Monthly Archive for March, 2008

Dead Good Poets Society – April 2008 Diary

Published on March 31, 2008 in Dead Good Poets. 0 Comments Tags: , .

April is the month of the Poetry in the City Festival, so lots of opportunities for you to perform, listen, write – maybe even all three? DGPS hosts the annual Liverpool Poetry Slam on Monday 21st April in The Casa on Hope Street. Cash prizes and the coveted Slam Champion Shield to be won. This year the winners will be paid to represent Liverpool in the Bristol Slam at The Arnolfini in September, so well worth dusting off your best poems! Places to perform will be awarded on a first come basis, and if oversubscribed, names will go into a hat.
Also Wirral is holding its first ever literary festival – Wirral BookFest – between 7th and 12th April with more than 20 events around the borough. Highlights for writers include Writing for TV workshop, multicultural events and readings from top authors including Brian Jacques, Mike Gayle, Jojo Moyes and Jenny Colgan. Throughout the week there will be an exhibition of poems from Wirral Ode Show linked to photographs by Wallasey Amateur Photographic Society. More info at: www.wirral.gov.uk/bookfest – and keep checking because more events will be announced.
Excuse the lack of competitions and opportunities in the newsletter – I shall forward some onto you all seperately next week. Hope you all have a poetry-packed month!
Best wishes, Sarah Maclennan

APRIL’S DIARY… Continue reading ‘Dead Good Poets Society – April 2008 Diary’

Heart Beats Rhyme and Roll Poetry Night

Published on March 31, 2008 in Events and PIC Festival 2008. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Heart Beats

Heart Beats event for Poetry In the City

Tuesday 15th April, 7.30pm, the Bluecoat, School Lane
£3/£2 concessions

Heart Beats Rhyme and Roll Poetry Night in collaboration with Poetry in the City presents an evening of Salt Poets.

Forward Prize nominee Eleanor Rees presents her 2007 collection, Andraste’s Hair: poems of myth, memory, folksong and murder ballad.

Jo Colley’s new collection, Weeping for the Lovely Phantoms, has received widespread critical acclaim with its “distorted landscapes infested with the manifold ghosts of the unresolved and unrequited”. Jo and Elly will be joined by Melanie Challenger whose first collection Galatea offers startling poems whose voice – resolute, compassionate, original – both celebrates and mourns the tensions of human nature.

Plus live music from one of Heart Beats’ favourite bands; swampy blues rockers Jewel Thief.

For tickets please visit www.thebluecoat.org.uk – or you can get them on the door

www.myspace.com/heartbeatspoetry

Come Strut Your Stuff – at Egg

Published on March 30, 2008 in Events. 0 Comments

Come Strut Your Stuff is an open-floor poetry and acoustic music night which takes place on the first Monday of every month at Liverpool’s Egg Café.

There are no microphones involved, and the audience listens with enthusiasm, making this an ideal event for anyone wishing to perform for the first time.

It is an entirely ‘open’ floor (anything goes), although the performance of original work is highly encouraged. In order to fit in as many people as possible poets have a time limit of five minutes, and musicians two songs.

The evening is hosted by Graham Holland and Nick Payne, and features Stan the Harper.

Come Strut Your Stuff takes place on the first Monday of every month. Occasionally (e.g. Bank Holidays) it moves to the second Monday.

The evening starts at 8.00 pm prompt. If you want to perform (and to be guaranteed a seat!) you need to arrive before this time.

Future dates are:-

2008
Monday 7th April
Monday 12th May (second Monday)
Monday 2nd June
Monday 7th July
Monday 4th August

http://www.comestrutyourstuff.co.uk/

The Liverpool Sonnet Walks

Published on March 29, 2008 in Events. 0 Comments

Sonnet Walks

THE LIVERPOOL SONNET WALKS

‘Poetry with its feet on the pavement and its head in the smoke. I love it.’
- Mark Rylance

Take a unique stroll through Liverpool’s city centre! As you follow our specially constructed route of many of Liverpool’s most beautiful buildings and historic spaces, you will encounter various actors cunningly disguised as members of the public who will enact short scenes that develop into renditions of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

The situations and emotions portrayed by Shakespeare’s poetry are part of everyday life. The Liverpool Sonnet Walks articulate this in the most immediate way – by placing the actors within our modern, vibrant city. This is a unique, interactive theatre experience designed to combine a celebration of Liverpool’s cultural heritage with an innovative, exciting way of presenting Shakespeare’s work to you as a 21st century audience.

Walks take place on the weekend of 26th and 27th April to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday. Starting at a central, secret location which your ticket will reveal, walks set off every 15 minutes from 1pm to 3.15pm, rain or shine. Secure your ticket now and join us for a 90 minute love affair with Liverpool and with Shakespeare’s poetry!

Tickets are very limited and available only in advance at ‘News from Nowhere’ on 96 Bold Street (Full price £10, Concessions £7) and through online charity auctions – please click here for happy bidding!

The Lodestar Theatre Company

Poetry in the City 2008 – Details

Published on March 19, 2008 in PIC Festival 2008. 0 Comments Tags: .

Poetry in the City 2008 April 14-26 (Updated April 2nd)
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Monday April 14
Twentieth Century Blues by Robert Sheppard

Robert Sheppard has been described as being “at the forefront of the movement sometimes called ‘linguistically innovative poetry’”. He has also published works of criticism, including The Poetry of Saying (2005) and Iain Sinclair (2007). He is Professor of Poetry and Poetics at EdgeHill University in Lancashire.

“Twentieth Century Blues offers an entirely new way of thinking through the nightmare intersection of history, ethics and desire…. What emerges is nothing short of a re-education of the reader’s desire, constantly turning from the said to the saying. Courageous and unstinting, Sheppard writes with terrifying authority.” ─ Scott Thurston

Bluecoat Chambers

Tuesday April 15 Continue reading ‘Poetry in the City 2008 – Details’

Dead Good Poets Guest Night – Wed March 19 2008

Published on March 19, 2008 in Dead Good Poets. 0 Comments Tags: .

Wednesday 19th March @ 8pm
The 3rd Room Everyman Bistro, Hope Street, Liverpool 1

£3 / £2 / £1 – Pay on the door.

Jacqui Dunne and Trace Currall launch their new poetry collections.

Jacqui Dunne is a Liverpool performance poet with a Celtic and European background. She regularly reads her work, which covers a wide range of issues from politics to the female dilemma. Jacqui recently gained an M.A. in Writing Studies.  Her work has been aired on the BBC and published on line and in journals and anthologies. “Butterfly in a Snowstorm”, her first collection, contains poems that explore form, time and place.

“This Pantopticon Life” examines and makes sense of Trace Currall’s experiences during the Falklands Conflict. His poetry is challenging and uncomfortable at times, but his ultimate message is one of resolution and hope.

I hope you can join us at the launch of these books. Signed copies will be available to purchase on the night.

Writing On The Wall Festival 2008 – Details Announced

Published on March 19, 2008 in Events. 0 Comments Tags: .

Writing on the Wall are delighted to announce that the full WoW Festival Programme (including Pulp Idol writing competition details) is on the website: www.writingonthewall.org.uk

Most tickets available in advance are now on sale at the appropriate venues.

If anyone is interested in volunteering during the festival month, please do contact us (contact details below).

We hope you will agree that WoW 2008 is an eclectic, vibrant and exciting month of events. Feedback on the programme is most welcome.

Best Wishes,

Madeline Heneghan and Janette StowellTel: 0151 703 0020

Address: Mission Hall
36 Windsor Street
Liverpool
L8 1XE

Website: www.writingonthewall.org.uk

Oceans of Stories Short-Short Story competition

Published on March 17, 2008 in Events. 0 Comments

Oceans of Stories Short-Short Story competition

As part of 2008’s Oceans of Stories‚ Short Story Conference, hosted by Edge Hill University and Liverpool John Moores University, there is a competition for a short story on the theme of Ocean of Stories.
Entrants are free to make use of this phrase in any way they wish, and write in style or genre. The maximum word limit is 500 words, and there is a winning prize of £50 for the best story.
The best stories will also be read at Hemingway’s Cafe on 9 May as part of the Liverpool WOW Literary festival activities and as a prelude to the short story conference (see details below). The winning entry will be announced at this event.

Email, with the story as part of the body of the email and not as an attachment  a.j.stubbersfield@ljmu.ac.uk. The email must include a contact telephone number. No other information is required or expected in the email. Only successful entries will be acknowledged and successful entrants are expected to be available to attend the event on 9 May.

Friday 9th May

LJMU/Edge Hill Short Fiction Competition Night

As a prelude to the LJMU/Edge Hill Short Story Conference, successful entrants to the Oceans of Stories competition will perform their work.  6.30 – 9.00 p.m.
Hemingways, 52 Duke Street, L1 5AA
Free.  All welcome.

Saturday 10th May

LJMU/Edge Hill Short Fiction Conference present Helen Simpson

Be the first to hear this year’s shortlist for the LJMU/Edge Hill Short Fiction Competition.  Author Helen Simpson, one of the UK’s finest contemporary short story writers and receiver of the E. M. Forster Award in 2002 by the American Academy of Arts & Letters, will announce the shortlist and read a selection of her own work.

2.30 – 4.00 p.m.
Performance Space, The Bluecoat Centre, School Lane, City Centre, L1 3BX
£5.00/£3.00
Book Tickets on The Bluecoat website (www.thebluecoat.org.uk) or telephone the Bluecoat Box-Office on 0151 702 5324. Payment can be made on the door, but it is advisable to make advance bookings.

Liverpool Young Writers Project – Thurs Mar 13 08

Published on March 12, 2008 in Events. 0 Comments Tags: , .

WOW Press release

Writing on the Wall invites young people who want to be rappers, poets and performers to come and join their ‘Liverpool Young Writers’ Project, and put themselves in with a chance to perform alongside top UK artists in a final showcase in May.

Writing on the Wall is running a project aimed at helping 11-19 yr olds discover and showcase their talents, writing and performing their own material, based on exploring their identity and the city’s heritage.

Funded by the Heritage Lottery, the project runs a series of workshops and field trips designed to inspire creativity and help young people work on finding their voice, and understanding how to structure lyrics and poetry for performance and publication.

Young people will get to perform with national UK artists Sway and Skinnyman  The Picket on Friday 30th May 2008

The project invites newcomers along to a special mini-showcase where they can join up and get involved in this exciting programme of activities.

The mini-showcase, featuring local artist Young KOF, takes place on:

Thursday 13th March

6.30pm

Kuumba Imani Centre
4 princes Road
Liverpool L8.

For details contact Madeline Heneghan at the WoW office
Tel: 0151-703-0020
E-mail info@writingonthewall.org.uk

Writing on the Wall – Superheroes of Slam

Published on March 11, 2008 in Events. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Writing on the Wall & Commonword Presents
Dike Omeje Slam Poetry Award 2008
SUPERHEROES OF SLAM
The Quest for the Ultimate Slam Poet

Tour Host : The Legendary JULIAN DANIEL

3 minutes to rock or shock the mic
Judged by audience response & guest judges
Open to all poets, MCs & rappers performing acapella

Superheroes of Slam, the Dike Omeje Slam Poetry Award 2008, is the quest to find the ultimate slam poet with spoken word superpowers. The championship will comprise 6 Heats across the North West from February to March 2008 with the top 2 poets from each heat competing at a Grand Final on Wed 26 March 2008 at Frog & Bucket, Manchester. The Superhero of Slam Winner will receive a £200 cash prize and the Dike Omeje Slam Poetry Award, a 12 month writer’s residency at Commonword, the North West writing development organisation.

HEAT 5 – FRI 14 MAR – LIVERPOOL
THE CASA, Hope Street, L1 9BQ
Host – Curtis Watt, aka C Zero
8pm £5/£3 concs/£2 under 18s Box office & access details: 0151 703 0020
In association with WRITING ON THE WALL
To enter Heat 5, contact Segun Lee-French
0161 832 3777

www.writingonthewall.org.uk