A monthly open mic poetry night, The Works’ Canteen, will be launched on Tuesday 19 November at the Black Country Living Museum, in Dudley. Also launched on the same night will be a book of poems chosen from the entries to the museum's last two annual poetry competitions.

The anthology, Black by Day: Red by Night,  around the themes of steam and industrial landscape, has been edited by the museum's poet in residence, Dave Reeves. he said: "The standard of poems entered for both competitions was very high indeed and we are looking forward to hearing the winning poets read their work at the first of these monthly events."

The book's title is a reference to a quote by the US consult in Birmingham, Elihu Burritt, about the Black Country during the industrial revolution: "The Black Country, black by day and red by night, cannot be matched for vast and varied production …" (Elihu Burritt, Walks in the Black Country and its Green Border-Land, 1868)

Dave will also host of the new monthly night of poetry, lyrics, music and storytelling named ‘The Works Canteen’ where writers will be invited to "put the cant into canteen". On Tuesday there will be presentations to the winners of the museum’s second poetry competition, run earlier this year. Roz Goddard from Cradley Heath, West Midlands, won first prize for her poem ‘The Break-In’, and runners-up were Julian Sutton (Devon), ‘Black Country Night’; Louise Wilford (Barnsley),  ‘Clee’; and Pippa Little (Northumberland), ‘Cobbles’. Tuesday night’s reading will take place from 7.30pm-9.30pm, in the museum’s Rolfe Street cafe, entry £3. More details and map