Garyswordz

Festivals

Mar 1st- 10th Independent Bath Literary Festival
http://bathfestivals.org.uk/literature/

Sat 16th -24th Mar, Oxford Literary Festival, a superstar laden event:
http://oxfordliteraryfestival.org/

———————————————————————————————————–
Day by Day

Fri 1st March Poets in the Bookshop, Malvern Book Cooperative,2 St Ann’s Road, WR14 4RG Great Malvern
Ali Oxtoby, Amy Rainbow, Catherine Crosswell and Jenny Hope

Malvern Book Co-Operative present an evening of four local poets performing their work against a backdrop of lovely shelves packed with lovely books on Friday 1st March at 7.30pm

Please note that this is a ticketed event. In order to secure a FREE ticket for the night, please ring or call in to reserve yours. Numbers strictly limited to shop capacity.
…
01684 564788

Delicious cakes and hot drinks available
before, during and after the show. FREE glass of wine at the start of the night.
Shop doors are open from 7pm.

***Also special guest appearance by Meg Oxtoby
singing with the help of a plastic cup!

Fri 1st March Poems in Pubs, Bath Lit Fest, Raven PH, Queen St, Bath
Poems in Pubs returns as Bath’s one and only poetry pub crawl for the fourth year in a row.

Marvel as masters of the spoken word magically mix sonnets with satire, comedy with couplets and poetry with pints!!

Follow the whole route or dip in and out as you please.

Poets welcome for the open mic finale slam for a chance to win your own PiP’s T shirt and a chance to perform at next years show! Admission is free.

The Route

1st of March 2013

The Raven : 7pm – 8.20pm

The Salamander : 8.30pm – 9.20pm

The Huntsman (upstairs back lounge) : 9.30pm – 10.15pm

The Raven : 10.20 – onwards for open mic finale
Fri 1st March EAST MIDLANDS LAUNCH OF THE NEW SHORT-STORY ANTHOLOGY, “OVERHEARD: STORIES TO READ ALOUD” (SALT, 2012) AT CULTURAL EXCHANGES FESTIVAL, LEICESTER, DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY, 6-8PM. FREE AND ALL WELCOME.

You can download the brochure for the festival from the following link:

http://www.dmu.ac.uk/cultural-exchanges-festival/index.aspx

The event takes place in room 2.30 of the Clapham Building in De Montfort University, Leicester, LE1 9BH. You can see a campus map here:

Click to access 2012-dmu-access-map.pdf

Here is a blurb about the book: “Overheard: Stories to Read Aloud (Salt, 2012),” ed. Jonathan Taylor: “From village storytellers to nineteenth-century serialisations, from pub anecdotes to dramatic monologues, storytelling is an enduring and ever-popular art form. This collection of stories reconnects storytelling with its oral roots — each story is designed to be read aloud. It includes work by some of today’s most influential story-tellers, including Louis De Bernières, Blake Morrison, Kate Pullinger, Adele Parks, Michelene Wandor, Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, Hanif Kureishi, and over 30 others.” See http://www.saltpublishing.com for more details.

Sat 2nd Mar Arts March, Weoley Castle library, 11-3pm a range of arts activities

Sat 2nd Mar , Funny Women, Hereford Library, 2pm, free in, Funny Women are performing at Hereford Library this Saturday (March 2nd) at 2pm. If you’re in the area do go along and support Emma, Jane and Win. The event is supported by Writing West Midlands through its admirable Literature on Your Doorstep project.

Sat 2nd Mar Power Plant with Zena Edwards at the Mac Birmingham, 2pm:
Apples and Snakes presents
Power Plant: Zena Edwards

Power Plant is a series of free poetry masterclasses delivered by established pracitioners, designed to cover every facet of life as a performance poet, from writing and performance techniques to the intricacies of successful freelancing. It does not matter how experienced you are: whether you’re new, emerging, or a household name, if you’re seriously considering a further career in spoken word, the Power Plant is for you. Plug into the grid!

… The monthly sessions can be booked through the mac Birmingham website – although they are free of charge, places are strictly limited, so reserve yours early to avoid disappointment.

This session is led by Zena Edwards and is on ‘Writer/Producer/Director Relationship’.

When: Saturday 2 March, 2pm
Where: mac Birmingham, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH
Tickets: FREE
Info: macarts.co.uk
Booking: bohdan@applesandsnakes.org

Sun 3rd Buzzwords Workshop, Upstairs at The Exmouth Arms, Bath Road, Cheltenham led by Sue Rose 7pm,Guest readings and open mic 8pm,Guest poet: Sue Rose,£5 waged, £3 unwaged, http://buzzwordspoetry.blogspot.com/

Mon 4th Mar Speech Bubble.cognito, LSU, loughborough uni,LE11 3TU ,7.30pm. Jodi ann Bickley and Harry Baker headline plus open mic, £3in
Tues 5th Mar Night Blue Fruit, * New Venue* Playwrights Cafe Bar & Bistro 4/6 Hay lane, Cathedral Quarter, CV1 5RF, free in, 7.30pm-10pm,Open mic, sign up on the night.

Wed 6th Mar Open Resistance,The Vault ,Church St, Rugby, 7.30pm, free in, open mic spoken word and music with Augustus Stephens

Mon 4th SW&N Club Open Mic Spoken word, Newhampton inn, Riches St, Wolverhampton;Spoken Word At Newhampton
Storytelling, poetry, a tune, or a song!Join us on the first Monday of every month (except August) for an evening dedicated to the spoken word.Take part, or just sit back and enjoy the many different voices that make Wolverhampton such a vibrant city.
The Newhampton Inn, Riches Street (off Newhampton Road West) Wolverhampton WV6 0DW,Arrive 7.45 for 8.00pm start.
Suggested donation £3.00 per person.For further details, or to be added to our mailing list please contact us at: chandstory@tiscali.co.uk

Tues 5th Word Y Theatre, East Street, Leicester LE1 6EY, just opposite Leicester Train Station7pm performers, 8pm, Audience, Open mic plus headliner. £6in
WORD! is the longest running poetry and spoken word night in Leicester. Based at The Y Theatre, Leicester, it takes place on the first Tuesday of every month, between 8.00 and 10.30pm. The evening is composed of an open mic, followed by a booked act.
Celebrate International Women’s Month AND the Green Light Festival (http://greenlightfestival.org/) with renowned lyricist and performer, Mellow Baku.

Mellow has performed alongside International and UK artists including, Courtney Pine and featured everywhere from The Barbican, London to The Knitting Factory, New York.

Check out Mellow’s web-site.

http://mellowbaku.com/biog/

Word! is brought to you by a committee of volunteers, has stunning visuals by film-maker Keith Allott and music from The Y.

Entrance: £4/3

Sign up with compere Pam Thompson at 7pm for the open-mic.

Tues 5th 5Minutes, MAC, birmingham
5Minutes. One stage. One audience. One chance to do whatever you want. What would you do with yours?
5Minutes invites performers from across disciplines to do something. That’s it. There are only two rules. The first is that we respectfully request performers refrain from doing something they have ever performed on stage before.The second is that the entire performance must be encapsulated within the performer’s five minutes, with the timer ticking as soon as they begin.
If this sounds like something you’d like to try, message the organisers to enquire after a slot.
Tuesday 5 March, 7.30pm | Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham

Tues 5thStranger and Guest: a poetry reading by Cora Greenhill,Leopold Kitchen, (until recently called Caffeteria!) ,Leopold St., (on corner of Church St.) Sheffield. S1 2GY. 7.30pm. Coffee, wine etc available – sandwiches if you arrive early.
There is a £3 charge to cover venue hire.The Greek word xenos means both stranger and guest, reflecting an ethos of hospitality, but also that an outsider is always an outsider. Cora Greenhill’s poetry explores 30 years of a complex love affair with Crete, which is ‘halfway to Africa’; and with Africa, where she has also travelled, lived and worked.

Clare Turner, musician and teacher of African music, will play the mbira and other African instruments between sets.

Wed 6th Gorilla Poetry Slam Competition, Rutland Arms, Brown St, Sheffield .
Poetry Slam – Hosts Adolfus (Addie P. Abbott) and Supernova

Poets in the slam so far:
Anil Boury
Jacob Kennedy
… Bo Meson
Nathan Thomas
Luke Archer
Daniel Massey
Mikey Joe Spikey
Adam Morris
Sam Parker
Cheryl Reid
Dave Attrill
Sarah Thomasin (Arrriving at 8’ish)

Each poem must be of the poet’s own construction.
Each poet gets three minutes (plus a ten-second grace period) to read one poem.
If the poet goes over the time, points will be deducted from the total score(half a point for every ten seconds)
Five judges will then score the poet and the points will be added up.The scores will range from 0.0 to 10.9, with the highest score being 54.5. The best scoring poet will go through to the next round.
To ensure impartiality, judges cannot be related in any way to the poet.
If the audience disagrees with a judge’s decision on a poet’s scoring, the audience get involved by either booing or cheering as the scores are being read out. Judges will have a final chance to change their scores at the end of each round if they become swayed by the audience.
No costumes or props.

Each poet builds up their score by competing in slams throughout the year. The scores are tallied on a leader board on the website, showing all participants their current position-
encouraging them to compete more! At the end of the year, all their points are added together for the final score. The poet with the top score will go straight to the final. Poets from the 2nd to 7th positions will go the semi-final.

The semi-finalists will compete in a slam until there are only three poets left. Those three poets, together with the overall slam winner from the year, will compete in the final slam.
They will battle for the distinctive title of “The Grand Bard of Sheffield” and receive a commemorative trophy. They will also be encouraged to be involved in more Gorilla Events
projects with the aim of promoting poetry to the community.

* For a Bonus Point and is optional (It’s just some fun).

ANY POEM PERFORMED WITH
THE THEME OF ”SWORD AND SORCERY SET IN A POST APOCALYPTIC WORLD” WILL GET AN EXTRA POINT TO THEIR FINAL SCORE. THINK MAD MAX AND THE HOBBIT BLENDED TOGETHER.

Slam Rules:
•Each poem must be of the poet’s own construction.
•Each poet gets three minutes (plus a ten-second grace period) to read one poem. If the poet goes over the time, points will be deducted from the total score. ( ½ point for every 10 Seconds)
• Five judges will score the poet and the points will be added up. The best scoring will go through to the next round. The scores are between 0.0 to 10.9.
•Judges cannot be related in any way to the poet.
•If you feel the judges were wrong in there scoring you can make them aware by booing the scores. If you agree with the judges, cheer them loudly and give them some jazz hands.
•No Costumes or Props
The Winner Gets a Prize and the ‘’Gorilla Poetry Slam Trophy’’ and a half Hour slot at next poetry event. The Winner will have to come back to the next slam to defend the trophy and there right as the slam champion. At the end of the year the best eight scoring poets will enter the slam final and the winner be called the ‘’The Grand Bard Of Sheffield’’.

Thurs 7th Parole Parlate, Little Venice, St Nicholas St, Worcester. £3in, Set bill
Parole Parlate : The Spoken Word” is back on Thursday 7th February 2013 and is a dedicated spoken word and “music that tells a story” platform. If you would like the chance to read your short stories, poems, prose, try out your performance poetry or music that tells a story, this evening is for you!

Hosted by Little Venice in Worcester, there will be a full bar service, cakes/snacks and you can of course take advantage of their full menu and enjoy their delicious pizzas, pastas or salads. Try out their £7.95 menu which includes a pizza or pasta dish and a drink.
Confirmed performers include:

Ellie Stevenson
Timothy Stavert
Sheila Cox
Chardonnay Jade
Math Jones
Mike Alma
Heather Still

Headlining this event will be Notes From The Underground compere and host Jack Edwards.
Future dates;

Thursday 4th April 2013
Thursday 2nd May 2013
Sunday 16th June 2013 – Festival Special

Thurs 7th Coffeehouse Poetry – The Shrewsbury Coffeehouse,5 Castle Gates, SY1 2AE Shrew sbury:7.30-9pm,with Liz Lefroy- set bill, all welcome to listen, free in.

Thurs 7th Poetry slam, Bham v Cambridge v Cardiff unis, Bristol Pear, Bristol road Selly oak, Birmingham:
On Thursday 7th March, teams from the Universities of Birmingham, Cambridge (Pembroke College) and Cardiff are going head to head in an unprecedented multi-team inter-university poetry slam. A slam to end all slams. A megaslam. A superslam.
Whatever you call it, it’s going to kick your literal or figurative balls into next week.
The audience get to vote for the winners of each round, and the winners of most rounds at the end of the night win the slam overall. Simple power to the people. Pure democracy. Pure… sweet poems. Pure sweet things that you didn’t think were poems.
Come to the Bristol Pear and let Writers’ Bloc redraw the borders of your ears.

Your University of Birmingham team:

Lily Blacksell
James Grady
Ben Norris
Elisha Owen

after a sacrificial round including:

Ben Jackson.

With resident Writers’ Bloc DJ Miles Bradley and host Chazz Redhead.
• Bristol Pear
676 Bristol Road, B29 6BJ Birmingham

Thurs 7th Good Impressions Spoken Word open Mic, Cafe Impression, Atkins Building, Hinckley, LE10 1QU,7.30pm £5in Hosted by Tom Phillips,1st Thursday Monthly

Thur 7th Blackdrop’s Lyric off,@ NAE Gregory Boulevard, Nottm. 8-10pm, £3:
ft Honey Williams- poet and singer/song writer. A night themed Women Marching On,(Note this is Not a women only event). All welcome.

Thurs 7th An Evening with the Bard and Friends – Stony Live!The Crown, Stony Stratford,8pm;The Bardic Council of Stony Stratford presents a cerebral celebration of performance poetry and the spoken word.
Featuring:
The Bard of Stony Stratford, Danni antagonist
with performances from:
Mark Niel
Fay Roberts
Stephen Hobbs
Vikki Laxton-Bass
and
Paul Eccentric
Hosted by Richard Frost
This show is one of many events taking place as part of Stony Live, the celebrated annual festival of music and performance in the cultural hub that is the historic town of Stony Stratford. Please go to the official website for more info on all the exciting goings on:
http://www.stonylive.info/pages/home/index.php
You’ll be spoilt for choice, but please, come and join us in The Crown in the Market Square (MK11 1BE) on Thursday night. (Yes, a scene from Withnail & I WAS filmed in this pub!).
Free Entry – a voluntary collection will be taken. All proceeds will go to Stony Live!

Thurs 7th Yard of Tales,Joules Yard, rear of 53-55 High Street, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 7AF. Joules Yard is a unique venue with a licensed bar after 7pm, also serving tea and coffee. If you would like to order a vegetarian meal for the evening, provided by ‘The Green House’ please telephone 01858 463250. Market Harborough, Leicestershire, Meets first Thursday in the month.Yard of Tales is a performance storytelling club hosted by Kevin Walker http://www.kevinwalker-storyteller.com!Tickets £6 at door (includes nibbles).For further information – 0116 259 2233 or 01858 463250

Fri 8th Open Mic, Bookmark Bloxwich, Bloxwich Library,8pm, free in, Poetry, songs and performance

Fri 8th Let’s get Together, The Oxfam Bookshop, 101 High Street, Worcester,8pm.
An evening of celebration in poetry, prose, song, performance to mark International Women’s Day

Sat 9thPoets Place, Yorks Bakery Café, Birmingham,4-6pm,Organised by Birmingham Libraries and Apples and Snakes, Poets’ Place is an informal gathering of poets set to happen twice a month. It is an opportunity to meet like‐minded people, give and solicit feedback on your poetry, or just sit back and write for a couple of hours without interruption.

Mon 11th Speech BubbleCognito, Students’ Union, Loughborough University 7pm Second Mondays monthly in term time, check for details: http://www.arts.lboro.ac.uk/

Mon 11th Pub Poetry Nottingham The Canal house, 48-52 Canal Street, Nottingham, NG1 7EH,8pm, 2nd monday : Free in, Open mic Contact Nick on pubpoetry@nottscomedyfestival.co.uk

< Mon 11thPUREandGOODandRIGHT is an Open Mic poetry event taking place at The Sozzled Sausage, Leamington Spa CV32 4NX.7.30 start
Admission £3 (£2 Student/OAP)

Mark Niel and the Antipoet headline

From time to time we are located upstairs, so please let us know if you require disabled access before the event.
If you would like to know more about the night email: pgrpoetry@gmail.com

Tues 12th Spire Writes, Havana Whites, Chesterfield
After a brief break, Spire Writes is back in March with some very special guests. Come along and support Chesterfield Young Writers performing their work for the very first time: you can tell everyone you heard them here first.

There’ll also be a performance from the fantastic River Wolton, former Derbyshire Poet Laureate and author of ‘The Purpose of Your Visit’ (Smith/Doorstop, 2008).

As usual, there’ll be open mic too (please let me know if you’d like a slot) and it’s completely FREE to attend. Doors open just before 8pm.

Havana Whites is 2 minutes from Chesterfield train station and we finish in time for the last train back to Sheffield. Parking is available at nearby Spa Lane.

Tues 12th City Voices Second Tuesday 19:30 City Bar King Street, Wolverhampton WV 1ST booked poets simon.fletcher@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Tues 12th Mouth & Music 6,Boars Head Gallery, Kidderminster 8pm, £3 in:
MOUTH and MUSIC
Acoustic spoken word & music night
Boar’s Head Gallery

This month we have two superbly entertaining features both of whom received a resounding cheer when we announced them at our February gig:
…
EMMA PURSHOUSE – “poetry which is quick-witted, sharp, bouncy, poignant and funny”

AL BARZ – can only be described as poet with keyboard (which has a mind of its own)

MC Heather Wastie

Our chosen theme for this month is “Giving up”. Performers are invited to interpret as they see fit …. or ignore completely!

Open floor sign-up from 7.30
Slots are 5 mins for spoken word and slightly longer for music, to allow for 2 songs.
Admission £3 (free to performers)

“A wonderful mix of poetry, prose and music. Highly recommended!”
Lisa Ventura, Director, Worcestershire Literary Festival

Presented by KAF Creatives
http://www.kafcreatives.org.uk

Tues 12th Tales at the Edge, White Lion Inn, Bridgnorth, Shropshire,Tales at the Edge is one of the country’s oldest and most established storytelling clubs, meeting in Bridgenorth on the 2nd Tuesday of every month (except August) at 8 pm.
Hear tales, myths and legends from all over the world in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Whether you are new to storytelling, an experienced teller or just enjoy listening to stories. There is no charge for admission.
For more details contact: Mike Rust 01694 771 379.

Tues 12th MarThe Crown, Market Square, Stony Stratford MK11 1BE,doors open 7.30 for 8.00 start.
Spring is here, spring is here, life is skittles and life is beer. I think the loveliest time of year is spring, I do. Don’t you? Course you do.As the year casts off her ermine gown in favour of a more verdant, strapless little number, and puts the woolly tights back in the wardrobe in anticipation of days lengthening, sap rising and hares leaping, what better way to welcome in the new season than with an evening of open mic music and poetry with special guests?

This month’s headline performers are The Screaming House Madrigals, returning to share their distinctive sound, and the legend in his own lunchtime that is Poeterry, along with the open-minded, open-ended, open-floodgates open mic, welcoming all performers of any style, genre or level of wanton abandon to share their music and words before a warm, receptive, often bemused yet surprisingly tolerant audience.

This month also sees the return of the Post-it Note Poetry competition, back by popular demand – that is, back because we’ve got some more pens after I threw the last lot away by mistake. What else are you going to be doing on the second Tuesday of the month? Join us…

Wed13thTea for two, Stapleford, Notts:
Five times Young and Wood:
Dave Wood and Richard Young’s Community Spoken Word night
at Stapleford goes from strength to strength.

Poets, storytellers and linguistic twiddlers are ready to gather at
… Two for Tea, 92 Derby Road, Stapleford on
Wednesday 13th March 2013.

Come in at 7pm to settle down ready to read, perform or
be a member of the audience at 7.30pm.

Usually finishes 9.15pm. All are welcome, professional or amateur.

Open Word night is (as far as we know), Stapleford’s only poetry
and storytelling night.

We ask you to buy a drink for admission (plenty of delicious choices!)

Clare Stewart, of DIY poets, & Ray and Terri Holland, of Burton Spoken World’s fame, will be the main acts for the evening

Wed 13th Wordsmiths and Co, Warwick Arts Centre, Warwick
Presented in partnership with Warwick Arts Centre, Nine Arches Press, Bloodaxe Books and Apples and Snakes

WORDSMITHS & CO.

The UK’s first live poetry talk show, featuring poets you know from the pages of books and from festival stages. A rare opportunity to witness them sharing stories, poems and opinions as they engage in no-holds-barred conversation right before your widened eyes.
…
GASP as words are made to perform daring feats of sound and meaning! Shudder as you discover how your favourite poems came to be! Cheer wildly at the apparent humanity of their creators!

This is live poetry. This is not for the faint of heart. This is Wordsmiths & Co. Jo Bell invites conversation and memorable performances from:

Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze has released five poetry books, Riddym Ravings (Race Today), Spring Cleaning (Virago), and On the Edge of an Island, The Arrival of Brighteye and The Fifth Figure (all Bloodaxe), as well as several records and CDs. Third World Girl: Selected Poems (with DVD, Bloodaxe 2011). She has performed her work throughout the world and now divides her time between Jamaica and Leicester. She received a NESTA Award in 2003.

Daljit Nagra currently lives in Willesden where he works in a secondary school. His first collection, Look We Have Coming to Dover!, won the 2007 Forward Prize for Best First Collection and was shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award. In 2008 he won the South Bank Show / Arts Council Decibel Award. His second collection Tippoo Sultan’s Incredible White-Man-Eating Tiger Toy-Machine!!! was published by Faber and Shortlisted for the 2012 TS Eliot Prize.

Angela France has had poems published in many of the leading journals, in the UK and abroad and has been anthologised a number of times. She has an MA in ‘Creative and Critical Writing’ from the University of Gloucestershire and is studying for a PhD. Publications include Occupation (Ragged Raven Press) and Lessons in Mallemaroking (Nine Arches Press). Angela is features editor of Iota and runs a monthly poetry cafe, Buzzwords. Her new collection, Hide will be published by Nine Arches Press (March 2013).

Charlie Jordan is a familiar radio voice, with a 20 year career presenting programmes for national and local stations. As a former Birmingham Poet Laureate, and ‘Writer in residence’ at WBA football club, Charlie runs dynamic workshops in schools that lift words off the page to engage pupils with literacy. She’s a regular on the local live poetry circuit and has appeared at festivals such as The Big Chill and Manchester’s Literature Festival. Charlie is also a founding member of poets’ collective Write Down Speak Up.

When: Wednesday 13 March, 7.45pm
Where: Warwick Arts Centre, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL
Tickets: £5
Booking: 024 7652 4524 / http://www.warwickartscentre.co.uk
Tweet: @WordsmithsandC

Wed 13th The Quad Derby QUAD, Market Place, Cathedral Quarter, Derby, DE1 3AS Second Wednesday 19.30 Free in, A monthly night of performed poetry for everyone, new performers always welcome or just come and listen, More details from QUAD or contact Les on T: 01332 206 734, http://www.derbyquad.co.uk

Thurs 14th Tales and Veils, Eat Up, Shearmans Hall, Milk St Shrewsbury,7.30pm
” The Stories that Shakespeare forgot”
Be Bold be bold but not too bold……Come listen to the stories that the Bard used to create his masterpieces with dancing and live music from Pauline and Asif Qu and JudeeTee to lift the spirits and soul. Stories from The Birmingham Storytelling Cafe.

At Eat Up Milk Street Shrewsbury
SY11SZ Tickets £10 ( includes a drink and nibbles) available in advance from-
Eat Up- http://www.eatupshrewsbury.co.uk or phone 01743350505

Wed 13th March – Flying Donkeys “Spread the Word”, open night at the Voicebox, Forman Street, Derby, DE1 1JQ – with special “hot spot” guest Gary Cordingley. Gary is bringing his drums and sharing a few African tales, and we will have our usual captivating mix of tales from the floor (and scrumptious cakes)! Tickets £7 at the door or Tel 01332 840007 info@flyingdonkeys.co.uk.

Thurs 14th The Shipping Forecast Open Mic, Second Thursday Monthly Rude Shipyard Cafe,89 Abbeydale Rd Sheffield, S7 1FE:7.45 Hosted by miss piggy or stan skinny, message for slots.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Great-Yorkshire-Word-search/275766372495584?sk=wall#!/pages/The-Shipping-Forecast-spoken-word/276780052333840?sk=info
http://www.therudeshipyard.com

Thurs 14th Down the Rabbit Hole second thursday,Esquires Cafe, Cov Transport Museum,Coventry,Cv1 1JD
LIVE ART * LIVE MUSIC * LIVE POETRY * LIVE COMEDY * LIVE STORYTELLING*
Coffee, tea, wine and beer available all night!
If you have anything to offer, please don’t hesitate to contact the Down The Rabbit Hole page or Kathleen/Leena/Kathy Normington at any time to opt in to sharing something – anything!

Thurs 14th Paul Francis, Book launch of “Boxed Set”, Guildhall, Much Wenlock, 7.30pm, Paul Francis is launching Boxed Set, his collection of poems about film and TV.

Fri 15th Wednesbury Open Mic Open Mic Poetry,Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery ,7.30 pm, £3, with Den Payne, third friday

Fri 15th Spoken Worlds Third Friday 19:30 The Old Cottage Tavern , Byrkley Street, Burton-upon-Trent DE14 2JJ with Gary Carr Open mic gajwriter@btinternet.com

Sat 16th Mar 10.30- 4.30pm Clapham Building, Leicester DMU, Free and open to all: States of Independence 4: Independent Publishers’ Fair: Bookstalls, Readings, Book Launches, Panels, Performances, Workshops, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Plays, Artist Books, Magazines, Journals

Sun 17th Poems and Pints The Swan Inn,18 Stafford Street Town Centre, Stone ST15 8QW, 4-6pm, Third Sunday

Sun 17th If walls could speak. Mac, Birmingham at 8pm, then again on Monday 18th at 9pm.
Soul City Arts presents a story of an inner city neighbourhood told through the eyes of an artist driven to redefine himself, his community and the space around him. World renowned graffiti artist Mohammed Ali (AerosolArabic), teams up with a diverse line-up of artists to paint the story around you. The tale unfolds in Sparkbrook focussing on how it became a gateway into Birmingham for generations of migrants.

If Walls Could Speak is an explosive collage of tales woven together using live graffiti, vocal… looping, spoken word, rhythm and rhyme, to create a unique theatre experience.

The show is directed by celebrated theatre maker Leo Kay (Unfinished Business) underpinned by a live musical score, performed by jazz legend Cleveland Watkiss working with artists Martin Stannage, Stephen Morrison-Burke, RT and Conrad Thompson.

IMPORTANT NOTE: there is TWO showings, March 17th AND March 18th….

CAST:

WITH MOHAMMED ALI
DIRECTOR LEO KAY
SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT POLAR BEAR
DRAMATURG SONIA HUGHES
MUSIC CLEVELAND WATKISS
FEATURING STEPHEN MORRISON-BURKE
RTKAL
MARTIN STANNAGE
CONRAD THOMPSON (MC CONRAD)

Sun 17th Tell Me On A Sunday 3: Little me,The Ikon Gallery Cafe, B1 2HS Birmingham, with Cat weatherill
“Just been mentoring three people who are hoping to tell at the next Tell Me event. It’s amazing what a difference the theme makes to the type of stories pitched. ‘Little Me’ is making people reminisce bigtime, but the memories (beautiful though they are) are small and random – ‘a satchel full of ink stained memories’ as one put it. I’m helping people to link memories, find the emotional DNA, spin around a strong image, make sense of it all. I think there will be some gorgeous stories coming out of this one, full of heart and wisdom and warmth”
Story supper from 5pm. Show from 6 – 7.30.

The event is free but seats MUST be reserved – it packs out!! To reserve call the Ikon Gallery: 0121 248 0780

To pitch a story, you can message Cat via the Tell Me page x

Mon 18th Shindig, The Western PH, Western Rd, Leicester, 4th Monday bi-monthly,7.30pm: Headliners and open mic, with Crystal Clear Creators and Nine Arches Press

Tues 19th Find the Right Words ,Upstairs at the Western,Western rd Western PH, Leicester
New spoken word night in Leicester. Not boring. No books or flowers. (Maybe some books).

Two brilliant spoken word poets, Izzy Brookes and Sean Mahoney (of Channel 4’s Random Acts fame) and 10 open open mic spaces. 5 available by email. 5 on the door. Free CDs and good pints.

Make this one a success, there will be lots more.

£5/£4 conc.

Doors at 7.30

If you’re keen, tickets are here http://findtherightwords.eventbrite.co.uk/
Tues 19th Giggling Goblin Open mic Poetry, The Bowling Green Pub, The Green Ashby New Vwnue, new day, 7,30pm start. on the 3rd Tuesdays of the month starting Tuesday 19th March then-
tuesday 16th april
tuesday 21st May
tuesday 18th june
tuesday 16th july
and so on.
probably miss out august but will decide formally later.
Thank you all for your support and hope to see you tonight (last at the Giggling Goblin) and subsequently at the new venue.
keep smiling ,brian langtry

Tues 19th I am Blackbird, Storytelling with kate walton, Spark cafe, Tamworth st, Lichfield,7.30pm:
A lyrical storytelling extravaganza, celebrating the misadventures of finding love and ultimately finding freedom.

Paying homage to the greats, aka – the parents, the men and Casablanca! ‘I am Blackbird’ celebrates the divine discontent of love, loss and ridiculous adventures.
With heart and humour, the show hopes to remind – That if we have faith, live for the moment and learn to love and accept ourselves for all our glorious f@*k-ups, we may just find more than we were looking for…

Written & Performed By Kate Walton, Performance Poet and Storyteller

Supported by the amazing poetical talents of Christian Watson
And
Music by Jake Morgan with his one man bandalism Folk Blues

The Spark Cafe Bar & Events, Lichfield
Get there early for food and drinks, show will start at 7.30pm sharp!

It aims to be a great night, so please do come along.

Please Note – Unfortunately, Ben Norris will not be performing despite what the flyer says, but we still love him anyway!

Tues 19th Mar Confab Cabaret, recon, 4 Church st, Malvern, WR14 2AY. 8pm

A fun packed variety night with lashings of Spoken Word.
Featuring: Spoz, The Very Grimm Brothers, Dolly Grip, Salma,
Tim Cranmore & his freshly carved Carrot, Four Tart Harmony, The Silliest Raffle, resident cocktail shaker, your hostess Amy Rainbow

and maybe YOU!!

Malvern Magic Hatters cordially invite you to the Launch Night of ConFab Cabaret on Tuesday 19th March 2013 at 8.30pm.

Join us for a night of frolics and frivolity, merriment and jollity!

ALSO Introducing ‘Prepare to Share’ 2 mins of stardom from YOU. Tell a joke, do a teeny poem, Explore the rubic cube, assemble flat pack furniture, play a ditty, show us a card trick, tell us how to get rid of a stain, gurn to the masses. do your shadow puppet wizardry, juggle blunt stuff, Impersonate Russell Crowe, balance a moustache, flare Nostrils while yodelling and hopefully MUCH MUCH MORE!!
******WARNING******** 120 seconds MAX.
If you are hooted you will get booted from the sharing area.
Beware the whistle!!.

Entry is by donation. The Malvern Magic Hat will be passed around during ecstatic crowd bursts of laughter and applause.

This wonderfully delicious line up will be found at Re-con,
Malvern’s brand new entertainment venue.

Wed 20th FebStorytelling Cafe 7.30pm (Doors 6.30pm)Keeping Up With The Gods – Tales from the Odyssey. Take one extraordinary 3000 year old story, a puffed up war weary hero and mix with tormenting goddesses and a six headed monster. Shake it all up and sprinkle with narcotic petals from the exotic lotus flower. Encounter magical adventures in the playground of the gods where wine, feasts, stories and songs give release from love’s pain, loss and betrayal. Food Served from 6.30, Stories start at 7.30.tickets: £7

Tickets available from the Cafe or http://www.wegottickets.com

Wed 20th Double Takes, Shrewsbury Library, Castle gates, Shrewsbury 7.30pm, £3in, Gareth Owen, poet and all round entertainer, reads, supported by Liz Lefroy..

Wed 20th I am Blackbird, Storytelling with kate walton, Six Eight Kafe 6/8 Temple Row, B2 5HG Birmingham,
A lyrical storytelling extravaganza, celebrating the misadventures of finding love and ultimately finding freedom.

Paying homage to the greats, aka – the parents, the men and Casablanca! ‘I am Blackbird’ celebrates the divine discontent of love, loss and ridiculous adventures.
With heart and humour, the show hopes to remind – That if we have faith, live for the moment and learn to love and accept ourselves for all our glorious f@*k-ups, we may just find more than we were looking for…

… Written & Performed By Kate Walton, Performance Poet and Storyteller

Supported by the amazing poetical talents of Ben Norris, Stephanie Dogfoot and Christian Watson.

The 6/8 Kafe, Birmingham.
Doors open at 7pm for drinks, show starts at 7.30pm sharp!

It aims to be a great night of spoken word, so please do come along.

Wed 20th Templar Poetry,Lamb & Flag, The Tyhthing, Worcester, 8pm; Open mic, third Wednesday, Alex officiates contact:Alex McMillen, Alex McMillen,Templar Poetry, PO BOX 7082, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 9AF,Tel: 01629 582500, Mobile: 07918166975

Wed 20th Mar Storytelling Café with Dominic Kelly 7.30pm (Doors 6.30pm) ,Dominic Kelly is a storyteller with a dynamic and compelling style that has captivated audiences in schools, theatres and festivals around the world. His storytelling is powerful and entertaining combining compelling composition with high-energy performance. Food Served from 6.30, Stories start at 7.30.Tickets: £7 Tickets available from the Cafe or http://www.wegottickets.com

Thurs 21st Angela France, University of Gloucestershire:room TC007, Francis Close Hall Campus, Swindon Road, CHELTENHAM, Gloucestershire GL50 4AZ, 7.30pm.It is the entrance opposite the refectory but there should be an ‘A’ board pointing the way.Nigel McLoughlin will also be reading; no tickets or entry fee, wine and nibbles provided.

Thurs 21stOuse Muse, Harpurs, 46-48 Tavistock St Bedford, MK40 2RD.Third Thursday, 7.30pm start Open mic. Ian McEwan organises

Thurs 21 Speak Up, Bulls Head, Moseley, Birmingham, 3rd Thursday, monthly, 7.30pm: headliners plus open mic,£5in http://www.bullsheadmoseley.co.uk/

Thurs 21 Hit the Ode, The Victoria, Birmingham, 7.30pm brings the most exciting poets from the region, the country and the world to the heart of Birmingham. Join us! We have poems. Poems which look attractive in their passport pictures; poems rough like sandpaper; poems your tongue sticks to if you try to lick them. Good poems. Come and get them.

Featuring: David Morley, The Chill Pill Collective, Yasmin Hafedh (Austria).

fri 22nd Cover Up (a rehearsed reading),The Edge, 79-81 Cheapside Deritend, Birmingham, West Midlands, B12 0QH
Cover Up
… (a rehearsed reading)
By Jane Campion Hoye
Directed by Jouvan Fucinni

The streets of West London, a knife-crime and a teenage boy charged with murder. Jo, a work-weary criminal lawyer from the Midlands has seen it all before. But this time it’s different. Through a series of interviews with young Notting Hill socialite Tamara, Jo finds herself drawn into a social world very different from her own…yet where the parallels with her own story, as a child of the seventies, has a shocking resonance.

Cover Up is an arresting noir styled play in development with local emerging artists, writer Jane Campion Hoye and director Jouvan Fucinni (artistic director Future Theatre, writer of Empty), who met at Theatre Exchange. An exciting cast includes;
Nadia Kemp-Sayfi (Twelfth Night Blue Orange Theatre)
Caroline Frewin (Silver Street BBC Radio Drama)
Philip Jennings (Brimstone & Treacle Tread the Boards Theatre Company)
Laurence Saunders (BBC’s EastEnders).

Jane Campion Hoye originally based in London relocated to the Midlands and recently completed a Masters in Playwriting at the University of Birmingham. Since graduating at the end of 2009, she has had a variety of short scripts successfully performed in Birmingham and Bristol, winning competitions and “audience favourite” votes. Cover Up is her first full-length play for the stage.

Tickets: £2.50 on the door Call: 0121 772 6160

Find out more:
SPACE2DEV.CO.UK

Sat 23rdPoets Place, Yorks Bakery Café, Birmingham,4-6pm,Organised by Birmingham Libraries and Apples and Snakes, Poets’ Place is an informal gathering of poets set to happen twice a month. It is an opportunity to meet like‐minded people, give and solicit feedback on your poetry, or just sit back and write for a couple of hours without interruption.

Sunday 24th Sunday Xpress Fourth Sunday Doors 1500, Start 16:30 Adam & Eve Bradford Street, Birmingham B12 0JD Open mic
jameskennedycentral@yahoo.co.uk

Mon 25th LAMP, starring Dreadlock Alien and shabz ahmed, 7pm, free in,Leamington Live Art & Music Project
Riverside, Adelaide Road, Leamington Spa, CV32 5AH

Tues 26thWord Wizards New venue* Buckingham Hotel, opp the Pavillion Gdns , Buxton last Tuesday Monthly 19.30. Open mic three minute slam format More info Poetryslamuk@aol.com 01298 77362

Tues 26th The Telling Space, Mythstories, *NEW VENUE* (relocated from Wem) Mythstories,The Shrewsbury Coffeehouse,5 Castle Gates, SY1 2AE,Wem, Shropshire,The club meets on the 4th Tuesday of every month unless otherwise stated. Please check the website under ‘opening hours and events’ http://www.mythstories.com or contact Dez or Ali on 01939 235500 for further information.Meet at 7 pm for refreshments (bring food to share) or at 7.30 pm for stories. A chance to listen or an opportunity to tell. Admission is free.

Tues 26th Word Wizards * New venue* Buckingham Hotel, opp the Pavillion Gdns , Buxton last Tuesday Monthly 19.30. Open mic three minute slam format. Rob Stevens. More info Poetryslamuk@aol.com
01298 77362/ 0781 3289358

Tue 26th Mar Poetry Bites with David Calcutt and Nadia Kingsley,7.30pm (Doors 6.30pm),David is a poet, novelist and playwright; Nadia is a poet and visual artist. They have just published a joint poetry collection Road Kill. “One of the top 10 venues for poetry in the UK” (Susan Richardson, Radio 4). Poetry Bites also includes floor spots – arrive early to book a spot. Tickets on door or by email from jacquirowe@hotmail.co.uk Food Served from 6.30, Readings start at 7.30.

Tickets: £5 (£4 Conc.) on Door

Food served from 6:30pm, Readings start at 7:30pm

Tues 26th Purple Penumbra Purple Penumbra is primarily a spoken word, open mic (without mic) event that takes place within the friendly and relaxing confines of the theatre bar at Oldbury Rep (The Barlow) in Langley.> Run by Al Barz, with assistance from Walsall’s Poet Laureate, Ian Henery, it is a continuation of the Purple Patch evenings of the late, and much missed Black Country poet, Geoff Stevens, probably the most widely published English poet of the past century.

Currently it is a free entry evening of poetry and prose, sometimes with a touch of mostly acoustic music, on the 2nd or 3rd Tuesday of each month starting at 7:30 pm and continuing until the words run out or 10:30 arrives, whichever is the sooner.

It is open for anyone and everyone to listen and/or to perform their own writings. Come and be entertained by some of the best in performance poetry available in England today, or at least in Langley. And if you can write a passable limerick/sonnet or two, or give us a song or play us a tune, do that too, do. But mostly come in, have a drink from the bar, relax at table and have a delightful evening.

The next event will be on 19th February.

Search for Purple Penumbra event on Facebook, or email to albarz@albarz.co.uk

How to get there…..

Bus services:
126 from Birmingham to Wolverhampton, ten minutes from the Navigation bus stop, and
120, Birmingham to Dudley just two minutes from Rhodia Works bus stop, Station Road, Langley.

Train services:
10 minute walk from Langley Green railway station.

Car:
Put B69 4SP in your satnav, or…
From the M5, Junction 2,
at the big island take the 4th exit onto the A4034 (Churchbridge)
take the first right at the traffic light (slip road) B4170, Park Street/Park Lane towards Langley
at the Langley Green island, keep left on B4182, Park Lane and take the first right into Whyley Walk
The free car park is 60 metres on your left.
The Barlow Theatre, (or Oldbury Rep) is in front of you.

Wed 27thThe Poetry Train* New Venue* the Lych Gate Tavern, 44 Queens Square Wolverhamtpton, it’s down the walkway by Barclays bank the leads to the Civic Centre. 8pm, upstairs in their function room….It’s a great little pub last Wednesday ts@tonystringfellow.com

Wed 27th “42″ Open Mic Night (Gothic, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy) Lunar Bar, New St Worcester, 7.30, Free in: last wed monthly E-mail: 42openmicnight@42genrearts.co.uk

Wed 27th Packhorse PoetsThe Packhorse Inn, Crowdecote, near Longnor,Derbys on the fourth Wednesday of each month

Thurs 28th South & City College, Birmingham, 5.30pm Level Up – and explosive night of spoken word in performance, featuring some of the country’s very best poets alongside local rising stars. Besides sets from our special guests, you can expect open mic slots for you to share your work, poetry video showcases, and time to socialize and share your work with like-minded people.

This is a chance to make your voice heard. So what are you waiting for? Write the words. Grab the mic. Level up! Featuring: Dreadlock Alien and Amerah Saleh.

When: Thursday 28 March, 5.30pm

Thur 28th Bilston Voices Fourth Thursday 19:00 Cafe Metro 46 Church Street, Bilston: £3in, set bill. Emma Purshouse hosts, top performance poets Alan ‘Kurly’ McGeachie and Heather Wastie on the bill. There’s Daniel Shelley Smith making his Bilston Voices debut, Eileen Ward-Birch will be doing a turn, Roger Jones is coming along

Bilston Voices starts at 7.30 and takes place, as usual, at Cafe Metro, 46 Church Street, Bilston. It costs £2 to get in.——————————————————————————————————————–
Tues 2nd John Donne Day, Polesworth Abbey

John Donne Day 2013. John Donne Day 2013. 2pm – 8.30pm, Tuesday 2 April 2013.
The 400th Anniversary of Donne’s Poem – Good Friday 1613 Riding Westwards (written after staying in Polesworth)
The Abbey Church, Polesworth Abbey, High Street, Polesworth, Warwickshire, B78 1DU.

Workshops, talks, walks, discussions from 2pm. Gala performance of poetry of John Donne and newly commissioned work from 7pm.
£9 afternoon & evening. £5 just afternoon or evening. http://johndonneday.eventbrite.co.uk/ Twitter @johndonneday

Polesworth Abbey CIC; Birmingham City University: Institute of Creative and Critical Writing; Writing West Midlands.
Made in the Midlands.

The Programme

John Donne Day 2013, Tuesday 2 April, 2013, The Abbey Church, Polesworth, Warwickshire. A Made in the Midlands afternoon/evening of talks, walks, readings and performances.

2pm – 2.45pm. Reading ‘Riding Westward’: a seminar on John Donne’s poem, ‘Good-Friday, 1613, Riding Westward’ and related poems – Dr Anthony Mellors, Reader in Poetry and Poetics, Birmingham City University
3pm – 4.15pm. Writing in Response: a poetry writing workshop in response to John Donne’s poems and Polesworth Abbey Church – Dr Gregory Leadbetter, Director, Institute of Creative and Critical Writing, Birmingham City University
3pm – 4.15pm. In the Footsteps of Poets: a walking tour of Polesworth Poets’ Trail – Malcolm Dewhirst, writer and developer
3pm – 4.15pm. Reading On: Some Poems to Read in Response to John Donne – Dr Anthony Howe, Senior Lecturer, Birmingham City University
5pm – 5.45pm. Reflections on John Donne and his poetry: a chance to share personal views on his work
5.45pm – 7pm. Break: food will be available in Polesworth and nearby villages
7pm – 8.30pm. Riding Westward: A Gala Performance of Poems by John Donne, read by Dr Derek Littlewood and newly commissioned poems from Jane Commane, Malcolm Dewhirst, Jacqui Rowe and Greg LeadbetterThurs 4th April Blackdrop @ Canalhouse Bar, Canal Street, Nottm 8-10pm. £3. Event open to age 16+
A night themed ‘Teach it’ featuring the hit sensation Rap Battle Teacher – Mark Grist!… Plus YOU in the open mic!

Thurs 4thBlackdrop Open Mic @ Canal House Bar, Canal Street, Nottm featuring Mark Grist the rap Battle Teacher (youtube wonder).8-10pm £3

Our event has an open mic, slots are approx 5mins long. Blackdrop is open to over 16s.

Poetry. Story. Comedy. Rap. Hip-hop. Song. Must be own original material. ALL WELCOME.

*(Thanks to Writing East Midlands for kindly agreeing to support our 4th April event)

Sat 6th Lichfield Cathedral library tours:
and- April 24,
May 11 and 29
and June 22.
Tours to offer rare glimpse of Lichfield Cathedral’s historic library
Visitors to Lichfield Cathedral will be able to get a behind the scenes look at the historic building with a tour of the main library.

A number of bound treasures are housed on the site, including Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (c1420) and Henry VIII’s Great Bible (first edition – 1539).
A trained guide will showcase some of the theological, literary geography, philosophy and natural science texts.
Canon Anthony Moore, Chancellor of Lichfield Cathedral, said: “It is only on very rare occasions that we are able to give the general public access to this atmospheric space.
“The range of rare manuscripts and early printed works in our library is quite staggering. It’s an opportunity not to be missed for anyone with a love of architecture, history or books”.
The tours will run on
April 6 and 24,
May 11 and 29
and June 22.
Tickets cost £9 and can be booked by calling the Cathedral Shop on 01543 306150.

Mon 8th April – a special event – Flying Donkeys have been invited to perform at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham. Join Sophie, Mel and Roy for a specially devised show “Strange Tales from the Flying Donkeys”, with music, song and stories from around the British Isles. First half features a few open mic floor spots – book tickets in advance direct with the Theatre Royal http://www.trch.co.uk/index.aspx?articleid=20115 or Tel 0115 989 5555

Tues 9th Scribal Gathering,The Crown, Market Square, Stony Stratford.7.30pm
Was it because we suggested last month that the year had cast off her ermine gown in favour of a strapless verdant little number, that we have been cast into the coldest spring since 1963? You all remember 1963 – it was the winter of love: Hypothermia began in 1963, which was rather late for me, between the end of the Chatterly ban, and the Beatles’ first LP, or something like that.

Anyway, enough larkin’ about, Scribal Gathering is back on the second Tuesday of April for a sub-Siberian snowcase of music and poetry, assuming the food parcels have arrived by then and we’ve all been able to dig our way out of our emergency shelters and the polar bears haven’t got us.

This month’s special guests are Alan Bainbridge, taking the mic as the featured poet, and Ernest Herb, the one-man house band, covering themselves in deep-heat oil and getting up against the radiators. Plus the shut-that-door open-mic will be welcoming all performers of any style, genre and especially those with Antarctic survival skills, to play, perform, set fire to the furniture and generally try to stay alive until the Red Cross gets here.

So if you want to have one last evening of open mic music and poetry entertainment before facing the very real prospect of dying of frostbite whilst wearing all your coats at once with the central heating full on, then wrap yourself in goose fat and tin foil and try and get to the Crown for a gathering that the archaeologists will be talking about in years to come.

Wed 10th Apr – Flying Donkeys storytelling club, “Bluebeard” with Cat Weatheril in the second half, 8pm at the Voicebox, Forman Street, Derby, DE1 1JQ. Be prepared to be thrilled! Tickets £7 at the door or Tel 01332 840007 or email info@flyingdonkeys.co.uk.

Friday 12th April, 7.45pm, tickets £7.50. Part of the Solihull Comedy Festival, so poets will be asked to perform humorous verse only. The evening also includes a Quick Quip Quiz. Fabulous prizes. Twelve places on a first-come-first-served basis.

Wed 17th April,NANTWICH POETS @ WILLASTON,WILLASTON SOCIAL CLUB, 7 WISTASTON RD, WILLASTON,CW5 6PU, Great venue, plenty of secure parking. 7 30pm (new earlier start time!!!) OPEN MIC, Come along and share your best poems,Guest poet: Gill McAvoy

Sat 20th April – “Seven Deadly Sins” at Cromford Mills Cafe, Cromford, Derbyshire, 7.30pm. Info on show as above. Tickets £7. Book direct with Cromford Mills, Tel 01629 829555

Tues 23rd April Purple Penumbra .

Saturday 11th May, 17th Swindon Slam at the Arts Centre on as part of the Swindon Festival of Literature, the brochure for which will be unveiled on 21st March. Fifteen places available on a first-come-first-served basis.

Thurs 23rd May Audlem Festival Poetry Slam, Emma purshouse writes:After the succes of the first Audlem Slam last year, I’ve been asked to organise a second pub slam as part of Audlem Music Festival 2013. The winner of the slam will get £50 and the opportunity to do bits and pieces amongst bands over the festival weekend if they want to. The slam will take place in The Bridge Inn, Audlem on the opening night of the festival Thursday 23rd May 2013 at 8pm.

Would you be interested in being one of the slammers? It’ll be over 3 rounds/3 minutes per round.

To give you a bit more information about the event…it’s a small village festival in a beautiful canalside location. Three pubs and various other venues in the village put on free music and exhibitions for the whole of the May bank holiday weekend 23rd May – 27th May. Check out the website on http://www.audlemfestival.com/ to find out more. Audlem is between Market Drayton and Nantwich…you’d need a car (or a boat) to get there…but if you are interested and haven’t got transport I could try and link you up with someone who might be able to give you a lift (perhaps car drivers who are intending to come could let me know if they would like to offer lifts in order to share travel costs and also from which area they’ll be travelling from).

Fri 3rd/ Sat 4th May Mary Rochford Trilogy,– where Salsa Sizzles, Tennis Thrills and Football (almost) Kills at
The Crescent Theatre, Brindley Place, Birmingham,7.45, £10in.

Festivals

Nottingham Festival of Words,February 9th – 24th
http://nottwords.org.uk/

————————————————————————————————————

Day by Day
Mon 4th Gorilla Poetry Slam Competition,Dada Bar 89 Trippet Lane (Located just off West Street), S1 4EL Sheffield,8pm:Invite everyone you know and come prepared to be entertained.
Slam Rules:
•Each poem must be of the poet’s own construction.
•Each poet gets three minutes (plus a ten-second grace period) to read one poem. If the poet goes over the time, points will be deducted from the total score. ( ½ point for every 10 Seconds)
• Five judges will score the poet and the points will be added up. The best scoring will go through to the next round. The scores are between 0.0 to 10.9.
•Judges cannot be related in any way to the poet.
•If you feel the judges were wrong in there scoring you can make them aware by booing the scores. If you agree with the judges, cheer them loudly and give them some jazz hands.
•No Costumes or Props
The Winner Gets a Prize and the ‘’Gorilla Poetry Slam Trophy’’ and a half Hour slot at next poetry event. The Winner will have to come back to the next slam to defend the trophy and there right as the slam champion. At the end of the year the best eight scoring poets will enter the slam final and the winner be called the ‘’The Grand Bard Of Sheffield’’.

Mon 4th SW&N Club Open Mic Spoken word, Newhampton inn, Riches St, Wolverhampton;Spoken Word At Newhampton
Storytelling, poetry, a tune, or a song!Join us on the first Monday of every month (except August) for an evening dedicated to the spoken word.Take part, or just sit back and enjoy the many different voices that make Wolverhampton such a vibrant city.
The Newhampton Inn, Riches Street (off Newhampton Road West) Wolverhampton WV6 0DW,Arrive 7.45 for 8.00pm start.
Suggested donation £3.00 per person.For further details, or to be added to our mailing list please contact us at: chandstory@tiscali.co.uk

Tues 5th Word Y Theatre, East Street, Leicester LE1 6EY, just opposite Leicester Train Station7pm performers, 8pm, Audience, Open mic plus headliner. £6in
WORD! is the longest running poetry and spoken word night in Leicester. Based at The Y Theatre, Leicester, it takes place on the first Tuesday of every month, between 8.00 and 10.30pm. The evening is composed of an open mic, followed by a booked act.

Come down to Word! at The Y in February when we’ve got the fantastic Richard Tyrone Jones in the same week as the start of Leicester Comedy Festival!

Richard Tyrone Jones (no hyphen!) is the writer, performer and producer of the Wellcome Trust-supported solo show (and book) ‘Richard Tyrone Jones’s Big Heart’, about the present he got for his 30th birthday: heart failure. “Fascinating, sobering, hilarious, and ultimately uplifting” according to New Scientist magazine and “raw, at times graphic, and very funny” – BBC Ouch! The show earned four-star reviews from The Skinny, fringeguru.com, Sabotage and broadwaybaby.com and is currently on tour around the UK. It is available for further bookings.

As part of the night – and in addition to the notorious WORD! open floor section – we are also proud to present several, specially commissioned pieces – from Nathan Lunt, Maxine Skervin and Cleo Henry – on a ‘bio – medical / chemical /heart related theme.

Performing poets are invited to join in with this, or anything goes!

As usual we’ll have visuals by film-maker to Word! Keith Allott and a range of talented poets sharing work.

Be there at 7pm to sign up for a slot with the compere.

Entry £4/£3 concessions

More on Richard….

His poetry ranges from the silly to the sublime, taking in evolution, life, death, kittens and dating, always with a strong vein of ironic humour, especially when rhyming ‘marmosets’ with ‘pyjama sets’. He has worked with the Wellcome Collection, Hackney Empire and Apples and Snakes amongst many others.

Richard is also Director of ‘Utter!’ spoken word, now nine years old, and the sometime director of spoken word at the Edinburgh Festival Free Fringe, where in 2012 he won ThreeWeeks magazine’s Editor’s Choice award for his part in programming fifty spoken word shows and forging a new section in the Fringe brochure for spoken word.

Oh yes, then there’s also his MisGuided cultural tours of London suburbs, heady mixtures of facts and lies, his education workshops on daft rhymes, animals, sonnets and bionic augmentation (amongst other things) and his first book ‘Germline’, praised by Tims Key and Wells, which is available on Amazon, or in person. He has also sometimes been connected with performance poetry legends Ritchie Scurvey and Pam Swears, but that’s another story

Tues 5thStranger and Guest: a poetry reading by Cora Greenhill,Leopold Kitchen, (until recently called Caffeteria!) ,Leopold St., (on corner of Church St.) Sheffield. S1 2GY. 7.30pm. Coffee, wine etc available – sandwiches if you arrive early.
There is a £3 charge to cover venue hire.The Greek word xenos means both stranger and guest, reflecting an ethos of hospitality, but also that an outsider is always an outsider. Cora Greenhill’s poetry explores 30 years of a complex love affair with Crete, which is ‘halfway to Africa’; and with Africa, where she has also travelled, lived and worked.

Clare Turner, musician and teacher of African music, will play the mbira and other African instruments between sets.

Wed 6th Penning perfumes, Le truc, Ladywell walk, B5 5ST,7.30pm, A Scented Evening of Poems Inspired by Perfumes and Perfumes Inspired by Poems.

Take your seat at a literary evening with a difference, and hear a magical procession of poetry commissions while sniffing the mystery fragrances that lay behind them them. How do poets translate scent into language and do you agree with their interpretation?

Plus completely new and adventurous scents inspired by poems – from a Roman army fragrance to a scent that evokes mermaids. We will be unveiling a new perfume by Chris Ba…rtlett of Pell Wall Perfumes inspired by a poem by Claire Trévien.

Featuring readings from poets Tim Wells, Bodhan Piesecky, Camellia Stafford, Jacqui Rowe and James Webster.

Brought to you by Odette Toilette, purveyor of olfactory adventures, and by poet Claire Trevien.

At Le Truc Birmingham for one night only as part of a 2013 national tour, supported by Arts Council England.

Warning: do not come to this event if you hate smelling things.
£8in

Thurs Feb 7th Parole Parlate, Little Venice, St Nicholas St, Worcester. £3in, Set bill
Parole Parlate : The Spoken Word” is back on Thursday 7th February 2013 and is a dedicated spoken word and “music that tells a story” platform. If you would like the chance to read your short stories, poems, prose, try out your performance poetry or music that tells a story, this evening is for you!

Hosted by Little Venice in Worcester, there will be a full bar service, cakes/snacks and you can of course take advantage of their full menu and enjoy their delicious pizzas, pastas or salads. Try out their £7.95 menu which includes a pizza or pasta dish and a drink.

The theme of this Parole Parlate is love, romance, cupid and valentines….or if you are so inclined anti-love, romance, cupid and Valentines….you decide!

Confirmed performers include:

Suz Winspear
Mikel J Koven
“Dame” Maggie Doyle
Brian Comber
Mike Alma
Jane James
Ian Ward

Headlining will be David Calcutt

ENTRY FEE AND HOW TO PAY

The entry fee for this event is £3.00; tickets are available on the door on the night of the event.

We will be having a raffle as well to raise funds for the Worcestershire Literary Festival. A strip of 5 tickets will cost £2.00.

FUTURE PP EVENTS – TAKING PART AND PERFORMING

If would like a slot to perform on one of these dates please let us know by emailing info@worcslitfest.com, leave a post on the wall of this event or visit http://www.facebook.com/worcslitfest and leave a post on the wall.

Performers get free entry for taking part.

ADVANCE INFORMATION

“Parole Parlate : The Spoken Word” is on the first Thursday of every month, so advance dates for your diary will be:

Thursday 7th March 2013
Thursday 4th April 2013
Thursday 2nd May 2013
Sunday 16th June 2013 – Festival Special

Thurs 7th Coffeehouse Poetry – The Shrewsbury Coffeehouse,5 Castle Gates, SY1 2AE Shrew sbury:7.30-9pm,with Liz lefroy
“I’m looking forward to this reading so much – not long now! I meet regularly with two of our Readers, Julia Bell and Rosie Shepperd, for poetry workshops, and have learnt so much from them. They are travelling all the way from London to be with us, so rock up and show them a sophisticated Shropshire welcome. “
Here’s an extract from Julia’s website:

I was born in Bristol but raised in Wales (I can speak Welsh!) and have published two novels for young adults – Massive and Dirty Work, both published by Macmillan in the UK. In the US Massive is published by Simon and Schuster and Dirty Work by Walker Books. Massive has also been translated into ten languages, including Thai. I also wrote and co-edited the bestselling Creative Writing Coursebook while I was working at the University of East Anglia, which is also published by Macmillan.

I am a Senior Lecturer at Birkbeck, University College of London where I teach on the MA Creative Writing and co-ordinate the annual publication The Mechanics’ Institute Review and the new web portal The Birkbeck Writers’ Hub.

I am currently working on my fourth novel – Bad Faith – collaborating on work for the screen, taking photos and writing poems. Come back for regular updates and project portfolios.

http://cargocollective.com/juliabell

Thurs Feb 7th Poetry Jam, Urban Coffee House, church st, Birmingham, 7.30pm,First ever Poetry Jam to be held at Urban Coffee Company on Thursday 7th Feb 2013.

Coffee, cake and real talk. Everyone is invited to share, create, perform or listen and appreciate. Please spread the word!

Featuring poets from the region and the “mic” is open for anyone to share.

Special offers on coffee&cake. This event is FREE!

More info message me or email anisa@beatfreaksacademy.co.uk
(www.facebook.com/beatfreaksacademy)

Look forward to jammin’ with you on the 7th!

Thurs 7th Down the Rabbit Hole second thursday,Esquires Cafe, Cov Transport Museum,Coventry,Cv1 1JD
LIVE ART * LIVE MUSIC * LIVE POETRY * LIVE COMEDY * LIVE STORYTELLING*
Coffee, tea, wine and beer available all night!
If you have anything to offer, please don’t hesitate to contact the Down The Rabbit Hole page or Kathleen/Leena/Kathy Normington at any time to opt in to sharing something – anything!

Thurs 7th Good Impressions Spoken Word open Mic, Cafe Impression, Atkins Building, Hinckley, LE10 1QU,7.30pm £5in Hosted by Tom Phillips,1st Thursday Monthly

Thur 7th Blackdrop’s Lyric off,@ NAE Gregory Boulevard, Nottm. 8-10pm, £3:It’s Fight Night On The Mic!
Brave the stage Mother ‘n’ Milla decide your fate… …with a little help from the crowd!
Small fun ‘tax free’ cash prizes!
1st place: £20.00
2nd place: £10.00
3rd place: £5

Thurs 7th An Evening with the Bard and Friends – Stony Live!The Crown, Stony Stratford,8pm;The Bardic Council of Stony Stratford presents a cerebral celebration of performance poetry and the spoken word.
Featuring:
The Bard of Stony Stratford, Danni antagonist
with performances from:
Mark Niel
Fay Roberts
Stephen Hobbs
Vikki Laxton-Bass
and
Paul Eccentric
Hosted by Richard Frost
This show is one of many events taking place as part of Stony Live, the celebrated annual festival of music and performance in the cultural hub that is the historic town of Stony Stratford. Please go to the official website for more info on all the exciting goings on:
http://www.stonylive.info/pages/home/index.php
You’ll be spoilt for choice, but please, come and join us in The Crown in the Market Square (MK11 1BE) on Thursday night. (Yes, a scene from Withnail & I WAS filmed in this pub!).
Free Entry – a voluntary collection will be taken. All proceeds will go to Stony Live!

Thurs 7th Yard of Tales,Joules Yard, rear of 53-55 High Street, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 7AF. Joules Yard is a unique venue with a licensed bar after 7pm, also serving tea and coffee. If you would like to order a vegetarian meal for the evening, provided by ‘The Green House’ please telephone 01858 463250. Market Harborough, Leicestershire, Meets first Thursday in the month.Yard of Tales is a performance storytelling club hosted by Kevin Walker http://www.kevinwalker-storyteller.com!Tickets £6 at door (includes nibbles).For further information – 0116 259 2233 or 01858 463250

Fri 8th Open Mic, Bookmark Bloxwich, Bloxwich Library,8pm, free in, Poetry, songs and performance

Fri 8th Bilston Love Slam, Arena Theatre, Wulfruna St, Wolverhampton 8pm
The Big Arena Love Slam has a new venue. This year it will be taking place at THE ARENA THEATRE, WOLVERHAMPTON

Treat your valentine to romance, rhythm and rhyme! The first round is on the theme of romance – after that, anything goes…

Marcus Moore and Sara-Jane Arbury compere, while random judges rate the writing and performance of the 15 poets taking part. Who will be the wordster with the X-factor?

Tickets £9 (£7 concessions) includes free Asian buffet.
http://www.arenatheatre.info
Box Office 01902 321321

Sat 9th Notes From the Underground, Hollybush PH, newtown lane, Cradley Heath, 8pm Start, Free in, Poetry and music Open Mic with Jack Edwards

Mon 11th Speech BubbleCognito, Students’ Union, Loughborou​gh University 7pm Second Mondays monthlyin term time, check for details: http://www.arts.lboro.ac.uk/

Mon 11th Pub Poetry Nottingham The Canal house, 48-52 Canal Street, Nottingham, NG1 7EH,8pm, 2nd monday : Free in, Open mic Contact Nick on pubpoetry@nottscomedyfestival.co.uk

Mon 11 thKidsgrove Library , Win saha (1.30pm) and Whitchurch Library on February 12 (2pm). Both readings are free. The videos of Emma Purshouse and Win Saha performing on Youtube have been very popular so do check them out through the home page of our website: http://www.offaspress.co.uk.

Mon 11thPUREandGOODandRIGHT is an Open Mic poetry event taking place at The Sozzled Sausage, Leamington Spa CV32 4NX.7.30 start,This month’s guest poet is the wonderful…Kate Walton,Kate Walton is a Performance Poet and Lyrical Storyteller, who was winner of the ,Warwick Words Poetry Slam 2012.

With rhymes that chime, she tells her tales from the real to the ridiculous, mixing light with shade to create her own heartfelt, humorous and macabre take on life, through unique observations, experiences and imagination!DEFINITELY AN EVENING NOT TO BE MISSED!With open mic support from…….yes……YOU!Admission £3 (£2 Student/OAP)

From time to time we are located upstairs, so please let us know if you require disabled access before the event.
If you would like to know more about the night email: pgrpoetry@gmail.com

Tues 12th Whitchurch Library, Win saha on February 12 (2pm). Free entry The videos of Emma Purshouse and Win Saha performing on Youtube have been very popular so do check them out through the home page of our website: http://www.offaspress.co.uk.

Tues 12th City Voices Second Tuesday 19:30 City Bar King Street, Wolverhampton WV 1ST booked poets simon.fletcher@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Tues 12th Mouth & Music 6,Boars Head Gallery, Kidderminster 8pm, £3 in:
The theme for this month’s acoustic spoken word & music night is …
LOVE of course! Our Valentine special features

folk singer / whistle player MITCH REYNOLDS
who came along as an open floor performer when KIM LOWINGS was performing back in October. Mitch tells us that KIM will be joining her for part of her set which is great news. See below for more info about Mitch.
…
We also welcome dazzling duetting poets
AMY RAINBOW & GARY LONGDEN
who will perform their love/hate pentalogy ….
(Pentalogy – a five part work of art OR 5 symptoms or defects which together characterize a disease or syndrome. You decide!)
“The brickbats and banter between the two of them had everyone in hysterics” Polly Robinson

MC for the evening will be Sarah Tamar

Open floor sign-up from 7.30
Admission £3 (free to performers)

“A wonderful mix of poetry, prose and music. Highly recommended!”
Lisa Ventura, Director, Worcestershire Literary Festival

Presented by KAF Creatives
http://www.kafcreatives.org.uk

MITCH REYNOLDS was born in Stockton-on-Tees and moved to Kidderminster in 1992. She has been a folk singer/musician for over 30 years. She began composing her own tunes about 10 years ago and writing songs a couple of years ago. She sings unaccompanied as well as occasionally with Kim Lowings. She features on Kim’s album ‘This Life’ and on an album by Eric and Eileen Paine. For 10 years she sang with a sea shanty group.

Her first solo album was released in March 2012 and has sold out. She’s currently recording another album including her own songs and tunes.

Tues 12th Tales at the Edge, White Lion Inn, Bridgnorth, Shropshire,Tales at the Edge is one of the country’s oldest and most established storytelling clubs, meeting in Bridgenorth on the 2nd Tuesday of every month (except August) at 8 pm.
Hear tales, myths and legends from all over the world in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Whether you are new to storytelling, an experienced teller or just enjoy listening to stories. There is no charge for admission.
For more details contact: Mike Rust 01694 771 379.

Tues 12thScribal Gathering,The Crown, Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes MK11 1BE,. Doors open 7.30 for 8.00 – 11.00

Scribal Gathering will be celebrating its third anniversary on Tuesday 12th February with a music and poetry showcase featuring a small selection of the many fine performers that we have come to know and love over the last 36 second-Tuesdays-of-the-month. Well, those we could get to come back, anyway.

Can you believe it has been three years? We could have done a degree in that time. Perhaps in Sound Engineering, Events Management, or something useful like that. Instead, we have gathered together every month in the company of masterful musicians, wonderful wordsmiths, exciting writers, perfervid performers and lyrical miracle-workers to share in their creativity and invoke the spirit of gathering, before a receptive and often very forgiving audience.

Scribal Gathering has hosted open mics at Stony Live, the World Picnic, the Waterside Festival and the International Festival, encountering an eclectic collective of extraordinary entertainers along the way. This Tuesday will be a celebration of all who have ever graced our stage with their words, wit and wisdom, music and song. Join us…

How: Free Entry. No open mic as there will be a showcase of featured performers.

Wed 13th“Spread the Word!” Open Night,The Voicebox, Forman Street, Derby, DE1 1JQ (look out for the Abbey Street car park signs from the new Derby ring road.) 8 for 8.15pm:Flying Donkeys are pleased to present an Open Night of spoken word and music – tales, poems, prose, monologues and acoustic music of all kinds. Previous evenings have brought us a multitude of fabulous performers! Do come and join us as listener or performer – note if you would like to perform it helps to get in touch beforehand if you can so we can plan the evening.

Dave Tong – aka “The Yarnsmith of Norwich” is a consummate entertainer, blending comedy and tales from Olde England with his unique audience-pleasing style. Specialising in tales from the Saxon, Viking, Mediaeval, Tudor and Stuart periods, expect well researched historical detail, merrily merged with bawdy anecdotes!
Dame Fortune’s Wheel and the Three Estates is Dave’s take on the twist of fate and fortune and how the poor, the church and the landed gentry rode the wheel of fortune over the centuries – a roller coaster ride of fun and frolics with the odd authentically gruesome detail!
Dave runs “Tales from the Undercroft” a storytelling club in Norwich. For more information see http://www.theyarnsmithofnorwich.com.

Wed 13th The Quad Derby QUAD, Market Place, Cathedral Quarter, Derby, DE1 3AS Second Wednesday 19.30 Free in, A monthly night of performed poetry for everyone, new performers always welcome or just come and listen, More details from QUAD or contact Les on T: 01332 206 734, http://www.derbyquad.co.uk
Thurs 14th Blackdrop Canalhouse bar, Canal Street, Nottm. 8-10pm £3 age 16+ ,Featuring the Ninja of words- Sai ‘Samuria’ Murray from Leeds. Theme: What’s Love Got To Do With It!? … And of course YOU in the open mic. (Write/perform for our theme if you can handle the challenge)?! 🙂

Thurs 14th The Shipping Forecast Open Mic, Second Thursday Monthly Rude Shipyard Cafe,89 Abbeydale Rd Sheffield, S7 1FE:7.45 Hosted by miss piggy or stan skinny, message for slots.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Great-Yorkshire-Word-search/275766372495584?sk=wall#!/pages/The-Shipping-Forecast-spoken-word/276780052333840?sk=info
http://www.therudeshipyard.com

Thur 14th Giggling Goblin,The Mews, Ashby de la zouch, 8pm, free in:The Goblin Folk and Poetry Club is back after the snow on Thursday 14th at 8.00pm in the fine surrounds and coffee aroma of the Giggling Goblin The Mews Ashby. Come along read a poem or story, sing a song or play an instrumental, play the spoons, juggle whatever you feel like!!!!

Fri 15th Wednesbury Open Mic Open Mic Poetry,Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery ,7.30 pm, £3, with Den Payne, third friday

Fri 15th Spoken Worlds Third Friday 19:30 The Old Cottage Tavern , Byrkley St,eet, Burton-upon-Trent DE14 2JJ with Gary Carr Open mic gajwriter@btinternet.com

Sun 17th The Lovers and The Pirates, Bayard’s Colts,by David Calcutt, Bookmark Bloxwich, Bloxwich Library, 7.30pm £5 in

Sun 17th Poems and Pints The Swan Inn,18 Stafford Street Town Centre, Stone ST15 8QW, 4-6pm, Third Sunday

Sun 17th Tell Me On A Sunday 2: Strange Encounters,The Ikon Gallery Cafe, B1 2HS Birmingham, United KingdomThis month’s theme is STRANGE ENCOUNTERS! Special guest storyteller is Jane Campion Hoye.

Story supper from 5pm. Show from 6 – 7.30.

The event is free but seats MUST be reserved – it packs out!! To reserve call the Ikon Gallery: 0121 248 0780

To pitch a story, you can message Cat via the Tell Me page x

Mon 18th Wordsmiths,Warwick Arts Centre, ( Studio Theatre), Coventry, CV4 7AL
£5.50 The UK’s first live poetry talk show, featuring poets you know from the pages of books and from festival stages. A rare opportunity to witness them sharing stories, poems and opinions as they engage in no-holds-barred conversation right before your widened eyes.

This is live poetry. This is not for the faint of heart. This is Wordsmiths & Co. Featuring: Kate Tempest, Patience Agbabi, Deborah Stevenson and Andrew Frolish.

Hosted by the wonderful Jo Bell.

Tues 19th Poetry Alight, Spark Cafe, Tamworth St, Lichfield, 7.30 pm free in
“A terrific evening of poetry” – Mal Dewhirst,Staffs Poet Laureate
…
Lichfield Poets proudly present the first Poetry Alight of 2013 in this quarterly series of poetry evenings, hosted by Gary Longden . It is also our first birthday!

It comprises visiting guest poets and an open mic section. Great pride is taken in introducing new poets to the audience, and new audiences to poets. Open mic spots, at 3mins each, may be booked in advance, a very few may be made available on the night, e-mail: Lichfield.Poets@hotmail.co.uk

Please note that our advance slots are always oversubscribed, all requests may not be successful.

The Cafe, as well as offering coffee, teas and light refreshments is also licensed to sell alcohol and offers a range of hot food, I can personally vouch for their Cumberland sausage sandwich! The audience is encouraged to arrive early, and the Spark is ideal to enjoy a supper with friends before proceedings. The Cafe is open all day.

This month’s distinguished published guest poets include:

Giovanni “Spoz” Esposito – Spoz is one of the most prominent performance poets in the midlands with a national reputation. A tireless promoter of poetry , he works regularly in schools as well as creating, organising and presenting poetry slams and running workshops. A brilliant live performer, ,he can be poignant, controversial ,and frequently, downright funny. Spoz is a past Birmingham Poet laureate and has been a guest on BBC Radio 5, his current collection is entitled “The Day the Earth Grew Hair”

Dreadlock Alien- DA is a past Birmingham Poet Laureate, festival favourite, and has hosted the BBC Radio 4 National Slam finals. Alongside his work as an educational arts practitioner, he is currently working on a solo performance piece entitled Poet without Residence, in development for a U.K. tour in 2014.He has performed for the British Council in Chennai, India; Warsaw, Poland; Osaka, Japan and Capetown, South Africa and judged the Forward Poetry Prize in 2010
Charlie Jordan- celebrity DJ and broadcaster
Lorna Meehan- Rhymes organiser, and thespian

Reviews of past Poetry Alights are available here:

THE SPARK THAT BECOMES A FLAME.

IT TAKES JUST A SPARK TO SET POETRY ALIGHT!

Tues 19th Purple Penumbra Purple Penumbra is primarily a spoken word, open mic (without mic) event that takes place within the friendly and relaxing confines of the theatre bar at Oldbury Rep (The Barlow) in Langley.> Run by Al Barz, with assistance from Walsall’s Poet Laureate, Ian Henery, it is a continuation of the Purple Patch evenings of the late, and much missed Black Country poet, Geoff Stevens, probably the most widely published English poet of the past century.

Currently it is a free entry evening of poetry and prose, sometimes with a touch of mostly acoustic music, on the 2nd or 3rd Tuesday of each month starting at 7:30 pm and continuing until the words run out or 10:30 arrives, whichever is the sooner.

It is open for anyone and everyone to listen and/or to perform their own writings. Come and be entertained by some of the best in performance poetry available in England today, or at least in Langley. And if you can write a passable limerick/sonnet or two, or give us a song or play us a tune, do that too, do. But mostly come in, have a drink from the bar, relax at table and have a delightful evening.

The next event will be on 19th February.

Search for Purple Penumbra event on Facebook, or email to albarz@albarz.co.uk

How to get there…..

Bus services:
126 from Birmingham to Wolverhampton, ten minutes from the Navigation bus stop, and
120, Birmingham to Dudley just two minutes from Rhodia Works bus stop, Station Road, Langley.

Train services:
10 minute walk from Langley Green railway station.

Car:
Put B69 4SP in your satnav, or…
From the M5, Junction 2,
at the big island take the 4th exit onto the A4034 (Churchbridge)
take the first right at the traffic light (slip road) B4170, Park Street/Park Lane towards Langley
at the Langley Green island, keep left on B4182, Park Lane and take the first right into Whyley Walk
The free car park is 60 metres on your left.
The Barlow Theatre, (or Oldbury Rep) is in front of you.

Wed 20th FebStorytelling Cafe 7.30pm (Doors 6.30pm)Keeping Up With The Gods – Tales from the Odyssey. Take one extraordinary 3000 year old story, a puffed up war weary hero and mix with tormenting goddesses and a six headed monster. Shake it all up and sprinkle with narcotic petals from the exotic lotus flower. Encounter magical adventures in the playground of the gods where wine, feasts, stories and songs give release from love’s pain, loss and betrayal. Food Served from 6.30, Stories start at 7.30.tickets: £7

Tickets available from the Cafe or http://www.wegottickets.com

Wed 20th Love in Leamington, Leamington Library, 7.30pm,a celebration of words and music with Julie Boden and Roz Goddard, 0300 555 8171 for free tickets. Featured artists include Dave Reeves, Steve Tromans, Dutch Lewis, Heather Wastie, Thrupenny Bit, Andy Guthrie, Bookshop Band, David Holland and Gabrielle Byam Grounds with English Serenatara

Wed 20th Templar Poetry,Lamb & Flag, The Tyhthing, Worcester, 8pm; Open mic, third Wednesday, Alex officiates contact:Alex McMillen, Alex McMillen,Templar Poetry, PO BOX 7082, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 9AF,Tel: 01629 582500, Mobile: 07918166975

Wed 20th Storytelling Cafe – Tales of Midsummer Eve, Kitchen Garden Cafe,York Rd, Kings Heath
7.30pm (Doors 6.30pm)
“Compelling, shimmering, luminous and sublime” (Front Row, Radio 4). Celebrate mysteries of Midsummer Eve as nationally acclaimed storyteller, Debs Newbold, unfolds tales of the turning of time; the sweet love of Summer changing into the deep loss of Winter. Travel with her from the sensuous groves of Italy to the wild hills of Shropshire; sense the rustle of the leaves, breath in the scent of summer and listen to the songs woven into these magical stories.
Debs Newbold is the first storyteller to be given a Late Junction slot by Radio 3 and has been nominated as the UK artist by Pinokio, a prestigious European storytelling project. Strong, skilled, brimming with charisma and immensely proud of her Brummie roots, Debs commands large auditoriums from Shakespeare’s Globe to the Royal Opera House and enthralls audiences at prestigious national events such as the Hay Literary Festival. But of course the best description of Deb’s talent comes from her own vivid pen when she describes herself as “having voice, heart and imagination as big as a very clever giant’s”. “’Enthralling…the whole audience was hanging on every word”( Hebden Bridge Arts Festival).
Tickets: £7
Tickets available from the Cafe – Food Served from 6.30, Stories start at 7.30

Thurs 21stOuse Muse, Harpurs, 46-48 Tavistock St Bedford, MK40 2RD.Third Thursday, 7.30pm start Open mic. Ian McEwan organises

Thurs 21st Hit the Ode, Victoria PH, Birmingham CC.
Hit the Ode brings the most exciting poets from the region, the country and the world to the heart of Birmingham. Join us! We have poems. Poems which look attractive in their passport pictures; poems rough like sandpaper; poems in which you can swing lazily like they’re hammocks. Good poems. Come and get them.

Special Guests

From Birmingham, Spoz: A true institution of Brummie poetry, the mohawked rhymester combines the funny and the political like no-one else.
From London, Joshua Idehen: Joshua ‘s poems flit effortlessly between anger and intimacy, the personal and the general, the musical and the prosaic.
From France: M’sieu Dam: the reigning French poetry slam champion visits the UK for the first time with surreal stories and dancing words.

Tickets – £5

Open mic – a very few slots will be available on the door. Come early!

More info – bohdan@applesandsnakes.org

Thurs 21 Speak Up, Bulls Head, Moseley, Birmingham, 3rd Thursday, monthly, 7.30pm: headliners plus open mic,£5in http://www.bullsheadmoseley.co.uk/

Thurs 21st Giggling Goblin Open mic Poetry, Gigglong Goblin Cafe, Ashby de la zouch, 7.30pm,
We are moving to The Bowling Green Pub, The Green Ashby on the 3rd Tuesdays of the month starting Tuesday 19th March then-
tuesday 16th april
tuesday 21st May
tuesday 18th june
tuesday 16th july
and so on.
probably miss out august but will decide formally later.
Thank you all for your support and hope to see you tonight (last at the Giggling Goblin) and subsequently at the new venue.
keep smiling ,brian langtry

Sat 23rdThe word Smack cabaret featuring John Hegley,The Old market gallery, Rotherham

The word Smack cabaret is a new evening of lip licking entertainment celebrating spoken word in all its many guises. So, we’ll be serving up top poets, storytellers, comics, and anything from the weird and wonderful world of variety to deliver you a night of joyous gerbil, verbal, jubilation right in the heart of Rotherham town city centre. There is also your very own chance to take part through the shiny tonsils contest where you have two minutes to do whatever you like and compete for a 10 minute slot at the next cabaret and the Smacked bottom trophy.

The first Word Smack, features these fine creatures
The stand up poet John Hegley,

‘comedy’s poet laureate’ the independent

A stalwart of the alternative comedy scene John Hegley has published 12 volumes of poetry, has appeared on radio and television and is a cult hero of the Edinburgh comedy festival and we are honoured to and delighted to have him up in Rotherham.
Also appearing

Billy Button star of cabaret Boom Boom, Billy is a lounge singer that is yet to leave his lounge, charming, delightful and whole round entertainer. Also, you can join his campaign to end dog mess on the street called ‘Stamp it out’, please lend your support.
‘very funny man, please though, someone have one of his croissants’’

Tim Ralphs, a former young storyteller of the year and future favourite storyteller of yours.
Hot beans local sketch comedy group, from the writers of Opus hatch that has recently been on a 13 date tour across the country.
And your host Stan Skinny with his house band Teeth decay, and not forgetting Brian 200

Plus games, features and the Shiny tonsils Smacked bottom slam, if you want to take part please email theskinnytheatre@live.com, with your name and act.

Where the old market gallery, Rotherham
When Saturday 23rd of Feb
Time 7.30pm start

Sunday 24th Sunday Xpress Fourth Sunday Doors 1500, Start 16:30 Adam & Eve Bradford Street, Birmingham B12 0JD Open mic
jameskennedycentral@yahoo.co.uk

Tues 26thWord Wizards New venue* Buckingham Hotel, opp the Pavillion Gdns , Buxton last Tuesday Monthly 19.30. Open mic three minute slam format More info Poetryslamuk@aol.com 01298 77362

Tues 26th The Telling Space, Mythstories, *NEW VENUE* (relocated from Wem) Mythstories,The Shrewsbury Coffeehouse,5 Castle Gates, SY1 2AE,Wem, Shropshire,The club meets on the 4th Tuesday of every month unless otherwise stated. Please check the website under ‘opening hours and events’ http://www.mythstories.com or contact Dez or Ali on 01939 235500 for further information.Meet at 7 pm for refreshments (bring food to share) or at 7.30 pm for stories. A chance to listen or an opportunity to tell. Admission is free.

Tues 26th Word Wizards * New venue* Buckingham Hotel, opp the Pavillion Gdns , Buxton last Tuesday Monthly 19.30. Open mic three minute slam format. Rob Stevens. More info Poetryslamuk@aol.com
01298 77362/ 0781 3289358

Wed 27thThe Poetry Train* New Venue* the Lych Gate Tavern, 44 Queens Square Wolverhamtpton, it’s down the walkway by Barclays bank the leads to the Civic Centre. 8pm, upstairs in their function room….It’s a great little pub last Wednesday ts@tonystringfellow.com

Wed 27th “42″ Open Mic Night (Gothic, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy) Lunar Bar, New St Worcester, 7.30, Free in: last wed monthly E-mail: 42openmicnight@42genrearts.co.uk

Wed 27th Packhorse PoetsThe Packhorse Inn, Crowdecote, near Longnor,Derbys on the fourth Wednesday of each month

Thurs 2ist Hit the Ode Last Thursday 19:30 The Victoria 48 John Bright Street, Birmingham B1 1BN 3 featured acts + limited open mic bohdan@applesandsnakes.org

Hit the Ode brings the most exciting poets from the region, the country and the world straight to the heart of Birmingham.

Hit the Ode brings the most exciting poets from the region, the country and the world to the heart of Birmingham. Join us! We have poems. Poems written on the backs of lottery tickets and on the margins of holy books; poems which yell through covered mouths and whisper through megaphones; poems which send you emails every day and poems which are not available to take your call right now. Good poems. Come and get them.

Thur 28th Bilston Voices Fourth Thursday 19:00 Cafe Metro 46 Church Street, Bilston: £3in, set bill. Emma Purshouse hosts, top performance poets Alan ‘Kurly’ McGeachie and Heather Wastie on the bill. There’s Daniel Shelley Smith making his Bilston Voices debut, Eileen Ward-Birch will be doing a turn, Roger Jones is coming along

Bilston Voices starts at 7.30 and takes place, as usual, at Cafe Metro, 46 Church Street, Bilston. It costs £2 to get in.——————————————————————————————————————–

Fri 1st MarchEAST MIDLANDS LAUNCH OF THE NEW SHORT-STORY ANTHOLOGY, “OVERHEARD: STORIES TO READ ALOUD” (SALT, 2012) AT CULTURAL EXCHANGES FESTIVAL, LEICESTER, DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY, 6-8PM. FREE AND ALL WELCOME.

You can download the brochure for the festival from the following link:

http://www.dmu.ac.uk/cultural-exchanges-festival/index.aspx

The event takes place in room 2.30 of the Clephan Building in De Montfort University, Leicester, LE1 9BH. You can see a campus map here:

Click to access 2012-dmu-access-map.pdf

Here is a blurb about the book: “Overheard: Stories to Read Aloud (Salt, 2012),” ed. Jonathan Taylor: “From village storytellers to nineteenth-century serialisations, from pub anecdotes to dramatic monologues, storytelling is an enduring and ever-popular art form. This collection of stories reconnects storytelling with its oral roots — each story is designed to be read aloud. It includes work by some of today’s most influential story-tellers, including Louis De Bernières, Blake Morrison, Kate Pullinger, Adele Parks, Michelene Wandor, Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, Hanif Kureishi, and over 30 others.” See http://www.saltpublishing.com for more details.

Sat 2nd Mar, Funny Women, Hereford Library, 2pm, free in,Funny Women are performing at Hereford Library this Saturday (March 2nd) at 2pm. If you’re in the area do go along and support Emma, Jane and Win. The event is supported by Writing West Midlands through its admirable Literature on Your Doorstep project.

This event is free but places are limited, to book please pop into Hereford Library,

Mon 4th Mar Speech Bubble.cognito, LSU, loughborough uni,LE11 3TU ,7.30pm. Jodi ann Bickley and Harry Baker headline plus open mic, £3in

Tues 5th Mar Night Blue Fruit, * New Venue* Playwrights Cafe Bar & Bistro 4/6 Hay lane, Cathedral Quarter, CV1 5RF, free in, 7.30pm-10pm,Open mic, sign up on the night.

Wed 6th Mar Open Resistance,The Vault Church St Rugby, 7.30pm, free in, open mic spoken word and music with Augustus Stephens

Tues 12th MarThe Crown, Market Square, Stony Stratford MK11 1BE,doors open 7.30 for 8.00 start.
Spring is here, spring is here, life is skittles and life is beer. I think the loveliest time of year is spring, I do. Don’t you? Course you do.As the year casts off her ermine gown in favour of a more verdant, strapless little number, and puts the woolly tights back in the wardrobe in anticipation of days lengthening, sap rising and hares leaping, what better way to welcome in the new season than with an evening of open mic music and poetry with special guests?

This month’s headline performers are The Screaming House Madrigals, returning to share their distinctive sound, and the legend in his own lunchtime that is Poeterry, along with the open-minded, open-ended, open-floodgates open mic, welcoming all performers of any style, genre or level of wanton abandon to share their music and words before a warm, receptive, often bemused yet surprisingly tolerant audience.

This month also sees the return of the Post-it Note Poetry competition, back by popular demand – that is, back because we’ve got some more pens after I threw the last lot away by mistake. What else are you going to be doing on the second Tuesday of the month? Join us…

Thurs Mar 14thGuildhall Much Wenlock, 7.30 pm,Paul Francis is launching Boxed Set, his collection of poems about film and TV.

Sat 16th Mar 10.30- 4.30pm Clapham Building, Leicester DMU, Free and open to all: States of Independence 4: Independent Publishers’ Fair: Bookstalls, Readings, Book Launches, Panels, Performances, Workshops, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Plays, Artist Books, Magazines, Journals

Tues 19th I am Blackbird, Storytelling with kate walton, Spark cafe, Tamworth st, Lichfield,7.30pm:
A lyrical storytelling extravaganza, celebrating the misadventures of finding love and ultimately finding freedom.

Paying homage to the greats, aka – the parents, the men and Casablanca! ‘I am Blackbird’ celebrates the divine discontent of love, loss and ridiculous adventures.
With heart and humour, the show hopes to remind – That if we have faith, live for the moment and learn to love and accept ourselves for all our glorious f@*k-ups, we may just find more than we were looking for…

Written & Performed By Kate Walton, Performance Poet and Storyteller

Supported by the amazing poetical talents of Christian Watson
And
Music by Jake Morgan with his one man bandalism Folk Blues

The Spark Cafe Bar & Events, Lichfield
Get there early for food and drinks, show will start at 7.30pm sharp!

It aims to be a great night, so please do come along.

Please Note – Unfortunately, Ben Norris will not be performing despite what the flyer says, but we still love him anyway!

Tues 19th Mar Confab Cabaret, recon, 4 Church st, Malvern, WR14 2AY. 8pm

A fun packed variety night with lashings of Spoken Word.
Featuring: Spoz, The Very Grimm Brothers, Dolly Grip, Salma,
Tim Cranmore & his freshly carved Carrot, Four Tart Harmony, The Silliest Raffle, resident cocktail shaker, your hostess Amy Rainbow

and maybe YOU!!

Malvern Magic Hatters cordially invite you to the Launch Night of ConFab Cabaret on Tuesday 19th March 2013 at 8.30pm.

Join us for a night of frolics and frivolity, merriment and jollity!

ALSO Introducing ‘Prepare to Share’ 2 mins of stardom from YOU. Tell a joke, do a teeny poem, Explore the rubic cube, assemble flat pack furniture, play a ditty, show us a card trick, tell us how to get rid of a stain, gurn to the masses. do your shadow puppet wizardry, juggle blunt stuff, Impersonate Russell Crowe, balance a moustache, flare Nostrils while yodelling and hopefully MUCH MUCH MORE!!
******WARNING******** 120 seconds MAX.
If you are hooted you will get booted from the sharing area.
Beware the whistle!!.

Entry is by donation. The Malvern Magic Hat will be passed around during ecstatic crowd bursts of laughter and applause.

This wonderfully delicious line up will be found at Re-con,
Malvern’s brand new entertainment venue.

Wed 20th Mar Storytelling Café with Dominic Kelly 7.30pm (Doors 6.30pm) ,Dominic Kelly is a storyteller with a dynamic and compelling style that has captivated audiences in schools, theatres and festivals around the world. His storytelling is powerful and entertaining combining compelling composition with high-energy performance. Food Served from 6.30, Stories start at 7.30.Tickets: £7 Tickets available from the Cafe or http://www.wegottickets.com

Tue 26th Mar Poetry Bites with David Calcutt and Nadia Kingsley,7.30pm (Doors 6.30pm),David is a poet, novelist and playwright; Nadia is a poet and visual artist. They have just published a joint poetry collection Road Kill. “One of the top 10 venues for poetry in the UK” (Susan Richardson, Radio 4). Poetry Bites also includes floor spots – arrive early to book a spot. Tickets on door or by email from jacquirowe@hotmail.co.uk Food Served from 6.30, Readings start at 7.30.

Tickets: £5 (£4 Conc.) on Door

Food served from 6:30pm, Readings start at 7:30pm

Fri 3rd/ Sat 4th May Mary Rochford Trilogy,– where Salsa Sizzles, Tennis Thrills and Football (almost) Kills at
The Crescent Theatre, Brindley Place, Birmingham,7.45, £10in.