Small oases of peace & magic in otherwise mad days
That's how Manchester Library’s lunchtime poetry sessions, curated by that wonderful literary impresario, Libby Tempest, have been described.
Mad days indeed, with their colleagues in other authorities closing libraries (is that not more violent than smashing a window?) what a thrill, how reassuring, to see Manchester running lunchtime poetry gigs. (That’s 'dinner time' to us northerners.)
...31st March 2011
I knew Siegfried Sassoon: memories of a fox-hunting man
Siegfried Sassoon was one of the great first world war poets. He won the Military Cross, then became a conscientious objector, and met Wilfred Owen when he was sent to Craiglockhart hospital in Scotland by the powers-that-be to get him out of the news. He was also an excellent cricketer and playe...
31st March 2011
Cooper Clarke, Hegley, and loads of open mic at Cheltenham Poetry Festival
There are some cracking events on at the Cheltenham Poetry Festival that starts this week and runs from 31st March to 3rd April 2011.
Yep, John Cooper Clarke, John Hegley, Bohdan Piesecki and ...
31st March 2011
Spoken Word All Stars at Cardiff Pierhead tonight
Tonight, 31 March, Cardiff’s Pierhead hosts its first arts event when Spoken Word All Stars, make their first foray into Wales.
With five poets and one musician, the free show includes internatio...
31st March 2011
Join the Write Out Loud BIG Weekend - £30 off for last few places
First come first served for a £30 last minute discount for an absolute bargain poetry fun weekend.
This whole event was brilliant! said one participant at our last Write Out Loud BIG weekend. W...
31st March 2011
Website went AWOL: world wonders why
Write Out Loud went quiet yesterday,
your wordless screens all blank.
We don’t yet know what happened,
who to blame (or who to thank?).
Sure it’s not political,
Pentagon, ...
31st March 2011
Anne Stevenson and Penelope Shuttle at Camden
Anne Stevenson and Penelope Shuttle are performing at the latest Camden monthly poetry evening, presented by Ruth O’Callaghan, to raise money for the homeless.
Poets from the floor are very wel...
29th March 2011
Innverse: it's back tonight
Innverse, a poetry readaround - no sign-up, no mic, no pressure – has returned to Sanbar in Grosvenor Street, Manchester. Started three years ago by Simon Rennie who wanted a space for everyone to...
28th March 2011
A well-named writers' group
Here's a great name for a writers' group, COZI Writers. It sounds all pipe and slippers by the fireside, all friendly-like. So it ought to be, being run by ex-Write Out Loud coordinator for Sale, S...
27th March 2011
Poetry and music at festival in Co Galway
There’s a fine and eclectic lineup of writers and music at the Fourth Forge at Gort Literature Festival this Friday and Saturday, 25 and 26 March, at Gort, Co Galway, organised by the Western Write...
24th March 2011
Earlier start for Write Out Loud Middleton
This month's guest, Rod Whitworth, a ...
24th March 2011
Tenby Arts Festival writing competition
The 2011 Tenby Arts Festival Writing Competition is now open. Closing date for entries is 15 July, 2011. There are two categories - short story and poetry - and prizes are the same for each cate...
23rd March 2011
£10,000 Manchester Fiction Prize, 2011
Under the direction of Carol Ann Duffy, MMU’s Writing School launches its second Manchester Fiction Prize of £10,000 for the best short story, open internationally to new and established writers 16...
23rd March 2011
Spooked in Worcester: calling all gothic, horror, sci-fi and fantasy fans
Calling all writers, poets, musicians, performance artists, actors and comedians - ‘42’ is Worcester’s gothic, horror, sci-fi and fantasy open mic night on Friday 25 March for all those who love th...
22nd March 2011
Red Shed OPEN POETRY COMPETITION 2011
Wakefield's finest (poetry organisation) is keen to receive your poem and to pay you £100 for it - providing it wins, of course. the REd Shed poetry competition, 2011, is now open.
Prizes: 1st ...
22nd March 2011
Write Out Loud at Sale on World Poetry Day
On a Monday for one month only!
Write Out Loud presents...
...A great event at the Waterside with an open mic and three superb guests.
First time readers are especially welcome. Open mic spac...
18th March 2011
£5,000 Poetry competition deadline approaching
The 2011 Cardiff International Poetry Competition is open and waiting for your entry. The first prize-winner will walk away with a cheque for £5,000 for just one poem. And with further prizes of £5...
17th March 2011
Spring is in the air, and slams are gambolling everywhere!
Slam poets have an embarrassment of events to choose from over the next month with 12 listed on the gig guide (see list, below)
Not everyone’s cup of tea, slams can be divisive or great fun, de...
17th March 2011
Luke Wright and Elvis McGonagall at Word of Mouth, Bristol
March’s Word of Mouth sees two of Britain’s most exciting poets take over the Bristol Old Vic’s Basement for a night of razor-sharp spoken word, and it's all hosted by Byron Vincent
Cynical Bal...
15th March 2011
LIGHT MADE SOLID, Ben Mellor's new CD
Described by Lemn Sissay as “a pure undiluted talent, concentrated”, Ben Mellor was a winner of the Write Out Loud organized North West heat, and went to become national champion, of the 2009 BBC R...
14th March 2011
That Takes Ovaries – performance and open mic with a difference!
Not strictly poetry perhaps, but Liverpool’s Unity Theatre hosts a unique celebration of women’s courage, perseverance and outrageousness with real-life stories from around the world; from the d...
6th March 2011
Standing room only for Liz Bentley at February Write Angle
February's Write Angle had people rushing to get in – till there was standing room only. Many new people, along with those who 'won't miss it' . The word is spreading – or should we say the fame of...
5th March 2011
Doing the Standing Still
I remember going to a poetry reading at the Bluecoat, in Liverpool, a few years back. Gordon D Henry was reading and there was a Q&A session after. The first question asked from the audience left...
5th March 2011
What do you get if you cross a cat with a weazle? A: |cat x weazle x sin (theta)|, where theta is the angle between
What a honky-tonking, stonking
Poetry performing, barnstorming
Guitar-strum, maelstrom,
Meek and haughty
cello and piano-their-forte
All-singing, all-words-dancing,
Dynamic,...
5th March 2011
Dudley Sutton appearing at London's BEAT
Dudley’s list of screen roles is legendary, but now he is playing with words, in his ”struggle against respectability” as he calls it.Cult actor Dudley Sutton will be appearing at London’s BEAT poe...
3rd March 2011
Performing spoken word master class at Lancaster University
Breaking Cycles is a master class provided by Benji Reid to allow you to expand your range as a performer and gain a better understanding of the relationship between action and the spoken word.
...
2nd March 2011
