The Woman in White, Garrick Theatre, Lichfield

Posted on February 27, 2013 by garylongden

Woman in white

Period drama is enjoying a popular renaissance with Downton Abbey hugely popular on television, and Steampunk Victoriana gaining traction on the page. Garrick Artistic Director Adrian Jackson continues to have a keen eye for combining the artistically interesting ,with what audiences will come to see, and was rewarded with a big opening night turn out for The Woman in White.

The play follows the story of Walter Hartright, a handsome art teacher, who is assailed by the Woman in White on a London road at midnight where she pleads with him for his help to prevent her from being taken to an asylum. .Love, suspense and danger all combine to create a haunting mystery of mistaken identities and stolen fortunes, heroism, high drama and volatile passions.

WIW Novel

Originally a best -selling novel by Wilkie Collins, a contemporary and friend of Charles Dickens, it caused a sensation in London and New York in 1860, and has been adapted into a stage drama by Nicola Boyce. Both Collins and Dickens would serialise their work in the likes of The Observer and The News of the World. Their stories were the soap operas of the day. As I watched this drama, unfold I was struck by the similarities of plot with modern day soaps such as Coronation St. There is a secret which must come out. There is a wrong which must be righted. There is money embezzled. There is deception, arson and death- and there is humour and pin sharp observation of the human condition.

A strong cast includes Colin Baker, fondly remembered as a Doctor Who. Colin performs alongside Peter Amory, famous for playing evil Chris Tate in Emmerdale and Karen Ford who played the art teacher ‘Miss Booth’ from Grange Hill. However it is Nick Rohan as Walter Hartright who caught my eye. He was the glue that held the production together giving an understated, but essential, performance which allowed those around him to shine. Inevitably Colin Baker made the most of the flamboyant character of Count Fosco.

The play is long, but engaging, from opening to closing curtain it is three hours. Director Ian Dickens wisely delivers it in three Acts with two intervals ensuring that audience fatigue does not set in and offering extra opportunity to discuss events in the bar. It is presented in episodic form, in thirty three scenes, providing focus and energy to each segment. With so many scenes, the stage and scenery crews are very busy. The interior sets are well dressed and sumptuous, with good use of front of curtain sequences. A minor quibble was the failure to drop the curtain to provide a visual break between a drawing room, and grave , with the headstone fully lit next to rugs and chairs! Victorian drama is a great opportunity for actresses , leading ladies Emily Woodward and Nicola Weeks lit up the stage with their flowing dresses and period affectations.

Not only does this play boast plot parallels with modern day soaps, it also offers themes which are timeless as well. The young suitor pursues his love for love, not money. Two sisters are devoted to each other whatever life throws at them, celebrating the joys of friendship and loyalty. Greed and avarice are doomed. There is even a secret society thrown into the mix too. Nicola Boyce is also to be congratulated in presenting the patriarchal mores of the time in such a way that the audience is rooting for the wronged leading lady, reflecting feminist attitudes which had not found expression when the story was written. This production is an inspired revival, delivered with style and aplomb.

The Woman in White , runs at the Lichfield Garrick from Tuesday 26 February to Saturday 2 March, before appearing at the Theatre Royal in Windsor and the Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold later in the month.
Gary Longden

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Quadrophenia Comes to Tamworth

Posted on February 19, 2013 by garylongden


Quadrophenia is coming to Tamworth Assembly Rooms on May 24th and 25th 2013 with Tamworth Repertory Company in association with Fired Up Theatre, by kind permission of Pete Townshend and Paul Curran of Eel Pie Publishing. The project is being funded and supported by the Arts Council. It will feature new material by Simon Quinn and Staffordshire’s Poet Laureate, Mal Dewhirst, with choreography by Amy Radcliffe.

I have fond memories both of the album which I bought when it came out on vinyl and the Who whom I saw play live twice, once in 1978 and once in the late 1990’s. They were, and still are, a terrific live act.

The album has stood the test of time. Released in 1973, the Mods as mass movement was over. The Boot Boy, Skinhead and Suedehead cults had all superseded Mod in the public consciousness by the time Quadrophenia was released, but it still struck a chord and was a success both musically, then subsequently, as a film. Maybe, as youth culture became more shocking and violent, not least as portrayed in the film A Clockwork Orange, in 1971, there was already a sense of nostalgia for simpler times?

The Mods go in search of an ice cream on Brighton beach


The late 1960’s and the 1970’s were the era of the concept album. Many were bloated awful examples of half baked self-indulgence, yet some shone, and endure. Quadophenia is one of those. Curiously there is only one hit single on the album, 5.15, which is not regarded as being amongst their best. But it is the entity which works. Several tried to create a rock opera, this and Jim Steinman’s Bat out of Hell come closest to succeeding in the rock pantheon.

The days of vinyl offered significant artistic advantages. Firstly the artwork on a double album offered four faces. Secondly here, Quadrophenia was to represent the four psyches of the band, on four sides, and the album was released in the era of quadraphonic sound. Some will point to the lack of well known songs. Others will counter that Quadrophenia is a whole best not sliced and cherry picked, and it is the themes and the reprised musical motifs which reward the listener.For me it is this that makes the album so satisfying.

The absence of hit singles is not the same as an absence of great songs. Love Reign O’er Me is majestic power rock which both ends the album and appears as overture. Bell Boy, sung on the album by Keith Moon is a comic delight in the same way that Master of the House is in les Miserables, and The Real Me is Roger Daltrey’s personal manifesto and a tour de force.

Daltrey and Townshend in action

The film came out in 1979 when the country had been swept again by the last great youth movement, Punk and was widely acclaimed. Its success was evidence that the material did not require contemporaneity to succeed, the themes of youthful alienation and rebellion had been captured in a way that transcended the moment.

A big advantage that the Tamworth production has is that the film was a specific screenplay and the album itself allows considerable leeway for interpretation which i am sure Director Simon Quinn will take full advantage of. In the next month or so I will be running an interview with Simon for a sneak preview as to how rehearsals are going, and what we should expect.

Read more: http://www.thisistamworth.co.uk/Wanted-Groups-individuals-join-Quadrophenia/story-18089672-detail/story.html#ixzz2LKZAA42n
Follow us: @thisistamworth on Twitter | thisistamworth on Facebook

http://www.tamworthassemblyrooms.co.uk/

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Spoken Worlds, Old Cottage Tavern, Burton upon Trent

Posted on February 18, 2013 by garylongden

Now in its fourth year Spoken Worlds continues to go from strength to strength. Tonight a strong roster of performers appeared with a typically diverse range of talent. Rather than simply report on the evening I think it is worth looking at the ingredients which make it so successful. At its heart is host Gary Carr. Gary understands the basics. A monthly event must run monthly, on the same day, in the same place, and you always remind that evening’s audience of when the next one is. Any free event where people do not commit in advance can sometimes experience unexpectedly high, and low, attendances. But so long as people are aware where and when the next one is, over time, a strong core audience is built up, which is what Gary has done. A PA to assists those who need help with projection, and a room which can take sixty people comfortably, but is still intimate, helps.

There are rarely headline acts, just three sections where an individual can perform for up to three minutes, offering a maximum of nine minutes over the evening. This is particularly useful those with content which is diverse. An individual might do a comic, a serious, and a themed slot, all as stand alone entities.

Nikki Pywell

It is also fiercely egalitarian. Veteran performers like Staffordshire Poet Laureate Mal Dewhirst ( making a welcome, and warmly received return to the circuit) and Leicester award winning Poet Jayne Stanton have no more, or less, time than newcomers to the event like Harriet Warner and Nikki Pywell. The only measure is; “is it any good?!” Nikki impressed with an extended piece about control, “It’s time to be bold”, which resounded like a personal manifesto. Gary Carr liked her shoes too. Perhaps she bought them in Marks and Spencer? Harriet’s piece on shopping there with her mother, For One Woman, was waspish, clever and very effective. Spoken Worlds welcomes new performers, one of its many strengths.

Phil Binding’s reputation as our Railway Poet was further enhanced while Rob Stevens combined a fine piece on a nightclub murder with his customary acoustic guitar accompanied song, and a running gag on the weather. Ray and Terri Jolland entertained with a sketch and song and Stephanie Knipe made one of her welcome occasional appearances to speak of hoovers and sheep. So you see, this is no ordinary Spoken Word evening.

Spoken Worlds next plays on Friday 15th March at 7.30pm, free admission, sign up on the night.

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Mouth & Music Valentines Special- Boars Head, Kidderminster

Posted on February 13, 2013 by garylongden

The Boars Head is ideal for Mouth & Music. The upstairs room is self contained and big enough to take a good size audience, but compact enough to create atmosphere. The landlord and staff are supportive, the prices reasonable, and the piped music is unashamedly hip retro, Lou Reeds’ Waiting for the Man,New York Dolls’ Personality Crisis, Television’s Marquee Moon and Talking Heads’ Burning Down the House set the tone for an evening of diverse, original entertainment.

A full room turned out for a theme loosely based on love, it being Valentines week, and we certainly witnessed the full spectrum. It is to the credit of organisers Sarah Tamar and Heather Wastie that several of the performers were new to me. Familiar faces are good, but any successful event requires that new performers regularly appear to keep the regulars guessing, and coming.

Newcomer Alistair Knowles caught the ear with an irreverent tirade on growing old disgracefully, John Morris delivered his trademark laconic measured fare whilst Andrew owens read a strong short story entitled Dancing Apart. Holly McGill posts a popular blog , her live performance is now catching up with her written missives, Toads and Love I particularly enjoyed, as I enjoyed Suz Winspear’s customarily assured performance, although you can be assured that when Suz writes of In my Dreams those dreams are likely to be as comfortable as a pair of her platform boots. Closing the first half were musical duo Michelle Reynolds and Kim Lowings with an eclectic traditional range of songs performed with affection and panache.

Damon Lord started the second half with some short poems I had not heard before which were particularly effective before William Shatspeare appeared as Johnny Gash with his band the Bleeding Catfaces. They were superb. He combines the demeanour, wit, and appearance of Jarvis Cocker, with the melancholic madness of Morrissey, in an unholy alchemy of the absurd;”If you promise you will be my wife, I promise that I will put down the knife”- you get the picture?!

Johnny Gash with Chrissy Velveteen (small guitar) and Chris Ryan (big guitar)

Johnny Gash with Chrissy Velveteen (small guitar) and Chris Ryan (big guitar)

Ian Ward boldly allowed the audience to select his set by asking them to shout out random numbers which corresponded with specific poems. Normally the poet surprises the audience, I an chooses that the audience surprise him! A seasoned collection ensures that although the pacing is at risk, the quality is not. A newcomer, Io ,gave an enigmatic performance taking in a poem about childhood racial segregation in the United States and an homage to Janis Joplin. She frustrated me for the right reasons. There was clearly an interesting personal story to be told and a back story to her poetry, but we never had the chance to hear it- maybe next time.

Co -organisers Sarah Tamar and Heather Wastie rounded off the open mic, the former with I love to love ( but my baby just loves to dance?), the latter with a trio of new pieces of which Brief Encounter (pull up to the bumper?) stood out. The musical denouement came fromThe Very Grimm Bros, Adrian and John Grimm, who had lowered the drawbridge from Grimm Castle to offer their customary satirical wisdom. Frankly Chris Huhne was a sitting target! They are always a joy to watch, only their Manorial duties preclude world domination.

Adrian Grimm ( left) practices his "Kung Fu Fighting", Carl Douglas, routine,John Grimm (right) plays something else.

Adrian Grimm ( left) practices his “Kung Fu Fighting”, Carl Douglas, routine,John Grimm (right) plays something else.

Myself and Amy Rainbow rounded off the evening, common sense dictates that any critical assessment is best made by others. In any case Amy’s lawyers always check that anything I have said about her is “fair”, a word which has given the legal profession, our psychotherapists and Relate, an inordinate amount of work. Is “difficult” spelt with one f or two?

Gary and Amy upon realising that they actually have to perform together

Gary and Amy upon realising that they actually have to perform together


A fine evening, and one which Amy and I enjoyed hugely. Mouth and Music next plays on Tues 12th March, at 8pm.

Gary and Amy reconciled

Gary and Amy reconciled

Pictures by kind permission of Geoff Robinson.

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Coffeehouse Poetry, Shrewsbury Coffee House, Castle Gates, Shrewsbury

Posted on February 8, 2013 by garylongden

There was not a table or chair to be had. The stock of china cups and mugs was exhausted. A warm mist appeared on the inside of the windows obscuring the curious glances from passers- by, late comers stood . The occasion? The first birthday of Poetry at the Coffeehouse, whose genesis I witnessed with a dozen or so enthusiastic kindred spirits in 2012 and whose imaginative format and strong bill has enabled the event to prosper and grow.

That growth and success has been led by Liz Lefroy whose vision, dedication and commitment has been richly rewarded, she still greets all visitors personally as old friends. Those that are not, soon become so.

A birthday party warrants something special. Liz’s address book ensured this was achieved with two local writers supporting a duo of eminent London based writers, continuing the house policy of bringing fresh talent to the Borders.

jean atkins

Opening the evening we heard Ludlow based Jean Atkin who read from her new collection, The Dark Farms (Roncadora Press 2012), which focuses on the Galloway Forest Park, a remote and marginal region of shrinking agriculture, depopulated glens and extraordinarily dark skies. Jean Atkin is a previous winner of the Ravenglass Poetry Prize and the Torbay Prize. Her other pamphlets are The Treeless Region and Lost At Sea (shortlisted last year for the Callum Macdonald Memorial Prize). She worked on The Dark Farms for eight months during 2011, walking the Forest, talking to residents and reading old books and maps. Its tone is wistful, and elegiac. She describes the lonely, majestic landscape with the eye of someone in love with the place , for her a “hoverfly hesitates”. In so doing the significance, or insignificance , of humanity inevitably comes to the fore and was wonderfully explored in her strongest piece of the evening, “What’s Human?”
“We hold in a creel of air what’s human
And stretch out our fingertips to the whirl of galaxies
To feel for what’s not there.”

Jack Edwards

Jack Edwards runs “Notes From the Underground” at the Hollybush PH in Cradley Heath, he is also a performance poet of burgeoning repute. Looking more like the late Marc Bolan every time I see him his gentle humour, and relaxed delivery are always underpinned by a strong central idea and good writing. His poem titles are an intrinsic part of his poems, not an afterthought. In “ I Don’t Have The Cash to Take You to France” he won over the audience as a love poem before he even embarked upon the first verse. Although Jack is happier comparing love to a kebab, rather than a rose, his favoured sonnet form demonstrated an astute mix of contemporary imagery with traditional form, which he visited to particular effect in his ghazal, “Leaves”.

In the provinces we have a healthy suspicion of London poets, some of whom regard travel , and poetry, beyond the Underground network with bewilderment. Julia Bell and Rosie Shepperd are not in that mould and shared the headline spot to great effect. Their visit was a delight.

Julia Bell

Julia is a senior lecturer in Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London and wrote, and co-edited ,the bestselling Creative Writing Coursebook while working at the University of East Anglia, which is also published by Macmillan . Born in Bristol but raised in Wales she has had two novels published 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.

Two things immediately struck me about Julia’s work. The first was the apparent profound effect of her childhood spent as the daughter of a vicar whose religious devotion bordered on the extreme. The second was her considerable ability to speak and write plainly and effectively , eschewing high literary artifice.

She is currently working on a memoir in verse with a working title of Hymnal from which she read extensively. Her humour shone through in her voicing of Martha from the Bible- “It will take a miracle to get this done in time”. Her coming of age piece, The Wallpaper I Outgrew, brilliantly evoked the universal poignancy of transition from childhood to adulthood. It was Unhappy Clappy that proved to be her signature poem from Hymnal, a withering tirade cleverly juxtaposed to its subject matter.

rosie

Sharing the stage with Julia, Rosie Shepperd offered a complimentary counterpoint. Studying for a PhD in Creative Writing (Poetry) at Glamorgan University, her work has appeared in magazines on both sides of the Atlantic. She was a finalist in the inaugural Manchester Poetry Prize, the Ware Poetry Prize and the Café Writer’s. She won the 2007 Writer’s Inc Bursary , the 2009 Ted Walters/Liverpool University Prize and was a winner in the Poetry Business Competition, her current collection, That So Easy Thing, is published by Smith/Doorstep which includes generous endorsements from Carol Ann Duffy and Phillip Gross. Her instantly authentic pronunciation of “parapluie” was the clue to her mother’s place of birth in French Mauritius, her urbane internationalism far more evident in That so-easy thing.

Thematically Rosie’s material was wildly eclectic; a silk umbrella, the difficulties that sudden death poses when arranging one’s own funeral, insomnia and an overheard brutal condemnation by a mother of her own overweight son in Lump. What united them all was a fierce intellect, quirky off beat observation, and compassionate humanity served with lashings of acerbic wit. Reading , she pauses to telling effect, teasing the audience with what might come next, goading them to fill in the spaces for themselves.Her verse is always economic, and littered with memorable imagery, I loved the idea of an “acreage of shoe cupboard” in her insomnia poem. She made poetry seem like that so-easy thing, which it was to listen to, but undersells the craft of its composition.

Shrewsbury was fortunate to lure such distinguished talent and Liz promises more as the year unfolds, Coffeehouse Poetry next plays on March 7th, 7.30pm start, free entry.

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February 2013 – What’s On, Midlands Spoken Word

Posted on February 4, 2013 by garylongden

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.

Posted in Midlands Poetry What's On | 2 Comments

Jan 2013 – What’s On, Midlands Spoken Word

Posted on January 2, 2013 by garylongden

January returns with a strong roster of inexpensive events providing great value entertainment in the dark winter months:

Thurs 3rd 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. . 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).

Thurs 3rd Good Impressions Spoken Word open Mic, Cafe Impression, Atkins Building, Hinckley, LE10 1QU,7.30pm £5in Hosted by Tom Phillips,1st Thursday Monthly

Thur 3rd The Poetry Evening The Shrewsbury Coffeehouse,5 Castle Gates, SY1 2AE, with Liz Lefroy , 8pm , free in, Booked bill. Gareth Owen is our guest poet for January 2013 to get the new year off to a great start. A former presenter of R4’s ‘Poetry Please’, Gareth is widely published. He will also entertain with a couple of his songs.

Thurs 3rd,BLACKDROP REBIRTH,CANALHOUSE BAR, CANAL STREET, NOTTINGHAM NG1 7 EH
8 – 10pm £3 age 16+,Featuring Dreadlock Alien from Birmingham and his entourage.AND OF COURSE YOU IF YOU WANT TO BRAVE THE OPEN MIC?!(pay and display car park straight across road).

Thurs 3rd, Parole Parlate, Little Venice, Worcester, 7.30pm:Parole Parlate : The Spoken Word” is back 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:

Mikal Koven
Mike Alma
Euginia Herlihy
Polly Robinson
Andrew Owens
Andy Kirk
Sammy Joe
Suz Winspear
Ian Ward

The headline slot is to be a surprise on the night, as we are launching the WLF Friends Scheme officially at this event.

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 February 2013
Thursday 7th March 2013
Thursday 4th April 2013
Thursday 2nd May 2013
Thursday 20th June 2013 – Festival Special
Sat 4th Notes From the underground; Sat 20:00 The Hollybush The Hollybush, 53 Newtown Street, Cradley Heath B64 5EA Open mic liveatthebush@yahoo.co.uk, Jack Edwards officiates e-mail at: Jackedwardspoetry@hotmail.co.uk

Sun 6th Buzzwords, Exmouth Arms,Bath Road ,Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL53 7LX, 7pm Workshop, open mic plus Anna Marie Fyfe

Sun 6th ARTournament’s Sunday Chill,The New Inn in the centre of Gloucester (opp M&S) City Centre. 16 Northgate Street, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL2. UK. First Sunday, £5in, 3pm-9pm. poetry, Comedy and Music.

Sun 6th Blackdrop,New Art Exchange,39-41 Gregory Boulevard, NG7 6BE Nottingham,8-10pm £3 @ NAE,with Mother Hubbard…. And of course YOU in the open mic if you want to brave the final stage at NAE.ALL WELCOME OVER 16.

Mon 7th Gorilla Poetry Slam ,DAda,89 Trippet Lane (Located just off West Street),Shefield,The true G.P.S leading you to a magical word of words and frolics. Prolix fatigue guaranteed so tell your cultured or uncultured friends to come

Mon 7th The SW@N Club – Spoken Word at the Newhampton, Wolverhampton Meets every 1st Monday of the month (no club in August) at 8 pm – 10.30 pm. Admission – suggested donation on entry.The club meets in the upstairs room at the Newhampton Inn, Riches Street, Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton, WV6 0DW.For further details please contact Peter Chand http://www.chandstory.com

Tue 8th Scribal Gathering,The Crown, Market Square, Stony Stratford MK11 1BE, 7.30pm, Free entry. Sign up for open mic on the night.

Scribal Gathering is knocking on the door of your new year to step across your entertainment threshold, bringing goodwill and merriment from front of house to back stage and leaving great big poetry footprints all over your musical carpet on the way.

Stony Stratford’s premiere music and poetry open mic night is back –bearing evergreen sprigs, a pinch of salt, a lump of coal and a parcel of the finest music and poetry performance, with headline acts The Further Adventures Of Vodka Boy and Shadwell Smith making featured appearances. The open-minded open mic welcomes performers of all kinds to share their talent before a warm and receptive audience. So break your resolutions, drop off the diet, crash the wagon and get back to those cosy old vices that make you feel so guilty but so good.
And we’ll take a cup of kindness yet, with milk and two sugars. Join us!
What else: Don’t forget that 12th February will be the third anniversary of Scribal Gathering. A whole evening showcasing some of the finest performers we can get to come back again!

Tues 8th Mouth & Music 5,Boars Head Gallery, Kidderminster 8pm, £3 in: The AntiPoet/ Mark Niel, Presented by Heather Wastie & Sarah Tamar for KAF Creatives.

Tues 8th City Voices Second Tuesday 19:30 City Bar King Street, Wolverhampton WV 1ST booked poets simon.fletcher@wolverhampton.gov.uk David Calcutt and Nadia Kingsley will be launching a series of readings of their new collection, “Road Kill”, at City Voices in Wolverhampton, hosted by Simon Fletcher. David and Nadia will also be on hand to talk about the vision behind the poems, and to sign copies, which will be on sale for £4.00.

Tues 8th Scribal Gathering Bull Hotel, Stony Stratford, Milton Keynes MK11 1AQ, 2nd tuesday monthly,Entry: free; open mic poetry and music with featured acts,”Stony Stratford’s première spoken word and music performance event. This monthly meeting of minds will bring together writers, musicians and performers of all kinds to share their talents, entertain each other and evoke the spirit of gathering. Join us…” Sign up for the open mic on the night, or reserve a slot by email: info@scribalgathering.com.http://www.scribalgathering.com/

Tues 8th 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.

Wed 9th Speak Up, Hare & Hounds, Moseley, Birmingham, monthly, 7.30pm: headliners plus open mic,£5in

Wed 9th 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

Wed 9th Spire Writes Havana Whites,12 Corporation Street, Chesterfield,S41 7TP, 7.45pm Free in Second Wednesday, Helen Mort, organises.Open mic. Spire Writes facebook page

Wed 9th Flying Donkeys open mic, The Voicebox, Forman Street, Derby, DE1 1JQ.8pm
A chance to tell a story yourselves, or perform a song / piece of music or poetry and writing. Featuring special guest “hot spot” Sandra Moore, a storyteller from Tales from the Watermill, Shepshed.
Tickets on the door or contact Sophie ahead Tel 01332 840007 01332 840007 or info@flyingdonkeys.co.uk.

Thurs 10th 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 10th 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!

Fri 11th Word and Sound- Dancing with Janus, Art House Cafe,Chapel walk, Crown Gate Mall, Worcester,7.30pm,Yes, Worcester’s Original Open Mic – Spoken Word and Acoustic Music Night is coming back!
January is the perfect month for our return as we will have one pair of eyes on the creative brilliance we’ve all enjoyed over the past year and the other pair, will be fixed on what is to come over the next twelve months, be it Spoken Word, Poetry, Music, Stand-up, Story-telling and all those creative bursts of energy and inspiration we all love at The Word and Sound. Can you tell we’re excited?
Come and join in, to listen or to take part.
The format remains the same – sign up on the night for your slot!
£3.00 entry.
There will be a limited menu available

Mon 14th Speech Bubble ,Cognito, Students’ Union, Loughborough University, 7.30pm:Join us for Speech Bubble the third! With more performances from our Loughborough students as well as headliners, Grist, this evening of spectacular spoken wordiness is not to be missed! As always there will be open-mic mayhem so bring along your poems and sample the stage…
Students: FREE (with NUS card) Non-students: £2 (pay on door)http://www.katefox.co.uk/ http://markgrist.com/

Mon 14th 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 14th PureandGoodandRight Second Monday 19:30 The Sozzled Sausage 141 Regent St, Leamington Spa CV32 4NX Open mic + guest pgrpoetry@gmail.com with Adam Horowitz

Mon 14th th Shindig The Western, 70 Western Road, Leicester LE3 0GA,t 7.30pm.Guest Writers: Jayne Stanton, Dave Reeves, Julie Boden & David CookeOpen mic and poetry night – please sign up on the door for slots. FREE ENTRY

David Clarke was born in Lincolnshire and now lives in Gloucestershire. He work as a researcher and teacher. In 2012, Flarestack Poets published his first pamphlet, Gaud. He blogs at http://athingforpoetry.blogspot.co.uk/

Jayne Stanton’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Hearing Voices, Staple, Under the Radar, The Journal and others. She has featured on The Reading Room Live for Lincoln Book Festival 2011, and in Cork and Limerick as part of O’Bheal’s Twin City Poetry Exchange 2012. She is a regular reader at open mic poetry events across the Midlands.

Dave Reeves is ringmaster of re:Lit the monthly live literature show on RadioWildfire.com and his current book/cd is Black Country Dialectics from Offas Press. Dave has been known to perform his poetry without squeezebox – tonight you may not be so lucky.
Julie Boden is Symphony Hall’s Poet in Residence and she explores the frontiers of poetry and music in collaboration with a ‘meticulous eye’ and an ‘ear for the mellifluous’. Accomplished on both stage and page, her sensitivity, warmth and humour have endeared her to a wide audience.

Tue 15th Storytelling Workshop with Usifu Jolloh, Kitchen garden cafe,kingd heath,7pm (Doors 6.30pm)
Learn how to make your storytelling more exciting and interactive. The three hour workshop will be led by Multi award winning actor, dancer and storyteller Usifu Jalloh. This workshop will be 3hrs of fun and inspiration.Tickets: £30 (£20 before 31 Dec)Tickets available from the Cafe or http://www.wegottickets.com

Wed 16th Storytelling Cafe with Usifu Jolloh,Kitchen garden Cafe, 7.30pm (Doors 6.30pm)
Usifu Jolloh from Sierra Leone is an energetic, funny, and deeply inspiring storytelling performer. Usifu ’s mixture of drumming, singing and a captivating narrative style take an audience through the emotional magic of childhood imagination. He uses contemporary elements that have influenced his life from his African roots to Indian Bollywood. Food Served from 6.30, Stories start at 7.30.Tickets: £7Tickets available from the Cafe or http://www.wegottickets.com

Tues 15th Literature from the low countries, Birmingham Cathedral
Colmore Row,Birmingham,B3 2QB 8pm
Join 6 top writers from the LOW COUNTRIES on tour to
6 cities for 6 nights of readings & debates
To showcase the best HIGH IMPACT literature
From Flanders & the Netherlands in English translation
£8/ £5 concessions

They are the LOW COUNTRIES LITERATI: all best-sellers back home, all writing in Dutch but from two different countries – Belgium and the Netherlands. Two of our closest neighbours producing some of the most exciting literature in Europe, but about whom we know too little and they too little about each other. Now for the first time, these major Dutch-language storytellers travel together on a rock star-style tour of six English cities – to perform for us and to discover what they may (or may not!) have in common.

Sponsored by Flanders House and the Netherlands Embassy in London and created by Rosie Goldsmith, known in the UK as a champion of international fiction, HIGH IMPACT is a unique idea with a unique group of writers. Selected by Rosie from across Flanders and the Netherlands not only for their brilliant books but also for their wit, wisdom, fluent English and HIGH IMPACT performance skills, these authors will wow you with their readings and ideas.

LIEVE JORIS: whose journalism and non-fiction books on Africa, China, the Middle East and Europe have earned her the reputation as the VS Naipaul or Ryszard Kapuscinski of the Low Countries.
HERMAN KOCH: former actor and comedy star; best-selling novelist – in the Netherlands and round the world – of the thrilling, chilling mega-hit The Dinner.
RAMSEY NASR: the Dutch Poet Laureate and all-round Renaissance Man (actor, director, poet, journalist & librettist), famed for his beautiful prose, provocative politics and exciting public appearances.
PETER TERRIN: this year’s winner of the prestigious AKO Literature Prize and author of the magnificent psychological thrillerThe Guard.
CHIKA UNIGWE: born in Nigeria, at home in Belgium; poet, short story writer and award-winning novelist of On Black Sisters’ Street.
JUDITH VANISTENDAEL: the Posy Simmonds of Belgium; the bold and brilliant graphic novelist of When David Lost His Voice.
How to book:
Tickets for this event cost £8/ £5 concessions. To book, please click here to be taken to our Box Office online. You can book your place by contacting The Box either by phone on 0121 245 4455 0121 245 4455 or by popping into the Box Office at Central Library.

Tues 15th Poetry Club Giggling Goblin Coffee Shop, Mill Lane, Ashby de la Zouch– 8:30, free in, with a licensed bar and great coffee. Third Tuesday of the month. Open mic poetry and folk

Tues 15th Word, Y Theatre Leicester,7.30pm £4in, The evening is composed of an open mic, followed by a booked act. Past artists include: Patience Agbabi, Zena Edwards, Ann Sansom and Niall O’Sullivan, to name but a few. For more information contact Lydia Towsey at lydia@wordpoetry.co.uk

Wed 16th 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 16th Storytelling Cafe – , Kitchen Garden Cafe, York rd, Kings Heath: 7.30pm (Doors 6.30pm)

Wed 16th Bad Edit Venue, The Old Post Office 12 Wedgewood St, Stoke on Trent, ST 6 4JH ,Open mic with Tracey Henham,

Thur 17th Hareand Hounds, Moseley, Birmingham, 3rd Thursday, monthly, 7.30pm: headliners plus open mic,£5in http://www.bullsheadmoseley.co.uk/

Thur 17th Ouse Muse, Harpurs, 46-48 Tavistock St Bedford, MK40 2RD.Third Thursday, 7.30pm start Open mic. Ian McEwan organises

Thur 17th Goblin Poetry & Folk Club Giggling Goblin Coffee Shop, Mill Lane, Ashby de la Zouch– 8:30, free in, with a licensed bar and great coffee. Third Thursday of the month. Open mic poetry and folk

The event is hosted by Brian B. Langtry, who ran a poetry and folk club in the Black Country in the Mid 1970’s, which ran until the pub closed down. Brian has always been keen to mix the arts and has decided to give the Folk and Poetry format a revival in Ashby. As Brian’s flyer says the Performers are from the audience.

Fri 18th Jan Open Mic Poetry,Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery ,7.30 pm, £3, with Den Payne

Fri 18th 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

Fri 18th Writers Bloc, Boerma Bar, University of Birmingham, Students Union , Edgbaston, 7.30 free in with Ben Norris, open mic poetry, third Fri in term time

Sun 20th Poems and Pints The Swan Inn,18 Stafford Street Town Centre, Stone ST15 8QW, 4-6pm, Third Sunday, open mic

Mon 21st Wordsmiths Warwick Arts Centre, third Monday,
7.45 pm in the Studio Theatre at Warwick Arts Centre, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL
Jo Bell invites conversation and memorable performances from:
Inua Ellams, Chris McCabe, Ruth Larbey and Jess Green
Tickets: £5.50
Inua Ellams: Born in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria ‘1984, Inua Ellams is a Word and Graphic Artist, a writer with a style as influenced by classic literature as it is by hip hop, by Keats as it is by MosDef. Rooted in a love for rhythm and language, he crosses 18th century romanticism & traditional story telling with contemporary diction and musicality. However, his first love was visual art; the first time he toyed with a pencil, he fell for the magic of line and form. He works extensively as a graphic designer / visual artist where also tries to mix the old with the new juxtaposing texture and pigment with flat shades of colour and digitally created images. He works in online and print: http://www.phaze05.com
Chris McCabe was born in Liverpool in 1977. His poetry collections are The Hutton Inquiry, Zeppelins and THE RESTRUCTURE (all Salt Publishing). He has recorded a CD with The Poetry Archive and written a play Shad Thames, Broken Wharf, which was performed at the London Word Festival and subsequently published by Penned in the Margins in 2010. He works as a Librarian at The Poetry Library, London, and teaches for The Poetry School. A collection of poems written in collaboration with Jeremy Reed, Whitehall Jackals, will be published by Nine Arches Press in April 2013.
Ruth Larbey was born in Cyprus, and grew up in Nottingham, Hong Kong and rural Cumbria. She has spent her last two years working in London, after completing her MA at Warwick University in 2008. She has been published in various magazines, and organises music and art performance events in her spare time. Funglish (Nine Arches Press, 2010) is her debut pamphlet of poems.
Jess Green graduated from Liverpool John Moores University with a degree in Creative Writing in 2010. Since then unemployment has forced her down to the Midlands. She is a member of London’s Roundhouse Poetry Collective and performs regularly around London, the Midlands and the North West. Her debut collection, #romance, was published by Holdfire Press in 2012.

Tues 22nd 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.

Tuesday 22nd Purple Penumbra, Oldbury, 7.30pm :The 1st Purple Penumbra open mic of 2013, in the bar of
the Barlow Theatre, Langley (The Oldbury Rep) 7:30 p.m. – free in – bar drinks available!
The fifty shades of badly written grey and gloomy weather
that saturate the soul and tighten up the bladder
will never penetrate the poetry like permafrost.
We’ll be there, spouting forth whate’er may be the cost.
So get you down the happy road that leads to Langley village,
as folk have done since Viking times of bumpy roads and pillage,
and join the celebration of a pristine clear new year
Hug us, tug us, chugg-a-lug us, on open mic down here.
And if you have to sing a song
Bring it, bring it, bring it along
But otherwise just soak us in
Happy New Year! Let it begin!

Wed 23rd Packhorse Poets,Packhorse Inn, Crowdecote, Derbys, fourth Wed 7.30pm

Thur 24th Utter, Storytelling Night,Thimblemill Library,Thimblemill Rd, Bearwood,B67 5RJ 7-10pm, Cath Edwards hosts, fourth Thursday
Utter Bearwood is a new performance storytelling venue for adults in Thimblemill Library, Thimblemill Road, Smethwick B67 5RJ. 0121 429 2039. Doors open 7pm for a 7.30pm start, until 10pm.

Thur 24th Bilston Voices Fourth Thursday 19:00 Cafe Metro 46 Church Street, Bilston: £3in, set bill.

Thur 24th GRIZZLY PEAR (with Vanessa Kisuule – Bristol Pear, Selly Oak , Birmingham– 6:30pm doors (open-mic slots available), 7:30pm starts

Word Up – Yorks Bakery Cafe,1-3 Newhall Street, B3 3NH Birmingham, 6.30pm start, free in. Fourth Friday,Word Up’ is a spoken word night with a difference. Created and run by Mark Watson and Rosina Caldwell. It is a monthly event. ‘Word Up’ focuses predominantly on showcasing the spoken word talent in and around Birmingham as well as other artistic talents that we disperse throughout the night to provide a varied night of entertainment.

Our main idea is to provide a platform for both distinguished acts, but more importantly for first-timers. We hope to complement the other spoken word nights that are on in Birmingham and help strengthen the artistic scene in this city.

We hope you’ll enjoy what we have to offer and may even want to perform at some point?

We can be contacted on here or by email at: word—up@hotmail.com

Sunday, 27th Buzzwords,Upstairs at The Exmouth Arms, Bath Road, Cheltenham
£5 waged, £3 unwaged Workshop, led by Peter Robinson 7pm,Guest readings and open mic 8pm,Guest poet: Peter Robinson

Sunday 27th Sunday Xpress Fourth Sunday Doors 1500, Start 16:30 Adam & Eve Bradford Street, Birmingham B12 0JD Open mic
jameskennedycentral@yahoo.co.uk

Sunday 27th Rhyme and Tells at the Six Bells in Bishops Castle, Shropshire,Meets every 4th Sunday of the month (except for public holidays) at 8 pm – 10.30 pm. It is free admission and an open session for poetry, prose and storytelling.For further details please contact Mike on 01588 680685.

Tues 29th 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

Tuesday 29th Poetry Bites, Kitchen Garden Cafe, York St Kings Heath, 7.30pm, £5, opne mic plus special guest Spoz and Saleha Begum. (re-arranged from 22nd)

Wed 30th Stories in Winter,Six Eight Kafe,6/8 Temple Row, B2 5HG Birmingham,A free spoken word event. Poetry and short stories in the heart of Birmingham. Get involved – make a post or mail info@pigeonparkpress.com

Wed 30th Poetry train. The Lych Gate Tavern, 44 Queens Square Wolverhamtpton, “it’s down the walkway by Barclays bank the leads to the Civic Centre. We will be starting there on Wednesday 30th January at 8pm, upstairs in their function room….It’s a great little pub”, 7.30pm open mic with Tony Stringfellow

Wed 30th “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 30th jan 42, swan with two nicks, New st, Worcester:Gothic, Horror, Sci-fi & Fantasy event “42″ last Wednesday of the month at the Swan with Two Nicks, Worcester 7:30pm start. MC Andrew Owens. Contact us if you wish to read / perform your work.
Confirmed performers include:
Suz Winspear
Andrew Owens
Math Jones
Polly Robinson
Tony Bryan
If you would be interested in performing at this &/or other events contact the 42 Worcester Team at 42worcester@42openmicnight.co.uk. Slots will be between 10-15 minutes long.PRICE: £3.00 (Entry is free for our performers)
INFO ON 42 OPEN MIC NIGHT:

‘42’ is Worcester’s first & only Gothic, Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Open Mic Night for all those who love the genres & everything in between. Let your voice be heard!

Calling all writers, poets, musicians, performance artists, actors and comedians, if you have an interest in these areas we want you to get involved!

‘42’ takes its name from Douglas Adams’ great answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. We thought that was pretty all encompassing and a really snappy name which people would embrace. This is THE genre fans open mic night, and we want them to get in touch and make their voice heard!

INFO FOR PERFORMERS:

There are a few provisos which we must outline at the outset, such as the fact that although we embrace darker works we don’t encourage superfluous gore or scenes of lingering torture for the sake of celebrating cruelty. We do not encourage the humiliation, or attack of anyone due to their ethnic origin, religious beliefs, or the fact that their great grandfather six times removed was kidnapped by aliens. Although a degree of swearing could be part of an artist’s dramatic flow in a given horror story, we ask you to keep any such sequences within a reasonable dramatic format which will sound plausible!

So please respect these guidelines and we will welcome your contribution warmly.

Each performer will be allotted a 10-15 minutes span for their set, and we ask contributors to respect this timeframe! Please get in touch well in advance of the advertised evening if you wish to take part and have specific requirements for sound, etc.

We are always looking for new writers and performers to get involved in the event, so if you would like to become involved we would be chuffed to bits to hear from you! So get in touch

Thurs 31st 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
Open mic: half of the open mic slots available via email ( bohdan@applesandsnakes.org), the other half can be claimed on the door on the day of the event.

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Mon 4thThe SW@N Club – Spoken Word at the Newhampton, Wolverhampton,Meets every 1st Monday of the month at 8 pm – 10.30 pm. Admission – suggested donation on entry. Peter Chand hosts

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.

Thurs Feb 7th Parole Parlate

Thur 7th The Poetry Evening The Shrewsbury Coffeehouse,5 Castle Gates, SY1 2AE, with Liz Lefroy , 8pm , free in, Booked bill.
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!

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.

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)?! 🙂

Fri 15th Spoken Worlds, the Old Cottage tavern, Byrkley St, Burton, 7.30pm, free in Gary Carr hosts, open mic, sign up on the night. Friendly relaxed, three sections, a good place to try out material.

Tues 19th 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 Purple PenumbraPurple 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 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

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.

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

Posted in Midlands Poetry What's On | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Christmas Spoken Word Anagram Quiz- Answers

Posted on January 2, 2013 by garylongden

Thank you to everyone who tried – and failed! 27/35 was the best effort. I hope you enjoy seeing the anagrams unravel before your eyes:

1.Gary Longden- grandly gone
2.Bohdan Piasecki- backside siphon
3.Emma Pursehouse- measures up home
4.Gary Carr- Rag Carry
5.Mal Dewhirst- Warmth Slide
6.Jonathan Taylor- Jolt arty ha anon
7.Lisa Ventura- unreal vista
8.Heather wastie-weathers his tea
9. Jacqui rowe- quo jaw rice
10.Giovanni Esposito- Positive Gas Onion
11.Liz lefroy- zero filly
12.Julie Boden- job nude lie
13.Antony R owen- annoyer town
14.Charlie Jordan- Jailer Hard con
15.Laura Yates- sure lay at a
16.Maggie Doyle- Oily am egged
17.Richard Grant- ranch grid rat
18.Stepehn Morrison Burke- housebroken sperm inert
19.Alan McGeachie- mechanical age
20.Jodi ann bickley -Blink enjoy acid
21.Jack Edwards – jaw desk card
22.Tony Stringfellow- strongly flew into
23.Emergency Poet- Creepy get me on
24.Matt Windle- lewd mint at
25. Simon Fletcher- fishermen clot
26. Amy Rainbow – Win by aroma
27. Fergus McGonigal – Alfresco mugging
28. Mulletproof poet – roomful pelt poet
29. Deborah Tyler Bennet -Northernly batted bee-
30.Catherine Crosswell -Cartwheels score nil-

31. Hot he tied – Hit the ode
32. Greatly hop it – Poetry Alight
33. Dreadnought Pong raid – Pure and Good and Right
34. Humid coma nuts- Mouth and Music
35. Dish Gin -Shindig

Posted in Blog | 2 Comments

Christmas Midlands Poetry Personalities Anagram Quiz

Posted on December 24, 2012 by garylongden

Just for fun ,the first 30 anagrams are of people who either organise, or are prominent at, poetry events across the Midlands. Inclusion is not by prominence- but by anagram interest! The final five are of events themselves.

Answers on Boxing Day.

1. grandly gone
2. backside oh pain
3. measures up home
4. rag carry
5. warmth slide
6. jolt arty ha anon
7. unreal vista
8. weathers his tea
9. quo jaw rice
10. positive gas onion
11. zero filly
12. job nude lie
13. annoyer town
14. jailer hard con
15. sure lay at a
16. oily am egged
17. ranch grid rat
18. housebroken sperm inert
19. mechanical age
20. Blink enjoy acid
21. jaw desk card
22. strongly flew into
23. creepy get me on
24. lewd mint at
25. fisherman clot
26. win by aroma
27. alfresco mugging
28. roomful pelt poet
29. northernly batted bee
30. cartwheels score nil
——————————————————————————————————————-
31. Hot he tied
32. Greatly hop it
33. Dreadnought Pong raid
34. Humid coma nuts
35. Dish Gin

Posted in Blog | 1 Comment

The Snowman’s Lament

Posted on December 15, 2012 by garylongden

snowman

Winter is my favourite time ,
Otherwise I just melt away into the background,
And although I am always a little tubby in the middle
And can never see my feet, it’s neat
Being a Snowman.

It’s just the way I am made, it’s genetic you see,
Just down to tradition ,
Not the Maccy D,
Or whiskey,
I’m strictly water only.

I always dread the placement of the carrot.
It should be for my nose, but just suppose
They put it somewhere else……………
It causes particular embarrassment you know,
If they choose to put a baby carrot, well , “down below”.

As for my dressing, well I wish I could modernise
Get Gok wan in perhaps,
But when the cry goes out “accessorize”
All I get is a scarf, a hat, and maybe some coals for eyes.
It’s not very chic ,in any sort of guise.
Sunglasses are a bad omen, for too much sun
Makes my complexion begin to run,
Resulting in my demise, then, that’s your lot,
All that’s left of me on your grass, a sorry white blot.

Rpm Mem (Kubla Khan- slight return)

And when those remembered sounds come , what do we hear
Instruments, chords, voices and arrangements
Or faces and places parties and engagements
I heard funky weekend last night drifting ,teasing calling
And I at once remembered Keith’s drunken caterwauling
Of the same song
Almost forty years ago
It does that to you, one tune, a thousand memories

The album cover was as big as a coffee table book
We would gaze, stare and look,
(Sometimes it was used for a coffee table, If we didn’t like it)
At the artwork, the credits, who was in the band
Those in the studio who had given a helping hand
Then there were lyric sheets to help you read along
So you could sing out aloud, before you even knew the song,
And couldn’t get the words wrong, because they were there, in front of you

When they were not, you were in trouble, I worried for some time about Bonnie Tylers’ breakfast problems with her hard egg.

The vinyl was tangible. It was big. It was circular. It felt complete.
You started on the outer groove, and twenty minutes later you knew it had finished – by a scraping, booming noise
You had no choice
But to get up and – turn it over
Unless you wanted to skip tracks, which was usually unwise
As to do so you needed the eyes
Of a wartime precision bomb aimer
Able to release the needle ,with finger and thumb, over exactly the right point over a moving target travelling at 33 and a third revs per minute

Sometimes the boom of impact was followed by a reassuring silence
Other times there was the embarrassment of missing the intro, or worse still the dying chords of the previous song, or even worse still, you had counted the wrong number of wide grooves and you would have to turn around for another sortie
To hear your desired melody.

But like the Dambusters, like 633 squadron, like Guy Gibson, the elite got it right, first time.
It was rumoured that by playing certain Ozzy Osbourne records backwards there were secret messages from hell
But with Ozzy, forwards, or backwards, it was difficult to tell.
You could buy them anywhere as well
Newsagents, Woolworths, Debenhams and Boots,
All stocked Toots , and the Maytalls, their back catalogues in full,
There was no supermarket cull ,of just the top 20
With listening booths for youths, where you could ask to hear a song first
To enliven your thirst,
For what was new, or just because you wanted to hear it
Which is what I used to do,

I would try to impress the counter girl in the company dress
With my musical taste but it was always a waste,
She had heard it all before, it was what happened in store
All the time- and she didn’t like music anyway, well she liked David Cassidy and the Partridge family, which meant that she didn’t like music anyway, I guess, and the company dress looked awful, a thought I had tried to suppress ,as I had tried my best, to impress, but made a mess, I confess, of my advances to the girl in the company dress.

It didn’t need to make sense either, Jethro Tull were thick as a brick
Genesis had the Trick,
Of the tail
Tales from topographical oceans was a window on an unseen world
Zeppelin’s stairway hurled
You into another place, carried by John Paul Jones bass

A damsel with a dulcimer in a vision once i saw
It was an Abyssinian maid
And on her dulcimer she played, singing of Mount Abora
Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight ‘twould win me
That with music loud and long
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! Where Frankie said “Relax”
Just do it, they were the facts
Those caves which Foreigner told, were cold, as ice!
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
Plants flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For we on honey-dew hath fed
And drunk the milk of Paradise City
Where the grass was green, and the girls were pretty,
Where the Doors of perception open to allow the crystal ship
To sail every day from an internet you tube clip

Posted in Poems | 3 Comments