DEAD GOOD POETS SOCIETY – March 2008 NEWSLETTER
Wow! The opening night of Liverpool’s Poetry cafe was packed out! Costa’s staff were in shock, never imagining that so many people would be interested in poetry. Seriously, it is wonderful to see poetry invading the city like this, new events, new venues.
Liverpool’s Bluecoat Arts Centre reopens on Saturday 15th March with a packed programe of literature and poetry events, so looking forward to that, but the icing on my cake this month comes courtesy of DGPS favourite, Clare Kirwan, who came second in the pretigious Féile Filiochta International Poetry Prize (over 4000 people entered). Ah, to think we knew her when she was only writing limericks…”There once was a girl from Westy Kirby…” On that subject, a copy of the DGPS Poetry Anthology to the person who finishes that limerick in style. Get them to me by Wed 5th March and I’ll read them out at the Open Floor. Many congratulations to Clare, and happy reading, writing & listening to the rest of you.
Best wishes, Sarah Maclennan
DIARY- March 2008
Monday 3rd @ 8pm: Come Strut your Stuff – Poetry & acoustic music night hosted by Graham & Nick, with Stan the Harper. The Egg Café, Newington, between Bold St & Renshaw Street, Liverpool. Come early to book a slot. Free.
Tuesday 4th March @ 3.30pm-3.45pm: BBC Radio 4 Liverpool Locations
Series of stories by writers with a Liverpool connection, inspired by the city’s famous and forgotten places as it marks its year as European Capital of Culture. Prisoners by Dinesh Allirajah. A chance meeting at the Prisoners statue on Exchange Flags causes Ruby to see things from a very different point of view. Details of the week-long series of short stories, also featuring work by Beryl Bainbridge, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Ray Connolly and Paul Farley, can be found at this link (click on Radio 4 and scroll down to Afternoon Reading): http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/radio/wk10/mon.shtml
Wednesday 5th @ 8pm: DEAD GOOD POETS SOCIETY Open Floor. Twenty-four 5 minutes slots for you to perform your own poetry. Doors open 7.30pm. Come early to book a reading slot. The 3rd Room, The Everyman Bistro, Hope Street, Liverpool 1. £1.
Wednesday 5th March @8pm. Women’s Poetry Open Mic at The Casa, Hope Street. Women will read their favourite women writers or perform their own work in max.10 min slots. Themes, as part of a week of IWD reflection and celebration are aspects of women’s lives: local and international; personal and political. Men are welcome to attend: to listen, clap and throw money into the collection!
Thursday 6th – World Book Day – Liverpool Reads! launch at Liverpool Central Library @ 6pm. Keeper by Mal Peet will be the focus book with 10,000 copies to be distributed free on
6th March 2008 from Liverpool Libraries – a coupon will be printed in the Liverpool Echo on 6th, 7th, and 8th March which can be exchanged for a free copy of the book.
The novel tells the story of El Gato – the Cat – the world’s greatest goalkeeper – how he, a poor South American logger’s son, learns to become a World Cup-winning goalkeeper so good he is almost unbeatable. Mal read and answer questions. Light refreshments will be served on a first come first served basis at 6pm and the event starts at 6.30pm prompt. Tickets are now available for collection only for FREE from four Liverpool Libraries: Central – William Brown Street, Childwall – Childwall Five Ways, Walton – EveredAvenue, and Allerton – Allerton Road. Please contact Liverpool Reads if you have
any queries: 0151 794 2291.
Thursday 6th @ 8pm Whatchusayn? Poetry & Music Open Mic at Django’s Riff Bar, Wood Street, Liverpool. Also featuring the Drink & Draw workshop with free pens and paper – a great night. Free.
Saturday 8th 2-4pm: DEAD GOOD POETS SOCIETY Poetry Reading Group @ The Hornby Room, Liverpool Central Library. A chance to discuss 4 poems chosen by guest poet, Gladys Mary Coles. If you would like to receive copies of the poems in advance, please contact Sarah on 0151 709 5221. Refreshments provided. Free.
Monday 10th: 7-9.30pm Poetry Café: John Redmond & Deryn Rees-Jones
A chance to hear two fantastic award-winning poets. Costa Coffee, bottom of Bold St, Liverpool. Free.
Wednesday 12th @ 7.45pm – International Womens Weeks Celebration, featuring poets from the Dead Good Poets Society, Women for Arts in Palestine & Culturepool. 3345 Club, Parr Street, Liverpool. For further details go to www.merseysideiwd.org.uk
Friday 14 & Saturday 15th @7.30pm – The Long Walk, an inspiring musical journey in response to the Morecambe Bay tragedy of 2004. A new commission from Pete Moser & poet Lemn Sissay. The Great Hall, at Cornerstone, Haigh Street. For tickets and information contact The Liverpool Philharmonic on 0151 709 3789
Saturday 15th: 11am – 1pm DEAD GOOD POETS SOCIETY Poetry Reading Group @ Bebington Library, Bebington, Wirral. For advance copies of the poems, please contact Sarah on 0151 709 5221. Free. Refreshments provided. All welcome.
Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th – 10am onwards. The opening weekend of Liverpool Bluecoat Arts Centre after a £12.5 million refurbishment, featuring music, live literature & lots of poetry. Dead Good Poets Society regulars will be performing on Sunday, late afternoon. Some events are free, some ticketed, so please check www.thebluecoat.org.uk or phone 0151 709 5297 for full listings.
Sunday 16th: 1pm-2pm Tom Paulin The Secret Life of Poems. What makes a poem beautiful? Poet & critic Tom Paulin examines the inner workings of a number of famous and lesser known poems. Copies of the poems will be distributed to the audience. Tickets £5/£3. Booking details as above.
Sunday 16th @ 8pm:Write Out Loud Read Around – popular, friendly Open Mic. All are welcome, beginners especially so. Howcroft Inn, Pool St, Bolton.
Entry: £1 donation requested. Check www.writeoutloud.net for directions.
Wednesday 19th @ 8pm. DEAD GOOD POETS SOCIETY Guest night featuring Jacqui Dunne & Trace reading from their new collections. Trace is a writer who turned to poetry to reveal his darkest moments. This Panopticon Life is a response to his experiences of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder a quarter century after fighting in the Falklands conflict in 1982. Trace examines what it felt like as a young man, to be part of that conflict and the difficulties of coming to terms with civilian life after leaving the Marines. ‘Butterfly in a snowstorm’ is Jacqui’s first collection, and features a variety of subjects from nature
and politics to parenthood and the female dilemma. Jacqui has been writing and performing poetry for some time, more recently gaining an MA. The 3rd Room, Everyman Bistro, Hope Street, Liverpool. £3 / £2 / £1 – pay on the door.
Wednesday 19th March 2008 SHANGRI LA! Poetry and cabaret comes to Prestwich. Starring Performance Poet, Tony Walsh, Bumpkin Rap Stars – Delicate Hammers, Acoustic Songstress – Sophie Barrett, Stand Up Comedy – John Cooper, Vinyl Geeks – Chilliman and Smith. Venue: Prestwich Church Institute, 368 Bury New Rd, Prestwich Village M25 1AR First act on stage 8pm, £3 www.theshangrila.co.uk
Thursday 20th: 9-11pm Wirral Ode Show Poets – open mic at the Stork Hotel, Price St, Birkenhead. Free Entry. Contact jasonrichardson69@hotmail.com for more details.
Monday 24th March – 5th April – Words Festival 2008, Leigh & Wigan. Numerous word-full events – check www.wlct.org/festivalfever for details
Wednesday 26th @ 8pm. Rosie Lugosi Unwigged! Rosie Garland – writer, performer, singer. Rosie has an eclectic writing and performing history, ranging from singing in 80’s Goth band The March Violets,
to her current incarnation as Rosie Lugosi the Vampire Queen, electrifying performance poet,compere and singer. As well as three solo collections of poetry (Hell and Eden, Coming Out
At Night and Creatures of the Night) her short stories, poems and essays have been widely anthologised. She has won both the Alternative Oscar for Performance Artist of the Year and
the Diva Awards for Solo Performer. £5 on the door. Venue: Little Fifteen, Wigan
Thursday 27th: 7-9.30pm – Liverpool’s Poetry Café
Jo Bell (Cheshire Poet Laureate 2007 & Director of National Poetry Day) & Robert Sheppard will be reading from their collections. Costa Coffee, Bold Street, Liverpool. Free
Thursday 27th: 8:30pm – 10:30pm Open Floor Poetry Extravaganza at The Tudor Hotel, New Market St, Wigan. Do YOU Write Out Loud? Here’s your chance to share YOUR poems with a
packed Tudor House audience that will really appreciate your writing. Free.
Saturday 29 March @ 12:00pm – The Poetry Picnic, Pennington Flash picnic area.What could be more enjoyable than an afternoon in the open-air with convivial company,
plenty of food, good company and poetic words floating to your ears.Throughout the year Leigh and Atherton Writers have held poetry picnics, which have been very popular and successful. The first picnic was at the Words ’07 Literary Festival but quickly became a regular feature throughout the year. Please bring your own food drink and poems from your favourite poets.
Wear suitable shoes and clothes.FREE
* Opportunities*
Writing workshops
Last Saturday of every month in the bar at Southport Arts Centre, Lord Street, Southport 12 noon to 3pm. No experience necessary. For more information call Sefton Arts Development on 07792258413 Or email: Kate.Gorst@leisure.sefton.gov.uk Or just come along on the day!
Litfest Prison Residencies
To work with offenders to produce new writing, audio recordings & artwork to be broadcast on BBC Radio Lancashire, exhibited across the county & online throughout 2008. Litfest want to recruit 6 writers to take part in an initial training & development programme to both equip them with the skills & understanding to work in prisons, & to develop a model for working collaboratively with visual & sound artists. Writers will be selected from this initial programme to work on the residencies. Bursaries & travel expenses available to attend the training & development sessions & writers fees for those working on the residencies. Please apply with a CV and covering letter that includes statements about why you are interested in working with offenders (150 words) & your ideas about working collaboratively (150 words), along with: 6 poems OR 1000 words prose (if this is from a novel please also include a synopsis of the novel with your submission).Deadline for submission: 5.00pm 14 March 2008 Interview date(s): 2 or 4 April 2008 catherine.sadler@litfest.org
Saturday 8th March The Small is Beautiful Writers’ Day 10.30 am – 4.30 pm
Huddersfield Town Hall, Ramsden St, Huddersfield HD1 2TA
£7.00 – (includes buffet lunch and drinks). Writers’day, where writers share the secrets of their success & explain how to get published by a small press. Non-fiction, children’s verse, poetry & short fiction workshops led by Ian Clayton, Gaia Holmes, Chrissie Gittins & James Nash. This event is part of the ‘Small is Beautiful’ project funded by Arts Council England & Kirklees Libraries. Contact Sarah Jackson for a booking form. Event information: sarah.jackson@kirklees.gov.uk, or call 07973 315 082.
Tuesday 11th March -Better than Prozac? Can words heal? Writer Lisa Ward and A.I.M. – (a radical arts organisation based in Huddersfield) think so. Explore the idea that
creativity is an aspect of mind which can heal and empower you, in this practical and inspiring workshop.10.00 am – 12.30 pm Room LS109 Lockside Building, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH £5.00/£3.50 (includes light
Notes from the Underground is a new creative writing freesheet that launched last December in London. Publishing short fiction, cartoons, original illustrations as well as arts based non-fiction. A print run of 100,000 copies are distributed in London, on the Eurostar, in over 100 four and five star hotels around the South-East, 100 art galleries in London as well as in Waterstones and Blackwells around the country.The submission guidelines are very open. Longer short stories up to a maximum of 1800 words, Stories written in 20 minutes, Very short stories of only one or two sentencesPoetry, Travel writing. Deadline: 30 Mar 2008.Check www.notesfromtheunderground.co.uk for details
* Competitions *
The Manchester Poetry Prize 2008 First prize: £10,000 Deadline for entries: 1st August 2008The Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University is launching The Manchester Poetry Prize – a new literary competition celebrating excellence in creative writing. The Manchester Poetry Prize is open to writers internationally, and will award a cash prize of £10,000 to the writer of the best portfolio of poems submitted.
In addition, a bursary for study at MMU will be awarded to an entrant aged 18-25 as part of the Manchester Young Writer of the Year Award. Eligible entrants are asked to indicate on the entry form if they would like to be considered for the Manchester Young Writer of the Year Award in addition to the main prize. Entrants are asked to submit a portfolio of poetry (three to five poems; the total length of the portfolio should not exceed 120 lines).The poems can be on any subject but must be new work, not published elsewhere.
Fee £15. Further details: http://www.hlss.mmu.ac.uk/english/writingschool
Birkenhead Park Poet 2008 Could you write a poem about Birkenhead Park?
Could you be our Birkenhead Park Poet for 2008? Birkenhead Park Gallery is hosting its first poetry competition over the forthcoming Easter holidays – from 15th March until 6th April.11am to 4pm daily Poems on the theme of Birkenhead Park are invited from everyone. Winners will be selected by public vote by visitors to the Gallery in the Birkenhead Park Pavilion Visitor Centre. The winning entries will be published by the park. Three Categories, Acorn for under 11’s; Sapling for 18’s and under; Oak for over 18’s Please deliver your poem to the centre any day up to 30th March, (submissions before 13th March will have priority if space is short) Each Poem must fit on one side of A4 paper, and be unpublished More information is available from Birkenhead Park Pavilion Visitor Centre, tel 0151 652 5197.
KUDOS (Competitions Bulletin) features news items and information about markets, outlets and opportunities for all kinds of writing. One subscriber alone has scored a 1st, 3rd and 2 x Runner up within a matter of months, while the winner of a recent prestigious competition entered only after finding out about it in these listings. Or is it the competition which is putting you off? Sticking to the rules improves the odds no end; most judges will tell you, around 50 per cent of entries get disqualified straight off. Details of around 250,000 pounds in prize money each issue. At least 50 competitions for poetry, around 40 for short stories. Plus collections, anthologies, playwriting, non fiction, books etc Only 2.50 per issue and you may subscribe as and when, 1, 2, 3 etc. or save time and postage with subs for a year, 6 issues: 15 pounds Cheques payable to Carole Baldock: 17 Greenhow Avenue, West Kirby, Wirral CH48 5EL carolebaldock@hotmail.com www.kudoswriting.wordpress.com
Slipstream Poetry Competition | Closing Date: 31-Mar-08
Details: For poems up to 60 lines. Theme: Crossroads. Judge: Susan Skinner. 1st Prize £100, 2nd prize £75, 3rd prize £50, plus £25 prize local West Sussex poet.
Entry Fee: £3 per poem, 4 poems £10 Contact: Mandy Pannett, 5 Collingwood, Pulborough, West Sussex RH20 2JE