A poet whose Quiet Compere tours have mixed page and stage, established poets and emerging voices, and allowed many local poets their 10 minutes in the spotlight is appealing for Crowdfunder pledges to help fund her 2016 gigs.

Sarah L Dixon is hoping to raise £3,000 by 14 January 2016.  She said: “I have turned to crowd-funding as an additional way to match-fund the Quiet Compere tour - I approached Arts Council England (ACE) and they rejected my first bid this year.

“I have submitted a second bid [for seven events], including mini-workshops for performers and audience and have reduced the tour by two dates and set up crowdfunding to fund three events.

“I have already received offers of match-funding from Swindon poetry festival and Wolverhampton art gallery so the general interest and support is still high, but this cannot happen without crowd-funding too. I should hear back from the Arts Council the week before Christmas. I am hopeful it will be an acceptance, but if it is a rejection I am determined the three events will take place through crowd-funding and local authority backing.”

In 2015 the Quiet Compere tour visited Halifax, Durham, Chesterfield, Oxford, Ulverston, Worcester, Hull Exeter, Camden, Hackney, Norwich and Cheltenham.

You can find out more about the Quiet Compere tours and Sarah’s cash appeal by watching this video

PHOTOGRAPH: DOMINIC SIMPSON

Background: Quiet Compere looks back on her 2014 tour