warwickshire, lives in Durham City), is a founding member of Vane Women Writers – latest collection, The Absolute Bonus of Rain (2010);
- Nancy Mattson (b. Canada, moved to London, 1990) organises Poetry in the Crypt readings – latest publication (Writing with Mercury, 2006);
- Wanda Barford (b. Milan, fled Mussolini's Italy as a child and now lives in London): fourth collection What is the Purpose of Your Visit? (2006).
Directions by tube and train:
The Troubadour is 2 minutes’ walk from West Brompton tube (which is on the Wimbledon branch of the District Line and is also an overground station) or 4 minutes from Earls Court, which is very easy to get to on either the District or Piccadilly lines.
The Troubadour
263-267 Old Brompton Road,
London
SW5 9JA
Celebrate Flambard’s twentieth with Rebecca Goss, Cynthia Fuller, Ellen Phethean, Kelley Swain, Anna Mckerrow, SJ Litherland, Nancy Mattson and Wanda Barford.
Newcastle-based Flambard Press celebrates 20 years of poetry publishing with special emphasis on promoting North-of-England writers:
- Rebecca Goss - The Anatomy of Structures (2010) - grew up in Suffolk, lives in Liverpool;
- Durham-based Cynthia Fuller teaches for Open University & Newcastle University - fifth Flambard collection, Background Music (2009);
- Ellen Phethean (Breath, 2009) co-founded Diamond Twig;
- Kelley Swain (Darwin's Microscope, 2009) is Secretary of the British Society for Literature & Science;
- Anna McKerrow, 1st collection, The Fast Heat of Beauty, 2008, is Associate Editor for New Fairy Tales;
- SJ Litherland (b. Warwickshire, lives in Durham City), is a founding member of Vane Women Writers – latest collection, The Absolute Bonus of Rain (2010);
- Nancy Mattson (b. Canada, moved to London, 1990) organises Poetry in the Crypt readings – latest publication (Writing with Mercury, 2006);
- Wanda Barford (b. Milan, fled Mussolini's Italy as a child and now lives in London): fourth collection What is the Purpose of Your Visit? (2006).
Directions by tube and train:
The Troubadour is 2 minutes’ walk from West Brompton tube (which is on the Wimbledon branch of the District Line and is also an overground station) or 4 minutes from Earls Court, which is very easy to get to on either the District or Piccadilly lines.
CHELTENHAM: Buzzwords Poetry Night
Sunday, 2nd May, 2010, 7pm, minimum £3, £5 if you are able
upstairs at The Exmouth Arms,
Bath Road,
Cheltenham
Guest poet: June Hall
7pm Workshop led by June Hall
8pm - Readings and open mic
Do please have a look at the first Chipping Campden Literature festival, starting on May 4th. Events in the school hall are free for students http://www.campdenlitfest.co.uk/
upstairs at The Exmouth Arms,
Bath Road,
Cheltenham
Guest poet: June Hall
7pm Workshop led by June Hall
8pm - Readings and open mic
Do please have a look at the first Chipping Campden Literature festival, starting on May 4th. Events in the school hall are free for students http://www.campdenlitfest.co.uk/
Sunday, April 25, 2010
MILTON KEYNES: Tongue In Chic
Sunday, May 9th, 2010, 7.30pm, £6/£4 if reserved in advance or £7/£5 on the door
Madcap,
Creed Street,
Wolverton
Described by John Hegley as “a very special poetry Sunday”, Tongue in Chic continues to bring the best Poets it can find to Milton Keynes. In only their second year, Tongue in Chic is now an established event with a growing reputation on the National Spoken Word circuit. It has already earned the accolade:
On Sunday 9 May, we welcome headliner DIZRAELI, a rapper, writer, poet and singer described as a hip hop tour de force. His work covers a wide range of subjects including politics, love, rain, supermarkets, grief, drug culture and masculinity. Diz won the Spirit of the Fringe award two years running at the Edinburgh Festival and his work is a rare hybrid of humour and directness that can make you wince. Diz has won major Poetry Slams including the BBC Radio 4 National Poetry Slam
The Tongue in Chic Crew aren’t content to stay in Milton Keynes. They’ve reached out to the capital and beyond, making friends and impressing the hell out of them. Now it’s their turn to visit us. Tongue in Chic took a showcase slot on 15 April down in London and this is the return event. Daniel Cockerill, Rob Auton, Martin Galton and Sjanneke Milligan will be giving us a taste of their gunslinging ways as they shoot from the lip.
Open Mic spots are available so you can have your three minutes of fame and Open Mic performers can get tickets at the concession rate.
Host Mark Niel is also rapidly making a name for himself with recent gigs in Peterborough, Cardiff and Cheltenham. Mark was also nominated for the Best Performance by a UK Poet in the annual Farrago Spoken Word Awards.
For more information on the show or open mic opportunities, email Mark Niel at markniel@gmail.com or call 01908 691755 to reserve tickets.
Madcap,
Creed Street,
Wolverton
Described by John Hegley as “a very special poetry Sunday”, Tongue in Chic continues to bring the best Poets it can find to Milton Keynes. In only their second year, Tongue in Chic is now an established event with a growing reputation on the National Spoken Word circuit. It has already earned the accolade:
On Sunday 9 May, we welcome headliner DIZRAELI, a rapper, writer, poet and singer described as a hip hop tour de force. His work covers a wide range of subjects including politics, love, rain, supermarkets, grief, drug culture and masculinity. Diz won the Spirit of the Fringe award two years running at the Edinburgh Festival and his work is a rare hybrid of humour and directness that can make you wince. Diz has won major Poetry Slams including the BBC Radio 4 National Poetry Slam
The Tongue in Chic Crew aren’t content to stay in Milton Keynes. They’ve reached out to the capital and beyond, making friends and impressing the hell out of them. Now it’s their turn to visit us. Tongue in Chic took a showcase slot on 15 April down in London and this is the return event. Daniel Cockerill, Rob Auton, Martin Galton and Sjanneke Milligan will be giving us a taste of their gunslinging ways as they shoot from the lip.
Open Mic spots are available so you can have your three minutes of fame and Open Mic performers can get tickets at the concession rate.
Host Mark Niel is also rapidly making a name for himself with recent gigs in Peterborough, Cardiff and Cheltenham. Mark was also nominated for the Best Performance by a UK Poet in the annual Farrago Spoken Word Awards.
For more information on the show or open mic opportunities, email Mark Niel at markniel@gmail.com or call 01908 691755 to reserve tickets.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
LEAMINGTON SPA: PUREandGOODandRIGHT
The Fox,
Leamington Spa
CV32 4RZ
Each month we also invite a fabulous guest performance poet and this month we have the very talented and funny Simon Lee. According to Google, he owns an international art gallery, produces a range of guitars, is a professor of economics, features in a poem by William Wordsworth, and was recently sent to prison for an offence involving 'flames of passion' (that is, arson). Unfortunately, none of those Simons are performing at PGR this month so you'll just have to make do with the Birmingham-based version.
Solicitor-by-day and poet-by-night, Simon's poems tackle the pressing issues of today, including why we should love lawyers, why tax is sexy, and why we need more modern-day superheroes.
Simon has performed at a variety of venues including a shopping centre in Cheltenham as part of last year's Literature Festival Voices Off programme, a number of libraries, and several living rooms. He has also won a few poetry slams including Slam The Atom at the Cheltenham Science Festival
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 email pgrpoetryandpints@talktalk.net
BRISTOL: Uri & Me
Sunday, April 25th, 2010, 7.30pm-10pm, £5
Cube Cinema,
4 Princess Row
Bristol
Stand-up/magician Nathan Penlington presents Uri & Me – a show that looks behind the spoonbending cultural icon to reveal the subtle, complex, and caring nature that has created a boardgame, a folding bike, a range of porcelain plates, over fourteen books, a line of jewellery produced exclusively for QVC, a collection of psychically energised teddy bears, and a pop album. Uri claims telepathy, clairvoyance, ESP, dowsing for oil, bending metal are real – Uri & Me will make those things real for you too.
Nathan Penlington seamlessly fuses poetry, comedy, storytelling, and award winning magic with writing that is intelligent, accessible and entertaining to create a unique form of literary cabaret. He has performed his work on BBC Radio 1, Radio 3 and Radio 4. He performs at venues and festivals across the UK, Europe and the USA, and has shared stages with the likes of John Cooper Clarke, Ricky Gervais and Stewart Lee.
'A natural performer, witty, inventive, stylish and original' - Robert Newman
'Nathan Penlington's fusion of wit, storytelling and visuals are garnering critics' plaudits and attention' - Time Out
Support on the night - Byron Vincent
From surreal punk rock disquisition about the socialist inclinations of the Smurfs to astutely acerbic examinations of the fraying tapestry of British culture. Byron Vincent’s oratory fuses comedy, poetry and doe eyed bewilderment to create a unique and entertaining spoken word experience. Catch him before the national tour.
Cube Cinema,
4 Princess Row
Bristol
Stand-up/magician Nathan Penlington presents Uri & Me – a show that looks behind the spoonbending cultural icon to reveal the subtle, complex, and caring nature that has created a boardgame, a folding bike, a range of porcelain plates, over fourteen books, a line of jewellery produced exclusively for QVC, a collection of psychically energised teddy bears, and a pop album. Uri claims telepathy, clairvoyance, ESP, dowsing for oil, bending metal are real – Uri & Me will make those things real for you too.
Nathan Penlington seamlessly fuses poetry, comedy, storytelling, and award winning magic with writing that is intelligent, accessible and entertaining to create a unique form of literary cabaret. He has performed his work on BBC Radio 1, Radio 3 and Radio 4. He performs at venues and festivals across the UK, Europe and the USA, and has shared stages with the likes of John Cooper Clarke, Ricky Gervais and Stewart Lee.
'A natural performer, witty, inventive, stylish and original' - Robert Newman
'Nathan Penlington's fusion of wit, storytelling and visuals are garnering critics' plaudits and attention' - Time Out
Support on the night - Byron Vincent
From surreal punk rock disquisition about the socialist inclinations of the Smurfs to astutely acerbic examinations of the fraying tapestry of British culture. Byron Vincent’s oratory fuses comedy, poetry and doe eyed bewilderment to create a unique and entertaining spoken word experience. Catch him before the national tour.
Friday, April 23, 2010
BIRMINGHAM: Myra Connell & Simon Turner launches
Saturday, 24th April, 2010, 3pm-5pm, FREE
The Quaker Hall,
The Priory Rooms,
Bull Street,
Birmingham
B4 6AF
(map here: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=b4+6af&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=15.089889,46.362305&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Birmingham,+West+Midlands+B4+6AF,+United+Kingdom&z=16)
The Birmingham launch of Myra Connell's From the Boat and Simon Turner's Difficult Second Album. Two brand new collections from Birmingham poets, launched this spring by Nine Arches Press.
With readings by Myra Connell and Simon Turner, with compere Julie Boden.
About the publications:
Simon Turner’s Difficult Second Album not only fulfils all the threats and promises of his debut, You Are Here (Heaventree, 2007), but also rightfully sees him take his place as a true troubadour of the surreal. Featuring his most accomplished work to date, this second collection is not in fact difficult, but rather darkly precise, quick-witted and modestly bold. Turner has an eye for infectious and joyously offbeat lines, rendering both the incongruous and beautiful in his own version and voice.
Myra Connell's poems From the Boat come from a time of waiting, of mourning, and of finding small consolations. They are, many of them, small poems, the opposite of heroic. Bare, spare in mood, and exploring a sense of dislocation and disorientation, they look coldly at what is left when almost everything is pared away. And yet they rejoice in moments of revelation – the golden flash of carp in a pool, a red jacket on a woman in a cafe; and the words, the language, the poems themselves, never feel doubtful or uncertain in their own power.
www.ninearchespress.com
The Quaker Hall,
The Priory Rooms,
Bull Street,
Birmingham
B4 6AF
(map here: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=b4+6af&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=15.089889,46.362305&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Birmingham,+West+Midlands+B4+6AF,+United+Kingdom&z=16)
The Birmingham launch of Myra Connell's From the Boat and Simon Turner's Difficult Second Album. Two brand new collections from Birmingham poets, launched this spring by Nine Arches Press.
With readings by Myra Connell and Simon Turner, with compere Julie Boden.
About the publications:
Simon Turner’s Difficult Second Album not only fulfils all the threats and promises of his debut, You Are Here (Heaventree, 2007), but also rightfully sees him take his place as a true troubadour of the surreal. Featuring his most accomplished work to date, this second collection is not in fact difficult, but rather darkly precise, quick-witted and modestly bold. Turner has an eye for infectious and joyously offbeat lines, rendering both the incongruous and beautiful in his own version and voice.
Myra Connell's poems From the Boat come from a time of waiting, of mourning, and of finding small consolations. They are, many of them, small poems, the opposite of heroic. Bare, spare in mood, and exploring a sense of dislocation and disorientation, they look coldly at what is left when almost everything is pared away. And yet they rejoice in moments of revelation – the golden flash of carp in a pool, a red jacket on a woman in a cafe; and the words, the language, the poems themselves, never feel doubtful or uncertain in their own power.
www.ninearchespress.com
GLASGOW: Last Monday at Rio
Monday, April 26th, 2010, 8pm, FREE
The Rio Cafe,
27 Hyndland Street,
Glasgow
"The culture of a nation is capsuled in what its people say to each other."
We'll be saying things to each other at the Rio Cafe again this final Monday of the month. This is the culture. Love it or lose it!
Headline act will be Mike Dillon, Irish of origin, resident in Edinburgh, a popular winner of the Scottish Slam Championships 2009. We've also been teased with the probability of a visit from Jack McLean, legendary columnist of the Glasgow Herald, radio broadcaster, journalist and a man blessed with that most sacred of possessions, the Glasgow of the mind and the soul.
Five minute spots as ever for those who want to take, shake or bellyache the mic. Book your place by return e-mail please. Severe Malcolm can't make it so Cairns is your compere. robin.cairns@btconnect.com
The Rio Cafe,
27 Hyndland Street,
Glasgow
"The culture of a nation is capsuled in what its people say to each other."
We'll be saying things to each other at the Rio Cafe again this final Monday of the month. This is the culture. Love it or lose it!
Headline act will be Mike Dillon, Irish of origin, resident in Edinburgh, a popular winner of the Scottish Slam Championships 2009. We've also been teased with the probability of a visit from Jack McLean, legendary columnist of the Glasgow Herald, radio broadcaster, journalist and a man blessed with that most sacred of possessions, the Glasgow of the mind and the soul.
Five minute spots as ever for those who want to take, shake or bellyache the mic. Book your place by return e-mail please. Severe Malcolm can't make it so Cairns is your compere. robin.cairns@btconnect.com
GALWAY: Poetry Extravaganza
Friday, May 7th, 2010, 8pm, FREE
Sheridan’s Wine Bar,
14-16 Church Yard Street,
Galway
Over The Edge presents readings by poets Chris Agee, Louis de Paor, Chris Nikkel and Kevin O’Shea.
Chris Agee was born in 1956 in San Francisco and grew up in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island but since 1979 has lived in Ireland. He is the author of three books of poems, In the New Hampshire Woods (The Dedalus Press, 1992), First Light (The Dedalus Press, 2003) and Next to Nothing (Salt, 2009), as well as the editor of Scar on the Stone: Contemporary Poetry from Bosnia (Bloodaxe, 1998, Poetry Society Recommendation). He is currently completing a collection of essays, Journey to Bosnia. He reviews regularly for The Irish Times and is the Editor of Irish Pages, a journal of contemporary writing. Next to Nothing was shortlisted for the first Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry, funded by the Poet Laureate and organized by the Poetry Society in London.
Born in Cork in 1961, Louis de Paor has been involved with the contemporary renaissance of poetry in Irish since 1980 when he was first published in the poetry journal Innti which he subsequently edited for a time. A four times winner of the Seán Ó Ríordáin/Oireachtas Award, the premier award for a new collection of poems in Irish, he lived in Australia from 1987 to 1996. He is the recipient of the Lawrence O’Shaughnessy Award 2000, the first poet in Irish to achieve that distinction. His bilingual volume agus rud eile de/and another thing was published recently by Cló Iar-Chonnacht.
Chris Nikkel was born in Canada, and grew up in Winnipeg. In 2003 he moved to Ireland to be with his wife, and currently lives in Fahan, Co. Donegal. A poet and non-fiction writer, his work has been published in Canada, Ireland and the UK, for magazines such as Fortnight, Prairie Fire, Canada's History, and most recently the anthology Landing Places: Immigrant Poets in Ireland. He is currently completing his first book, a creative non-fiction story set in the boreal forest in Canada. Chris holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, and a BA from the University of Winnipeg. He works for Five Door Films as documentary screenwriter and researcher.
Kevin O’Shea lives in Moycullen within earshot of the old Galway-Clifden Railway line. He recently retreated from the world of technology to consult the imagination and the garden. He is a survivor, reasonably intact, of multiple Creative Writing Classes with Susan Millar DuMars and Kevin Higgins. In 2009 he was selected to participate in the Cúirt poetry masterclass with Jane Hirshfield and greatly enjoyed the experience. He was shortlisted in the 2009 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition and for the 2010 Cúirt Festival Over The Edge Showcase reading. Kevin is currently a participant in the Advanced poetry workshop at Galway Arts Centre.
All welcome. For further information contact 087-6431748.
Sheridan’s Wine Bar,
14-16 Church Yard Street,
Galway
Over The Edge presents readings by poets Chris Agee, Louis de Paor, Chris Nikkel and Kevin O’Shea.
Chris Agee was born in 1956 in San Francisco and grew up in Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island but since 1979 has lived in Ireland. He is the author of three books of poems, In the New Hampshire Woods (The Dedalus Press, 1992), First Light (The Dedalus Press, 2003) and Next to Nothing (Salt, 2009), as well as the editor of Scar on the Stone: Contemporary Poetry from Bosnia (Bloodaxe, 1998, Poetry Society Recommendation). He is currently completing a collection of essays, Journey to Bosnia. He reviews regularly for The Irish Times and is the Editor of Irish Pages, a journal of contemporary writing. Next to Nothing was shortlisted for the first Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry, funded by the Poet Laureate and organized by the Poetry Society in London.
Born in Cork in 1961, Louis de Paor has been involved with the contemporary renaissance of poetry in Irish since 1980 when he was first published in the poetry journal Innti which he subsequently edited for a time. A four times winner of the Seán Ó Ríordáin/Oireachtas Award, the premier award for a new collection of poems in Irish, he lived in Australia from 1987 to 1996. He is the recipient of the Lawrence O’Shaughnessy Award 2000, the first poet in Irish to achieve that distinction. His bilingual volume agus rud eile de/and another thing was published recently by Cló Iar-Chonnacht.
Chris Nikkel was born in Canada, and grew up in Winnipeg. In 2003 he moved to Ireland to be with his wife, and currently lives in Fahan, Co. Donegal. A poet and non-fiction writer, his work has been published in Canada, Ireland and the UK, for magazines such as Fortnight, Prairie Fire, Canada's History, and most recently the anthology Landing Places: Immigrant Poets in Ireland. He is currently completing his first book, a creative non-fiction story set in the boreal forest in Canada. Chris holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, and a BA from the University of Winnipeg. He works for Five Door Films as documentary screenwriter and researcher.
Kevin O’Shea lives in Moycullen within earshot of the old Galway-Clifden Railway line. He recently retreated from the world of technology to consult the imagination and the garden. He is a survivor, reasonably intact, of multiple Creative Writing Classes with Susan Millar DuMars and Kevin Higgins. In 2009 he was selected to participate in the Cúirt poetry masterclass with Jane Hirshfield and greatly enjoyed the experience. He was shortlisted in the 2009 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition and for the 2010 Cúirt Festival Over The Edge Showcase reading. Kevin is currently a participant in the Advanced poetry workshop at Galway Arts Centre.
All welcome. For further information contact 087-6431748.
LONDON: Camden Poetry Series
Friday, 7th May, 2010, 7pm (doors open 6.30pm), £5/£4, Wine
Trinity United Reform Church,
1 Buck Street,
Camden Town
London
2 mins. Camden Town tube
Ruth O'Callaghan presents Overstep Books, with readers David Grubb, Alwyn Marriage and Andrew Nightingale. Poets from the floor very welcome. Longer spots available. Please bring a copy of the poem if you wish to be considered for the new anthology.
Trinity United Reform Church,
1 Buck Street,
Camden Town
London
2 mins. Camden Town tube
Ruth O'Callaghan presents Overstep Books, with readers David Grubb, Alwyn Marriage and Andrew Nightingale. Poets from the floor very welcome. Longer spots available. Please bring a copy of the poem if you wish to be considered for the new anthology.
LONDON: BEAT
Monday, April 26th, 2010 (and every Monday), 8pm, FREE
Midnight at McQueen,
51 - 56 Tabernacle Street,
London
EC2A 4AA
"The best spoken word night in London" - Gary Fairfull
"Dylan Thomas meets the X-factor" - Big Issue
Recommended by the Arts Council
On stage:
Robert Auton - the sharpest copwyriter of poetry
Sophie Cameron – the funniest foul mouth of the North returns after being caught up in Volcanic ashes last week
Gary Fairfull - the urban club legend and Scottish poet returns after being stuck on a train from Scotland last week, due to Volcanic ashes..
Tomas Adejumo - the velvet voice, the ladies choice
Marville Beatbox - best beatbox in the UK
Ant the Rant - performs his legendary post club single: "Colostomy Del Mar"
and more to be announced
Top UK poets/performers every Monday. Presented by BEAT host/ producer Andreas Grant
Midnight at McQueen,
51 - 56 Tabernacle Street,
London
EC2A 4AA
"The best spoken word night in London" - Gary Fairfull
"Dylan Thomas meets the X-factor" - Big Issue
Recommended by the Arts Council
On stage:
Robert Auton - the sharpest copwyriter of poetry
Sophie Cameron – the funniest foul mouth of the North returns after being caught up in Volcanic ashes last week
Gary Fairfull - the urban club legend and Scottish poet returns after being stuck on a train from Scotland last week, due to Volcanic ashes..
Tomas Adejumo - the velvet voice, the ladies choice
Marville Beatbox - best beatbox in the UK
Ant the Rant - performs his legendary post club single: "Colostomy Del Mar"
and more to be announced
Top UK poets/performers every Monday. Presented by BEAT host/ producer Andreas Grant
Thursday, April 22, 2010
BRADFORD: Word Life
Friday, 30th April, 2010, £5, 8pm
Theatre In The Mill,
Bradford
Denis Jones (http://www.myspace.com/denisjones) has over the last three years 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).
http://www.myspace.com/denisjones
Tim Turnbull is an award-winning writer and performer. In 2006 he won the Contenders, the Arts Foundation's £10,000 prize for performance poetry (as featured on BBC2's Culture Show), and his book, Stranded in Sub-Atomica, was nominated for the Forward Prize for best first collection. Starting out in punk bands, Turnbull developed an engaging stage presence and has delighted audiences across the UK, the USA, Ireland and Germany.
http://www.timturnbull.co.uk/
Mike Garry is an acclaimed Mancunian poet. He has performed poetry since 1994, worked in hundreds of schools and held residencies in prisons, hospitals and art galleries. His work celebrates the beautiful ugliness of the city. His heroes are the underdogs and lost souls who wander the streets searching for answers. A finalist in a Poem for Manchester judged by Andrew Motion and winner of numerous poetry slams worldwide. Mikes' poetry has been published widely and his live performances are explosive and unmissable. As well as his work in education and the community, he has performed poetry on BBC Radio 4, Granada Television and on many local radio stations. A prolific writer, he has published three collections of his own poetry.
Kayo Chingonyi is a poet, performer and creative facilitator based in London. He has performed his work at Shakespeare's Globe, Tate Modern, Soho Theatre, The Southbank Centre and Buckingham Palace as well as countless live venues across the country. His work has been broadcast on Radio Five Live, Sheffield Live and Colourful Radio. He has won a number of slam titles including the Poetry Society's 'Respect' Slam 2003, The Roundhouse Slam 2007 and Farrago Easter Slam 2008. He is currently working towards a pamphlet and first collection.
http://kchingonyi.wordpress.com/
Hosted by Joe Kriss. A poet in his own right and project manager of Word Life - an organisation dedicated to promoting poetry in performance and on the page.
Theatre In The Mill,
Bradford
Denis Jones (http://www.myspace.com/denisjones) has over the last three years 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).
http://www.myspace.com/denisjones
Tim Turnbull is an award-winning writer and performer. In 2006 he won the Contenders, the Arts Foundation's £10,000 prize for performance poetry (as featured on BBC2's Culture Show), and his book, Stranded in Sub-Atomica, was nominated for the Forward Prize for best first collection. Starting out in punk bands, Turnbull developed an engaging stage presence and has delighted audiences across the UK, the USA, Ireland and Germany.
http://www.timturnbull.co.uk/
Mike Garry is an acclaimed Mancunian poet. He has performed poetry since 1994, worked in hundreds of schools and held residencies in prisons, hospitals and art galleries. His work celebrates the beautiful ugliness of the city. His heroes are the underdogs and lost souls who wander the streets searching for answers. A finalist in a Poem for Manchester judged by Andrew Motion and winner of numerous poetry slams worldwide. Mikes' poetry has been published widely and his live performances are explosive and unmissable. As well as his work in education and the community, he has performed poetry on BBC Radio 4, Granada Television and on many local radio stations. A prolific writer, he has published three collections of his own poetry.
Kayo Chingonyi is a poet, performer and creative facilitator based in London. He has performed his work at Shakespeare's Globe, Tate Modern, Soho Theatre, The Southbank Centre and Buckingham Palace as well as countless live venues across the country. His work has been broadcast on Radio Five Live, Sheffield Live and Colourful Radio. He has won a number of slam titles including the Poetry Society's 'Respect' Slam 2003, The Roundhouse Slam 2007 and Farrago Easter Slam 2008. He is currently working towards a pamphlet and first collection.
http://kchingonyi.wordpress.com/
Hosted by Joe Kriss. A poet in his own right and project manager of Word Life - an organisation dedicated to promoting poetry in performance and on the page.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
LONDON: Vahni Capildeo
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
Poetry Reading by Vahni Capildeo
Vahni Capildeo (b.1973, Trinidad) arrived in the UK in 1991. After completing a DPhil in Old Norse at Oxford University, she held a Research Fellowship at Girton College, Cambridge. Her first volume of poetry, No Traveller Returns (Salt) appeared in 2003 and tells the story of the early part of this transitionary period in her life, through a series of poems and prose poems divided into sections based on time, voice or place. Her work appears in numerous literary journals.
LONDON: St Benets Poetry Series
St. Benets Church
Queen Victoria Street (corner of White Lion Hill)
Blackfriars
EC4V 4ER
Ruth O'Callaghan presents Bluechrome poets, including Sue Guiney, Adele Ward, and a host of others, plus open mic. Please bring a copy of the poem if you wish to be considered for the new anthology.
GALWAY: 2010 Cúirt Festival Over The Edge Showcase reading
Town Hall Theatre,
Galway
The five featured authors this year are Cristina Galvin, Tom Lavelle, Geraldine Mitchell, Marcella Morgan and Áine Tierney.
The Over the Edge reading series began in January 2003. Each month, the Over the Edge: Open Reading puts the spotlight on emerging poets and fiction writers - sessions end with an open mic, where anyone can get in on the act. Co-organisers Kevin Higgins and Susan Millar DuMars (host) are grateful for the continued support of Galway City Library, Galway City Council, The Arts Council, Poetry Ireland, The Cúirt Festival and, especially, the many talented writers who have taken part in the series during the past seven years.
Cristina Galvin has an MA in Writing from NUIG and teaches yoga in Galway and surrounding areas. She loves books written from a child’s point of view and playing with this perspective in her own fiction and non-fiction. She was long-listed in the 2008 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition. Cristina also writes poetry and her work features in the anthologies Ink For Air and Three Times Daily.
Tom Lavelle lives in Galway and works for a manufacturing company. He is a participant in the Advance Poetry Workshop at Galway Arts Centre and as part of that group read his work at last year’s Clifden Arts Week. His poems have appeared in Revival, Boyne Berries, The Stony Thursday Book, Crannóg, West 47 online, The Cuirt Annual, ROPES and The Shop. Tom was shortlisted for the Cúirt Over The Edge showcase reading in both 2008 and 2009 and in the Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition. He is currently working on an M Phil in Writing at the University of Glamorgan.
Geraldine Mitchell was born in Dublin and lives near Louisburgh, Co. Mayo. In between she has lived in France, Algeria, Spain and England where she taught English and worked as a freelance journalist. Her previous publications include two novels for young people and a biography. Her poems have been widely published in Irish journals and in the Oxfam Calendar 2009. She won the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award in 2008. In their comments the judges, Moya Cannon and Theo Dorgan, said that Geraldine’s poems display: “a clear-eyed sensibility that considers, but does not judge human fragility”.
Marcella Morgan is originally from Maynooth, but has been living in Galway for the past year and a half. She spends her days fixin’ troushers in an alterations shop in town, and her nights writing poems about her angry womb. She has attended several writing workshops with Susan Millar DuMars where she learnt how to make a bomb using bread soda, an empty beer can and a thong. Susan also taught her how to spell trousers. Marcella was short-listed for 2009 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year, is a finalist in this year’s Cúirt Festival Poetry Grand Slam and has also been a featured reader at North Beach Poetry Nights.
Áine Tierney is from Rosmore, Co. Tipperary. She has worked as a secondary school English teacher, but is presently researching for a PhD in Philosophy on the role of Imagination in Education at University College Cork. She has an MA in Writing from the National University of Ireland, Galway. Her writing has appeared in various magazines and newspapers. She had a short story published in the Silverfish anthology, which was funded by South Tipperary County Council’s Per Cent for Art Scheme.
If you, or a writers group you belong to, would be interested in taking part in the Over The Edge Cúirt showcase in the future contact Over The Edge c/o Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, Galway or send a sample of six of your poems or two thousand words of your fiction to us at Over The Edge, 3 Carbry Road, Newcastle, Galway and we will consider you for a Featured Reading at one of the Over The Edge: Open Readings which will make you eligible for the shortlist for the subsequent Cúirt Festival Over The Edge showcase.
http://overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
LEAMINGTON SPA: PUREandGOODandRIGHT
Sunday, April 25th, 2010, 7.30pm, £3/£2
The Fox,
Leamington Spa
CV32 4RZ
Each month we also invite a fabulous guest performance poet and this month we have the very talented and funny Simon Lee. According to Google, he owns an international art gallery, produces a range of guitars, is a professor of economics, features in a poem by William Wordsworth, and was recently sent to prison for an offence involving 'flames of passion' (that is, arson). Unfortunately, none of those Simons are performing at PGR this month so you'll just have to make do with the Birmingham-based version.
Solicitor-by-day and poet-by-night, Simon's poems tackle the pressing issues of today, including why we should love lawyers, why tax is sexy, and why we need more modern-day superheroes.
Simon has performed at a variety of venues including a shopping centre in Cheltenham as part of last year's Literature Festival Voices Off programme, a number of libraries, and several living rooms. He has also won a few poetry slams including Slam The Atom at the Cheltenham Science Festival
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 email pgrpoetryandpints@talktalk.net
The Fox,
Leamington Spa
CV32 4RZ
Each month we also invite a fabulous guest performance poet and this month we have the very talented and funny Simon Lee. According to Google, he owns an international art gallery, produces a range of guitars, is a professor of economics, features in a poem by William Wordsworth, and was recently sent to prison for an offence involving 'flames of passion' (that is, arson). Unfortunately, none of those Simons are performing at PGR this month so you'll just have to make do with the Birmingham-based version.
Solicitor-by-day and poet-by-night, Simon's poems tackle the pressing issues of today, including why we should love lawyers, why tax is sexy, and why we need more modern-day superheroes.
Simon has performed at a variety of venues including a shopping centre in Cheltenham as part of last year's Literature Festival Voices Off programme, a number of libraries, and several living rooms. He has also won a few poetry slams including Slam The Atom at the Cheltenham Science Festival
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 email pgrpoetryandpints@talktalk.net
LONDON: Russian and British Poetry Evening
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010, 6.30pm
Calvert 22 Foundation
22 Calvert Avenue
London
E2 7JP
0207 613 2141
info@calvert22.org
www.calvert22.org
Live poetry readings by Russian and British poets will be accompanied by a London premiere of video-poetry screenings.
What is video-poetry? Leading Russian poets and film directors, including Kirill Serebrennikov and Valeria Gai Germanika, amongst others, have come together to create films based on poems read by the poets themselves. The performances are also strongly influenced by European artists of the 70s and 80s, such as Gianni Toti, Richard Kostelanetz, Arnaldo Antunes and Caterina Davinio, whose work was considered experimental and cutting edge 30 years ago, but seems to strike a chord with the world we live in today, where the fusion of poetry, music and film feels only natural.
This evening will offer a unique opportunity to see the works of 15 of the most important names in Russian video poetry, including Joseph Brodsky, Alexander Gormon, Timur Kibirov, Sergey Gandlevsky and other. The programme will be presented by poet Andrei Rodionov and curator Katya Troepolskaya.
Please rsvp@academia-rossica.org
This event is organised as part of the SLOVO Russian literature festival, Academia Rossica in collaboration with Calvert 22 and Penned In the Margins.
Calvert 22 Foundation
22 Calvert Avenue
London
E2 7JP
0207 613 2141
info@calvert22.org
www.calvert22.org
Live poetry readings by Russian and British poets will be accompanied by a London premiere of video-poetry screenings.
What is video-poetry? Leading Russian poets and film directors, including Kirill Serebrennikov and Valeria Gai Germanika, amongst others, have come together to create films based on poems read by the poets themselves. The performances are also strongly influenced by European artists of the 70s and 80s, such as Gianni Toti, Richard Kostelanetz, Arnaldo Antunes and Caterina Davinio, whose work was considered experimental and cutting edge 30 years ago, but seems to strike a chord with the world we live in today, where the fusion of poetry, music and film feels only natural.
This evening will offer a unique opportunity to see the works of 15 of the most important names in Russian video poetry, including Joseph Brodsky, Alexander Gormon, Timur Kibirov, Sergey Gandlevsky and other. The programme will be presented by poet Andrei Rodionov and curator Katya Troepolskaya.
Please rsvp@academia-rossica.org
This event is organised as part of the SLOVO Russian literature festival, Academia Rossica in collaboration with Calvert 22 and Penned In the Margins.
LONDON: Shearsman Reading Series
Swedenborg Hall
Swedenborg House
20/21 Bloomsbury Way
London
WC1A 2TH
Featured reader is Jaime Robles, who is visiting from California, and will be launching her first Shearsman collection, Anime Animus Anima.
Details of the book that will be officially launched on the evening:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2010/robles.html
Author bio here:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/roblesA.html
Lars Amund Vaage had has to withdraw from the reading, owing to illness, and we will therefore hold an open-mic in the first half. Send me an email (shearsman@mac.com) if you would like to read (five mins max); slots will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis. I will respond to requests for slots next Sunday, the 18th. We hope to reschedule Lars Amund's reading later in the year.
Disabled access is available, but please let us know in advance if it is required.
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/editorial/readings.html
STOCKTON: You Are Here
ARC
Dovecot Street,
Stockton on Tees
Tickets: 01642 525199
www.arconline.co.uk
You Are Here – a touring poetry show featuring Colette Bryce, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott.
See www.youareherepoetryshow.wordpress.com for details
LIVERPOOL: You Are Here
The Bluecoat
School Lane,
Liverpool
L1 3BX
Tickets: 0151 702 5324
www.thebluecoat.org.uk
You Are Here – a touring poetry show featuring Colette Bryce, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott.
See www.youareherepoetryshow.wordpress.com for details
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
LONDON: Ride The Word XX
Wednesday, 28th April, 2010, 6.30pm, FREE
The Phoenix
Artists Club
Charing Cross Road
(1 Phoenix Street)
London WC2H ODT
Book launch of God of the Pigeons, by Jay Merill, short story collection, published by Salt, April 2010, and also starring Vincent De Souza, Salt poet (Weightless Road, Resurrecting Knives)
plus special guests Waterloo Press, with readers John Donoghue, Simon Jenner, Niall McDevitt and Naomi Foyle
also Completely Novel, introduced by Anna Lewis with readers
FLOOR SPOTS WELCOME!
on first-come, first-served basis
Hosted by Jay Merill and Vincent De Souza.
The Phoenix
Artists Club
Charing Cross Road
(1 Phoenix Street)
London WC2H ODT
Book launch of God of the Pigeons, by Jay Merill, short story collection, published by Salt, April 2010, and also starring Vincent De Souza, Salt poet (Weightless Road, Resurrecting Knives)
plus special guests Waterloo Press, with readers John Donoghue, Simon Jenner, Niall McDevitt and Naomi Foyle
also Completely Novel, introduced by Anna Lewis with readers
FLOOR SPOTS WELCOME!
on first-come, first-served basis
Hosted by Jay Merill and Vincent De Souza.
TRIM: Boyne Readings
Thursday, April 15th, 2010, 8pm, €5, includes tea and biscuits
Boyne Writers
The Village Hall,
Knightsbridge Village,
Longwood Road,
Trim,
Co Meath
The Boyne Readings is a monthly night of poetry on the third Thursday of the month with a guest reader followed by an open mic. This Thursday's invited reader is Kate Dempsey.
http://michaelfarry.blogspot.com/2010/04/boyne-readings-kate-dempsey.html
Boyne Writers
The Village Hall,
Knightsbridge Village,
Longwood Road,
Trim,
Co Meath
The Boyne Readings is a monthly night of poetry on the third Thursday of the month with a guest reader followed by an open mic. This Thursday's invited reader is Kate Dempsey.
http://michaelfarry.blogspot.com/2010/04/boyne-readings-kate-dempsey.html
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
BRISTOL: Uri & Me
Sunday, April 25th, 2010, 7.30pm-10pm, £5 Cube Cinema,
4 Princess Row
Bristol
Stand-up/magician Nathan Penlington presents Uri & Me – a show that looks behind the spoonbending cultural icon to reveal the subtle, complex, and caring nature that has created a boardgame, a folding bike, a range of porcelain plates, over fourteen books, a line of jewellery produced exclusively for QVC, a collection of psychically energised teddy bears, and a pop album. Uri claims telepathy, clairvoyance, ESP, dowsing for oil, bending metal are real – Uri & Me will make those things real for you too.
Nathan Penlington seamlessly fuses poetry, comedy, storytelling, and award winning magic with writing that is intelligent, accessible and entertaining to create a unique form of literary cabaret. He has performed his work on BBC Radio 1, Radio 3 and Radio 4. He performs at venues and festivals across the UK, Europe and the USA, and has shared stages with the likes of John Cooper Clarke, Ricky Gervais and Stewart Lee.
'A natural performer, witty, inventive, stylish and original' - Robert Newman
'Nathan Penlington's fusion of wit, storytelling and visuals are garnering critics' plaudits and attention' - Time Out
Support on the night - Byron Vincent
From surreal punk rock disquisition about the socialist inclinations of the Smurfs to astutely acerbic examinations of the fraying tapestry of British culture. Byron Vincent’s oratory fuses comedy, poetry and doe eyed bewilderment to create a unique and entertaining spoken word experience. Catch him before the national tour.
Monday, April 12, 2010
TRIM: Boyne Readings
Thursday, April 15th, 2010, 8pm, €5, includes tea and biscuits
Boyne Writers
The Village Hall,
Knightsbridge Village,
Longwood Road,
Trim,
Co Meath
The Boyne Readings is a monthly night of poetry on the third Thursday of the month with a guest reader followed by an open mic. This Thursday's invited reader is Kate Dempsey.
http://michaelfarry.blogspot.com/2010/04/boyne-readings-kate-dempsey.html
Boyne Writers
The Village Hall,
Knightsbridge Village,
Longwood Road,
Trim,
Co Meath
The Boyne Readings is a monthly night of poetry on the third Thursday of the month with a guest reader followed by an open mic. This Thursday's invited reader is Kate Dempsey.
http://michaelfarry.blogspot.com/2010/04/boyne-readings-kate-dempsey.html
LONDON: Shearsman Reading Series
Tuesday, 20th April, 2010, 7.30pm, FREE
Swedenborg Hall
Swedenborg House
20/21 Bloomsbury Way
London
WC1A 2TH
Featured reader is Jaime Robles, who is visiting from California, and will be launching her first Shearsman collection, Anime Animus Anima.
Details of the book that will be officially launched on the evening:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2010/robles.html
Author bio here:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/roblesA.html
Lars Amund Vaage had has to withdraw from the reading, owing to illness, and we will therefore hold an open-mic in the first half. Send me an email (shearsman@mac.com) if you would like to read (five mins max); slots will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis. I will respond to requests for slots next Sunday, the 18th. We hope to reschedule Lars Amund's reading later in the year.
Disabled access is available, but please let us know in advance if it is required.
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/editorial/readings.html
Swedenborg Hall
Swedenborg House
20/21 Bloomsbury Way
London
WC1A 2TH
Featured reader is Jaime Robles, who is visiting from California, and will be launching her first Shearsman collection, Anime Animus Anima.
Details of the book that will be officially launched on the evening:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/catalog/2010/robles.html
Author bio here:
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/books/authors/roblesA.html
Lars Amund Vaage had has to withdraw from the reading, owing to illness, and we will therefore hold an open-mic in the first half. Send me an email (shearsman@mac.com) if you would like to read (five mins max); slots will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis. I will respond to requests for slots next Sunday, the 18th. We hope to reschedule Lars Amund's reading later in the year.
Disabled access is available, but please let us know in advance if it is required.
http://www.shearsman.com/pages/editorial/readings.html
LONDON: Ambit/PLON special reading
The Tank Gallery,
The Ladywell Tavern,
80 Ladywell Road
London
SE13 7HS
Nearest station: Ladywell BR
Ambit Magazine and Tlon Books are holding a special joint event with three poets – Judy Brown, Richard Dyer and Jason Shelley – who will read from their latest works.
Ambit was founded by Dr Martin Bax in 1959 and a landmark 200th issue will be published at the end of April.
Judy Brown’s pamphlet, Pillars of Salt (2006) was a winner in Templar Poetry’s pamphlet competition. She won the Poetry London competition in 2009 and in 2005 received the Poetry Society’s Hamish Canham Poetry Prize. Her poems have appeared in The Forward Book of Poetry 2006 and various magazines, including Ambit.
Richard Dyer's poetry and fiction have been published in Ambit, Contemporary, Moving Worlds, Le Gun, Junger Welt, Cronica Latina and The Dark Times. His first poetry collection, A Western Journey, was published by Arlen House, in October 2006. In 2008 his second collection, Bog Land Scapes, was released as a DVD.
Jason Shelley is working on his fourth book with Tlön Books Publishing, Daytime Notes from Early Morning to Late Afternoon. His previous publications are Grey Love; an urban love story of selected prose and poetry (2003), No Looking Back; selected poetry (2002) and The Romance; an episode in the life of a young writer, of which the artwork is exhibited Tank Gallery, London 8th April - 1st May 2010.
http://tankgallery.weebly.com/index.html
Tel 020 8690 7184
LONDON: Lumen Poetry Series
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.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
ILFORD: Joanna Ezekiel launch
Sunday, 25th April, 2010. 6pm, FREE
Valentine's Mansion,
Emerson Road,
Ilford,
Essex
IG1 4XA
Joanna Ezekiel launches her first full collection, Centuries of Skin, published by Ragged Raven Press.
Valentine's Mansion,
Emerson Road,
Ilford,
Essex
IG1 4XA
Joanna Ezekiel launches her first full collection, Centuries of Skin, published by Ragged Raven Press.
LEICESTER: Nine Arches Press Shindig!
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.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
CHELTENHAM: Buzzwords Poetry Night
upstairs at The Exmouth Arms,
Bath Road,
Cheltenham
Guest poet: Wendy French
7pm – Workshop led by Wendy French
8pm - Readings and open mic
Hope to see you there
CAMBRIDGE: You Are Here
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
Thursday, April 08, 2010
LONDON: Vahni Capildeo
Thursday, 22nd April, 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
Poetry Reading by Vahni Capildeo
Vahni Capildeo (b.1973, Trinidad) arrived in the UK in 1991. After completing a DPhil in Old Norse at Oxford University, she held a Research Fellowship at Girton College, Cambridge. Her first volume of poetry, No Traveller Returns (Salt) appeared in 2003 and tells the story of the early part of this transitionary period in her life, through a series of poems and prose poems divided into sections based on time, voice or place. Her work appears in numerous literary journals.
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
Poetry Reading by Vahni Capildeo
Vahni Capildeo (b.1973, Trinidad) arrived in the UK in 1991. After completing a DPhil in Old Norse at Oxford University, she held a Research Fellowship at Girton College, Cambridge. Her first volume of poetry, No Traveller Returns (Salt) appeared in 2003 and tells the story of the early part of this transitionary period in her life, through a series of poems and prose poems divided into sections based on time, voice or place. Her work appears in numerous literary journals.
LONDON: St Benets Poetry Series
Thursday, 22nd April, 2010, 7pm (doors open 6.30pm), £5/£4, wine
St. Benets Church
Queen Victoria Street (corner of White Lion Hill)
Blackfriars
EC4V 4ER
Ruth O'Callaghan presents Bluechrome poets, including Sue Guiney, Adele Ward, and a host of others, plsu open mic. Please bring a copy of the poem if you wish to be considered for the new anthology.
St. Benets Church
Queen Victoria Street (corner of White Lion Hill)
Blackfriars
EC4V 4ER
Ruth O'Callaghan presents Bluechrome poets, including Sue Guiney, Adele Ward, and a host of others, plsu open mic. Please bring a copy of the poem if you wish to be considered for the new anthology.
GALWAY: 2010 Cúirt Festival Over The Edge Showcase reading
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010, 3pm
Town Hall Theatre,
Galway
The five featured authors this year are Cristina Galvin, Tom Lavelle, Geraldine Mitchell, Marcella Morgan and Áine Tierney.
The Over the Edge reading series began in January 2003. Each month, the Over the Edge: Open Reading puts the spotlight on emerging poets and fiction writers - sessions end with an open mic, where anyone can get in on the act. Co-organisers Kevin Higgins and Susan Millar DuMars (host) are grateful for the continued support of Galway City Library, Galway City Council, The Arts Council, Poetry Ireland, The Cúirt Festival and, especially, the many talented writers who have taken part in the series during the past seven years.
Cristina Galvin has an MA in Writing from NUIG and teaches yoga in Galway and surrounding areas. She loves books written from a child’s point of view and playing with this perspective in her own fiction and non-fiction. She was long-listed in the 2008 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition. Cristina also writes poetry and her work features in the anthologies Ink For Air and Three Times Daily.
Tom Lavelle lives in Galway and works for a manufacturing company. He is a participant in the Advance Poetry Workshop at Galway Arts Centre and as part of that group read his work at last year’s Clifden Arts Week. His poems have appeared in Revival, Boyne Berries, The Stony Thursday Book, Crannóg, West 47 online, The Cuirt Annual, ROPES and The Shop. Tom was shortlisted for the Cúirt Over The Edge showcase reading in both 2008 and 2009 and in the Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition. He is currently working on an M Phil in Writing at the University of Glamorgan.
Geraldine Mitchell was born in Dublin and lives near Louisburgh, Co. Mayo. In between she has lived in France, Algeria, Spain and England where she taught English and worked as a freelance journalist. Her previous publications include two novels for young people and a biography. Her poems have been widely published in Irish journals and in the Oxfam Calendar 2009. She won the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award in 2008. In their comments the judges, Moya Cannon and Theo Dorgan, said that Geraldine’s poems display: “a clear-eyed sensibility that considers, but does not judge human fragility”.
Marcella Morgan is originally from Maynooth, but has been living in Galway for the past year and a half. She spends her days fixin’ troushers in an alterations shop in town, and her nights writing poems about her angry womb. She has attended several writing workshops with Susan Millar DuMars where she learnt how to make a bomb using bread soda, an empty beer can and a thong. Susan also taught her how to spell trousers. Marcella was short-listed for 2009 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year, is a finalist in this year’s Cúirt Festival Poetry Grand Slam and has also been a featured reader at North Beach Poetry Nights.
Áine Tierney is from Rosmore, Co. Tipperary. She has worked as a secondary school English teacher, but is presently researching for a PhD in Philosophy on the role of Imagination in Education at University College Cork. She has an MA in Writing from the National University of Ireland, Galway. Her writing has appeared in various magazines and newspapers. She had a short story published in the Silverfish anthology, which was funded by South Tipperary County Council’s Per Cent for Art Scheme.
If you, or a writers group you belong to, would be interested in taking part in the Over The Edge Cúirt showcase in the future contact Over The Edge c/o Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, Galway or send a sample of six of your poems or two thousand words of your fiction to us at Over The Edge, 3 Carbry Road, Newcastle, Galway and we will consider you for a Featured Reading at one of the Over The Edge: Open Readings which will make you eligible for the shortlist for the subsequent Cúirt Festival Over The Edge showcase.
http://overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com
Town Hall Theatre,
Galway
The five featured authors this year are Cristina Galvin, Tom Lavelle, Geraldine Mitchell, Marcella Morgan and Áine Tierney.
The Over the Edge reading series began in January 2003. Each month, the Over the Edge: Open Reading puts the spotlight on emerging poets and fiction writers - sessions end with an open mic, where anyone can get in on the act. Co-organisers Kevin Higgins and Susan Millar DuMars (host) are grateful for the continued support of Galway City Library, Galway City Council, The Arts Council, Poetry Ireland, The Cúirt Festival and, especially, the many talented writers who have taken part in the series during the past seven years.
Cristina Galvin has an MA in Writing from NUIG and teaches yoga in Galway and surrounding areas. She loves books written from a child’s point of view and playing with this perspective in her own fiction and non-fiction. She was long-listed in the 2008 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition. Cristina also writes poetry and her work features in the anthologies Ink For Air and Three Times Daily.
Tom Lavelle lives in Galway and works for a manufacturing company. He is a participant in the Advance Poetry Workshop at Galway Arts Centre and as part of that group read his work at last year’s Clifden Arts Week. His poems have appeared in Revival, Boyne Berries, The Stony Thursday Book, Crannóg, West 47 online, The Cuirt Annual, ROPES and The Shop. Tom was shortlisted for the Cúirt Over The Edge showcase reading in both 2008 and 2009 and in the Over The Edge New Writer of The Year competition. He is currently working on an M Phil in Writing at the University of Glamorgan.
Geraldine Mitchell was born in Dublin and lives near Louisburgh, Co. Mayo. In between she has lived in France, Algeria, Spain and England where she taught English and worked as a freelance journalist. Her previous publications include two novels for young people and a biography. Her poems have been widely published in Irish journals and in the Oxfam Calendar 2009. She won the Patrick Kavanagh Poetry Award in 2008. In their comments the judges, Moya Cannon and Theo Dorgan, said that Geraldine’s poems display: “a clear-eyed sensibility that considers, but does not judge human fragility”.
Marcella Morgan is originally from Maynooth, but has been living in Galway for the past year and a half. She spends her days fixin’ troushers in an alterations shop in town, and her nights writing poems about her angry womb. She has attended several writing workshops with Susan Millar DuMars where she learnt how to make a bomb using bread soda, an empty beer can and a thong. Susan also taught her how to spell trousers. Marcella was short-listed for 2009 Over The Edge New Writer of The Year, is a finalist in this year’s Cúirt Festival Poetry Grand Slam and has also been a featured reader at North Beach Poetry Nights.
Áine Tierney is from Rosmore, Co. Tipperary. She has worked as a secondary school English teacher, but is presently researching for a PhD in Philosophy on the role of Imagination in Education at University College Cork. She has an MA in Writing from the National University of Ireland, Galway. Her writing has appeared in various magazines and newspapers. She had a short story published in the Silverfish anthology, which was funded by South Tipperary County Council’s Per Cent for Art Scheme.
If you, or a writers group you belong to, would be interested in taking part in the Over The Edge Cúirt showcase in the future contact Over The Edge c/o Galway Arts Centre, 47 Dominick Street, Galway or send a sample of six of your poems or two thousand words of your fiction to us at Over The Edge, 3 Carbry Road, Newcastle, Galway and we will consider you for a Featured Reading at one of the Over The Edge: Open Readings which will make you eligible for the shortlist for the subsequent Cúirt Festival Over The Edge showcase.
http://overtheedgeliteraryevents.blogspot.com
MILTON KEYNES: Poetry Kapow!
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
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
STOCKTON: You Are Here
Wednesday, 21st April, 2010, 7.45pm, £8/£6
ARC
Dovecot Street,
Stockton on Tees
Tickets: 01642 525199
www.arconline.co.uk
You Are Here – a touring poetry show featuring Colette Bryce, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott.
See www.youareherepoetryshow.wordpress.com for details
ARC
Dovecot Street,
Stockton on Tees
Tickets: 01642 525199
www.arconline.co.uk
You Are Here – a touring poetry show featuring Colette Bryce, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott.
See www.youareherepoetryshow.wordpress.com for details
BRIDLINGTON: Poetry Festival 2010
Friday 11th June – Sunday 13th June
Sewerby Hall
YO15 1EA
Box Office 01482 392699
www.bridlington-poetry-festival.com
The inaugural Bridlington Poetry Festival comprises 32 events over three days, and promises to be a glorious weekend of poetry for readers and writers of all ages in the beautiful surroundings of Sewerby Hall, with its dramatic views out to sea.
Bridlington Poetry Festival has been organised by the Wordquake project, which receives regular funding from Arts Council England and East Riding Libraries. Wordquake was set up to promote creative writing and reading throughout the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Some of poetry’s best-loved figures will be performing, including Simon Armitage, whose new book of poems, Seeing Stars (Faber) is published this spring. He headlines the first evening of the festival, reading at 8.30pm.
Simon Armitage said: "I spent many holidays in Bridlington, most of them walking between the town and Sewerby along the cliffs, looking enviously at those who went past on the model train. I liked the zoo; a hyacinth macaw would come and sit on your shoulder, and a llama once spat at my dad. It was a lifetime ago, another country, and I'm looking forward to being there again."
Headlining the Saturday evening – and squeezed into the programme at the last minute – is the highly acclaimed Irish poet, Paul Durcan.
Other highlights include three Poetry Doubles events, in each of which a major poet reads with his or her own choices of ‘Double’ – a poet at first-collection stage. Poetry Doubles was first staged at Friargate Theatre in York in 2003, when then-Poet Laureate Andrew Motion launched the series with his choice of Colette Bryce as ‘Double’. Seven years later, Colette returns to headline the first of Bridlington’s Poetry Doubles readings, now with her own choice of Katharine Kilalea as ‘Double’.
Katharine, whose debut collection, One Eye’d Leigh (Carcanet), was shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award 2009, was born in South Africa and now lives in London.
The second Poetry Doubles features Robin Robertson, winner of the 2006 Forward Poetry Prize for Swithering (Picador) with his ‘Double’, J.O. Morgan, whose 70-page single poem Natural Mechanical (CB Editions) won the prestigious Aldeburgh First Collection Prize in 2009.
The third is headlined by Daljit Nagra, winner in 2007 of the Forward Prize for Best First Collection with Look We Have Coming to Dover (Faber). His ‘Double’ is young poet and film maker Heather Phillipson, one of the four ‘Faber New Poets’ whose debut pamphlets were published in 2009.
Colette Bryce, whose first collection, The Heel of Bernadette won the 2000 Aldeburgh First Collection Prize, makes a second appearance at the festival, reading from and talking about the poetry of Dorothy Molloy with poet and Assistant Director of the festival, Antony Dunn. Molloy, who was born in County Mayo and lived in County Dublin, died in 2004, just days before the publications by Faber of her first collection, Hare Soup.
Antony and Colette will be reading from Hare Soup and from the two posthumous collections of poems assembled from her papers, Gethsemane Day (Faber 2006) and Long-distance Swimmer (Salmon Poetry 2009).
Jacob Polley, author of two acclaimed collections, The Brink (Picador 2003) and Little Gods (Picador 2006) will be announcing the results of the East Riding Open Poetry Competition, whose hundreds of entries he has judged. Polley will afterwards be reading from his own poems.
Other poets and academics performing, giving talks and leading seminars include Martha Kapos, C.L. Dallat, Mario Petrucci, Anne-Marie Fyfe, James Byrne, Nigel Forde, David Wheatley, Cliff Forshaw and Kath McKay.
Professor James Booth (University of Hull) marks the 25th anniversary of Philip Larkin’s death with a talk entitled Larkin’s Rhymes.
There’s an eclectic programme of poetry workshops throughout the weekend, and special drama and word-play events for children and parents on Saturday and Sunday morning – two of which involve a visit to Sewerby Hall’s very own zoo.
Bridlington Poetry festival also celebrates the 200th issue of Ambit, the legendary poetry magazine with its equally legendary editor, Dr Martin Bax, and some surprise guests…
And there’s an opportunity for anyone to get up and perform their poetry, with Friday and Saturday night’s “open mic” sessions. And you never know who might be in the audience.
For complete festival listings visit
www.bridlington-poetry-festival.com
Sewerby Hall
YO15 1EA
Box Office 01482 392699
www.bridlington-poetry-festival.com
The inaugural Bridlington Poetry Festival comprises 32 events over three days, and promises to be a glorious weekend of poetry for readers and writers of all ages in the beautiful surroundings of Sewerby Hall, with its dramatic views out to sea.
Bridlington Poetry Festival has been organised by the Wordquake project, which receives regular funding from Arts Council England and East Riding Libraries. Wordquake was set up to promote creative writing and reading throughout the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Some of poetry’s best-loved figures will be performing, including Simon Armitage, whose new book of poems, Seeing Stars (Faber) is published this spring. He headlines the first evening of the festival, reading at 8.30pm.
Simon Armitage said: "I spent many holidays in Bridlington, most of them walking between the town and Sewerby along the cliffs, looking enviously at those who went past on the model train. I liked the zoo; a hyacinth macaw would come and sit on your shoulder, and a llama once spat at my dad. It was a lifetime ago, another country, and I'm looking forward to being there again."
Headlining the Saturday evening – and squeezed into the programme at the last minute – is the highly acclaimed Irish poet, Paul Durcan.
Other highlights include three Poetry Doubles events, in each of which a major poet reads with his or her own choices of ‘Double’ – a poet at first-collection stage. Poetry Doubles was first staged at Friargate Theatre in York in 2003, when then-Poet Laureate Andrew Motion launched the series with his choice of Colette Bryce as ‘Double’. Seven years later, Colette returns to headline the first of Bridlington’s Poetry Doubles readings, now with her own choice of Katharine Kilalea as ‘Double’.
Katharine, whose debut collection, One Eye’d Leigh (Carcanet), was shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award 2009, was born in South Africa and now lives in London.
The second Poetry Doubles features Robin Robertson, winner of the 2006 Forward Poetry Prize for Swithering (Picador) with his ‘Double’, J.O. Morgan, whose 70-page single poem Natural Mechanical (CB Editions) won the prestigious Aldeburgh First Collection Prize in 2009.
The third is headlined by Daljit Nagra, winner in 2007 of the Forward Prize for Best First Collection with Look We Have Coming to Dover (Faber). His ‘Double’ is young poet and film maker Heather Phillipson, one of the four ‘Faber New Poets’ whose debut pamphlets were published in 2009.
Colette Bryce, whose first collection, The Heel of Bernadette won the 2000 Aldeburgh First Collection Prize, makes a second appearance at the festival, reading from and talking about the poetry of Dorothy Molloy with poet and Assistant Director of the festival, Antony Dunn. Molloy, who was born in County Mayo and lived in County Dublin, died in 2004, just days before the publications by Faber of her first collection, Hare Soup.
Antony and Colette will be reading from Hare Soup and from the two posthumous collections of poems assembled from her papers, Gethsemane Day (Faber 2006) and Long-distance Swimmer (Salmon Poetry 2009).
Jacob Polley, author of two acclaimed collections, The Brink (Picador 2003) and Little Gods (Picador 2006) will be announcing the results of the East Riding Open Poetry Competition, whose hundreds of entries he has judged. Polley will afterwards be reading from his own poems.
Other poets and academics performing, giving talks and leading seminars include Martha Kapos, C.L. Dallat, Mario Petrucci, Anne-Marie Fyfe, James Byrne, Nigel Forde, David Wheatley, Cliff Forshaw and Kath McKay.
Professor James Booth (University of Hull) marks the 25th anniversary of Philip Larkin’s death with a talk entitled Larkin’s Rhymes.
There’s an eclectic programme of poetry workshops throughout the weekend, and special drama and word-play events for children and parents on Saturday and Sunday morning – two of which involve a visit to Sewerby Hall’s very own zoo.
Bridlington Poetry festival also celebrates the 200th issue of Ambit, the legendary poetry magazine with its equally legendary editor, Dr Martin Bax, and some surprise guests…
And there’s an opportunity for anyone to get up and perform their poetry, with Friday and Saturday night’s “open mic” sessions. And you never know who might be in the audience.
For complete festival listings visit
www.bridlington-poetry-festival.com
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
CHELTENHAM: Buzzwords Poetry Night
Sunday, 11th April, 2010, 7pm onwards, £3, £5 if you are able
upstairs at The Exmouth Arms,
Bath Road,
Cheltenham
Guest poet: Wendy French
7pm – Workshop led by Wendy French
8pm - Readings and open mic
Hope to see you there!
upstairs at The Exmouth Arms,
Bath Road,
Cheltenham
Guest poet: Wendy French
7pm – Workshop led by Wendy French
8pm - Readings and open mic
Hope to see you there!
LIVERPOOL: You Are Here
Tuesday, 20th April, 2010, 7pm, £5/£3
The Bluecoat
School Lane,
Liverpool
L1 3BX
Tickets: 0151 702 5324
www.thebluecoat.org.uk
You Are Here – a touring poetry show featuring Colette Bryce, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott.
See www.youareherepoetryshow.wordpress.com for details
The Bluecoat
School Lane,
Liverpool
L1 3BX
Tickets: 0151 702 5324
www.thebluecoat.org.uk
You Are Here – a touring poetry show featuring Colette Bryce, Daljit Nagra and Jo Shapcott.
See www.youareherepoetryshow.wordpress.com for details
Monday, April 05, 2010
LONDON: wordPLAY
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
Sunday, April 04, 2010
EXETER: CCANW fundraiser
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/
Friday, April 02, 2010
PETERBOROUGH: Poetry Rivals Poetry Slam Grand Final
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.
GALWAY: Susan Millar DuMars and Kevin Higgins book launch
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
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
OXFORD: Cabaret Clandestino
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
Thursday, April 01, 2010
LONDON: Tongue Fu
Thursday, April 15th, 2010, 8pm, £7/£5
RICH MIX
35 - 47 Bethnal Green Road,
London,
E1 6LA
Box office: 020 7613 7498
Office/admin: 020 7613 7490
info@richmix.org.uk
www.richmix.org.uk
www.richmix.org.uk/bookings
Tongue Fu
with Dockers MC, Byron Vincent, Paradox and Last Mango in Paris.
Hosted by Ventriloquist and the Tongue Fu Band
"It's poetry, but not as you know it…amazing to listen to…a really quirky take on traditional poetry readings." The Guardian
Tongue Fu is London's liveliest poetry event where the UK's sharpest wordsmiths flex their lyrical ninja skills to a masterful genre hopping house band. Tongue Fu is hosted by Chris Redmond (Ventriloquist), featuring Shane Solanki (Last Mango in Paris) and a host of spoken word stars.
http://www.richmix.org.uk/aandc_tonguefu.htm
RICH MIX
35 - 47 Bethnal Green Road,
London,
E1 6LA
Box office: 020 7613 7498
Office/admin: 020 7613 7490
info@richmix.org.uk
www.richmix.org.uk
www.richmix.org.uk/bookings
Tongue Fu
with Dockers MC, Byron Vincent, Paradox and Last Mango in Paris.
Hosted by Ventriloquist and the Tongue Fu Band
"It's poetry, but not as you know it…amazing to listen to…a really quirky take on traditional poetry readings." The Guardian
Tongue Fu is London's liveliest poetry event where the UK's sharpest wordsmiths flex their lyrical ninja skills to a masterful genre hopping house band. Tongue Fu is hosted by Chris Redmond (Ventriloquist), featuring Shane Solanki (Last Mango in Paris) and a host of spoken word stars.
http://www.richmix.org.uk/aandc_tonguefu.htm
NOTTINGHAM: Ash Dickinson
Friday, 16th April, 2010, 8pm doors, 8.30pm show, FREE
36-38 Hockley,
Nottingham
Ash Dickinson @ Bunkers Hill
www.ashdickinson.com
Mutliple slam champion Ash Dickinson twists quick-fire rhymes and offbeat lines into a mash-up of stand-up, theatre and rap. Expect old faves and devillish new pieces as Ash ruminates on Facebook, the rubbishness of men's fashion, knitwear for apes and has his fridge fall in love with him.
“Brilliantly surreal invention.. fabulous poems” - Edinburgh Evening News
"Impressive wordplay" - The Times
"A very cool combination of rap, rhyme, repetition and wry wit...Dickinson proves not only to be an incredibly gifted poet, but also a great comedian with a sharp eye for social commentary" - Winnipeg Free Press
"Ash Dickinson is a Performance Poet for the Lost Generation. If you haven't seen him, you haven't seen performance poetry" - Federation Of Writers (Scotland)
“Amazing..this poet wields words like wicked weapons, his vivid surrealism now overlaid with darker matter...and still those remarkable rhyme forms to astound your senses" - www.wordfringe.co.uk
“Weird and wonderful...refreshingly unpretentious with an obtuse humour and seemingly effortless zeal...off-kilter, imaginative (yet) lucid, profound and surprisingly poignant” - Three Weeks
“Accessible and engaging...frequently self-effacing...a personable and easy going performer..a skilled writer, he tackles the big subjects like love, identity and nature and handles it all with skill and finesse" CBC Radio, Canada
36-38 Hockley,
Nottingham
Ash Dickinson @ Bunkers Hill
www.ashdickinson.com
Mutliple slam champion Ash Dickinson twists quick-fire rhymes and offbeat lines into a mash-up of stand-up, theatre and rap. Expect old faves and devillish new pieces as Ash ruminates on Facebook, the rubbishness of men's fashion, knitwear for apes and has his fridge fall in love with him.
“Brilliantly surreal invention.. fabulous poems” - Edinburgh Evening News
"Impressive wordplay" - The Times
"A very cool combination of rap, rhyme, repetition and wry wit...Dickinson proves not only to be an incredibly gifted poet, but also a great comedian with a sharp eye for social commentary" - Winnipeg Free Press
"Ash Dickinson is a Performance Poet for the Lost Generation. If you haven't seen him, you haven't seen performance poetry" - Federation Of Writers (Scotland)
“Amazing..this poet wields words like wicked weapons, his vivid surrealism now overlaid with darker matter...and still those remarkable rhyme forms to astound your senses" - www.wordfringe.co.uk
“Weird and wonderful...refreshingly unpretentious with an obtuse humour and seemingly effortless zeal...off-kilter, imaginative (yet) lucid, profound and surprisingly poignant” - Three Weeks
“Accessible and engaging...frequently self-effacing...a personable and easy going performer..a skilled writer, he tackles the big subjects like love, identity and nature and handles it all with skill and finesse" CBC Radio, Canada
LONDON: Ambit/PLON special reading
Tuesday, 13th April, 2010, 7pm, FREE
The Tank Gallery,
The Ladywell Tavern,
80 Ladywell Road
London
SE13 7HS
Nearest station: Ladywell BR
Ambit Magazine and Tlon Books are holding a special joint event with three poets – Judy Brown, Richard Dyer and Jason Shelley – who will read from their latest works.
Ambit was founded by Dr Martin Bax in 1959 and a landmark 200th issue will be published at the end of April.
Judy Brown’s pamphlet, Pillars of Salt (2006) was a winner in Templar Poetry’s pamphlet competition. She won the Poetry London competition in 2009 and in 2005 received the Poetry Society’s Hamish Canham Poetry Prize. Her poems have appeared in The Forward Book of Poetry 2006 and various magazines, including Ambit.
Richard Dyer's poetry and fiction have been published in Ambit, Contemporary, Moving Worlds, Le Gun, Junger Welt, Cronica Latina and The Dark Times. His first poetry collection, A Western Journey, was published by Arlen House, in October 2006. In 2008 his second collection, Bog Land Scapes, was released as a DVD.
Jason Shelley is working on his fourth book with Tlön Books Publishing, Daytime Notes from Early Morning to Late Afternoon. His previous publications are Grey Love; an urban love story of selected prose and poetry (2003), No Looking Back; selected poetry (2002) and The Romance; an episode in the life of a young writer, of which the artwork is exhibited Tank Gallery, London 8th April - 1st May 2010.
http://tankgallery.weebly.com/index.html
Tel 020 8690 7184
The Tank Gallery,
The Ladywell Tavern,
80 Ladywell Road
London
SE13 7HS
Nearest station: Ladywell BR
Ambit Magazine and Tlon Books are holding a special joint event with three poets – Judy Brown, Richard Dyer and Jason Shelley – who will read from their latest works.
Ambit was founded by Dr Martin Bax in 1959 and a landmark 200th issue will be published at the end of April.
Judy Brown’s pamphlet, Pillars of Salt (2006) was a winner in Templar Poetry’s pamphlet competition. She won the Poetry London competition in 2009 and in 2005 received the Poetry Society’s Hamish Canham Poetry Prize. Her poems have appeared in The Forward Book of Poetry 2006 and various magazines, including Ambit.
Richard Dyer's poetry and fiction have been published in Ambit, Contemporary, Moving Worlds, Le Gun, Junger Welt, Cronica Latina and The Dark Times. His first poetry collection, A Western Journey, was published by Arlen House, in October 2006. In 2008 his second collection, Bog Land Scapes, was released as a DVD.
Jason Shelley is working on his fourth book with Tlön Books Publishing, Daytime Notes from Early Morning to Late Afternoon. His previous publications are Grey Love; an urban love story of selected prose and poetry (2003), No Looking Back; selected poetry (2002) and The Romance; an episode in the life of a young writer, of which the artwork is exhibited Tank Gallery, London 8th April - 1st May 2010.
http://tankgallery.weebly.com/index.html
Tel 020 8690 7184
NOTTINGHAM: Poetry Series
Five poets - Alex Lemon, Eireann Lorsung, Kerri French, Laressa Dickey and Zachary Carlsen - are each giving three or four workshops, as well as one-on-ones and readings, over the course of July 15-18.
All-inclusive passes will be available for the whole weekend, or tickets for individual workshops and readings can be purchased separately. To register interest for tickets – or get an all-inclusive pass at a cheaper rate by 2nd April – please follow the links on the Nottingham Poetry Series website, where you can also read in detail about the workshops and the biographies of the poets.
http://nottinghampoetryseries.com/thisis/index/wordpress/
www.michaelmckimm.co.uk
All-inclusive passes will be available for the whole weekend, or tickets for individual workshops and readings can be purchased separately. To register interest for tickets – or get an all-inclusive pass at a cheaper rate by 2nd April – please follow the links on the Nottingham Poetry Series website, where you can also read in detail about the workshops and the biographies of the poets.
http://nottinghampoetryseries.com/thisis/index/wordpress/
www.michaelmckimm.co.uk
LONDON: Open / International Evening
Friday, 16th April, 2010, 7pm (doors open 6.30pm), £4/£3, wine
Trinity United Reform Church,
1 Buck Street,
Camden Town
London
(2 minutes Camden Town tube.)
Ruth O'Callaghan presents An Open / International Evening
No main poet - all of the poets from the floor are stars - longer spots available. Please bring a copy of the poem if you wish to be considered for the new anthology.
Trinity United Reform Church,
1 Buck Street,
Camden Town
London
(2 minutes Camden Town tube.)
Ruth O'Callaghan presents An Open / International Evening
No main poet - all of the poets from the floor are stars - longer spots available. Please bring a copy of the poem if you wish to be considered for the new anthology.
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