The Dead Good Poets Society Liverpool Poetry Slam was a great success, with 18 poets rhythm’n'rhyming for the Slam Champion crown. In 1st place, Angry Sam, new to Liverpool from Brighton. In 2nd place, Nat Clare a DGPS regular, and in 3rd place came Peter Compton, a natty dresser and equally natty poetic ranter. Runner up was Clare Kirwan, with the Judges’ special award going to Debbie Morgan.
The evening was such good fun that later on this year we will be giving you another chance to perform at our GLAM poetry night – poetry and (wait for it) DRESSING UP! With satin sashes awarded to the winners – sheer perfection! Watch this space for further details…
Many events this month come courtesy of the Writing on the Wall Festival. So much going on it’s impossible to list everything (plays, short story conference and competition, audiences/debates with Tony Benn, Blake Morrison, Stephen Poliakoff and more), so for full details please go to their website www.writingonthewall.org.uk
MAY’S DIARY
Wednesday 7th @ 8pm – Dead Good Poets Society Open Floor. 24 performance slots of 5 minutes for you to perform your own poetry. Compered by the ever elegant John Leyland. The 3rd Room, Everyman Bistro, Hope Street, Liverpool 1. £1.
Saturday 10th April: 2pm-4pm Dead Good Poets Society Poetry Reading Group. Two hours in which to discuss and debate poems! This month we’re asking you to bring poems you remember from school or other significant moments in your life. The Hornby Room, Liverpool Central Library. Refreshments provided. Free.
Sunday 11th May @ 8pm Doin’ Moon – Doin’ Moon is the story of Scorcha’s journey of hope through changing and challenging landscapes and relationships after imprisonment; experiences that engage. entertain and expose raw emotion. A new fusion of spoken word with cello, vocals and cajons, provide a platform for this unique heart-warming narrative, Doin’ Moon fuses two artistic disciplines in a way rarely explored before. The Magnet, 45 Hardman Street, L1 9AS. £5/£3 on the door
Monday 12th@ 8pm – Come Strut Your Stuff. Poetry and music open mic hosted by Graham and Nick, with Stan the Harper. The Egg Cafe, Newington, Liverpool (down the side of Rapid Hardware). Free.
Monday 12th: 7.30pm-9.30pm Liverpool Poetry Cafe, featuring the launch of Between Fields and Stars by the late and much missed Edmund Cusick, with readings by his friends, colleagues and students. Costa Coffee, Bold St, Liverpool. All welcome!
Tuesday 13th May: 6.30pm – 8.30pm Poetry Pool Launch. This celebration for the launch of Poetry Pool 4 is open to all. The event will be a mixture of readings from the anthology by new voices and well-known poets from across the UK. Published by Headland and the LJMU Centre for Writing. The Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BX. Free
Friday 16th: 7.30pm – 9.30pm Manky Poets presents Janet Fisher reading from her collections Women Who Dye Their Hair and Listening to Dancing. Janet, along with Peter Sansom, established The Poetry Business in Huddersfield. There will also be an Open Mic. Chorlton Library, Manchester Road, Chorlton M21 9PN. £2 / £1
Saturday 17th April: 11am-1pm Dead Good Poets Society Poetry Reading Group, meets at Bebington Library, Wirral. More good natured poetical debate hosted by Janine Pinion. If you would like to receive copies of the poems in advance, please telephone Sarah on 0151 709 5221. Free. Refreshments provided.
Saturday 17th – Readers’ Day at the Brindley Arts Centre – talks, discussions and workshops with writers, editors & poets including Rebecca Goss, Chris Routledge, Ella Jolly, Jane Davis, Caroline Smailes and more! Tickets cost £20 (£15 concessions/£12 income support and leisure card) and can be booked via the Brindley Box Office on 0151 907 8360.
Saturday 17th May @ 8pm: John Cooper Clarke & Attila the Stockbroker
Two legendary names equals one brilliant event! John Cooper Clarke, aka the Bard of Salford, and Attila the Stockbroker, rock ‘n’ roll rebel poet, will come together to bring you one night of sharp-tongued, hard-hitting, full-voltage, stand-up poetry. Stanley Theatre, Liverpool Uni, Students Guild,160 Mount Pleasant, L69 7BR Tickets £10/£8 available from The Base, Students Guild Mon – Fri 9am till 5pm Tel: 0151 974 6868 or for online booking visit www.lgos.org
Sunday 18th @8pm – Write Out Loud’s Read Around. Friendly and relaxed open mic at the Howcroft Inn, Bolton. £1 donation. For directions www.writeoutloud.net
Tuesday 20th May @ 7.30 pm: In the Red 6 Poetry Magazine Launch
The editors of In the Red invite you to the launch of the 6th edition of the JMU literary magazine with a night of live readings of poetry and prose. The Magnet, 45 Hardman Street, L1 9AS. Free
Wednesday 21st @ 8pm Dead Good Poets Society Guest Night: Gerry Potter creator of Chloe Poems dresses down and appears as himself. His new body of work unveils a more autobiographical voice. Journeying through an extraordinary life and experiences, very different in tone and presentation to his gingham alter ego, Gerry uses his Scouse voice to conjure the spirit of a very real Liverpool and argues that it has always been a city of culture. Supported by Sophie McKeand. The 3rd Room, Everyman Bistro, Hope St, Liverpool 1. £3 / £2/ £1 pay on the door.
Thursday 22nd: 7.30pm – 9.30pm Liverpool Poetry Cafe: Patience Agbabi & Seni Seneviratne. In 2004, Patience Agbabi was named as one of the Poetry Society’s ‘next generation’ poets. Her first collection won the Excelle Literary Award. Her work, influenced by rap rhythms and wordplay, is often a commentary on contemporary Britain, and draws inspiration from popular forms of music. Seni Seneviratne is a writer, singer, photographer and her performance is a delicate mix of spoken word and folk/jazz song that creates a poetic landscape of family, love, loss and memory. Both poets will read from their latest work.£5 / £3 concs pay on the door.
Friday 30th May @ 7pm: Grime, Big Beats & Rhyme with Liverpool Young Writers, Sway, Skinnyman and Young KOF, hosted by Nikki Blaze Liverpool Young Authors & Poets perform alongside UK hip-hop and grime artists. The New Picket, 61 Jordon Street, L1 OBW. £6 on the door or £5 in advance from the Philharmonic Hall box office, Hope Street, Liverpool L1 9BP. Tel: 0151 709 3789. All ages welcome.
Saturday 31st May @ 7.30pm: Pub Crawl with Niall Griffiths Real Liverpool could leave your head reeling! Writer Niall Griffiths (Grits, Kelly & Victor, Stump) launches his latest book, Real Liverpool, and leads a cast of writers, playwrights and actors taking you on a tour de force journey through literature, laughter and lager (or bitter, if you prefer). Five pubs, ten performers, and maybe a couple of pints along the way: not to be missed…hic! Meet 7.30pm at Peter Kavanagh’s, Egerton Street, L8 7LY £6/£4 To book a place call WoW on 0151 703 0020,
Opportunities
Check out The Poetry School’s website for courses that will improve your writing. Their website is at www.poetryschool.com or telephone 0845 223 5274
For example, on Saturday 31st May in Manchester, there is an all day workshop with Penelope Shuttle themed Giving Sorrow Words: “giving voice to our grief helps us understand our experience.”
Kudos, formerly Competitions Bulletin lists umpteen competitions, local, national and international. For further details of how to subscribe, including a free downloadable issue, go to www.kudoswriting.wordpress.com
Arts In The Peak – Writers Sought Deadline: 09 May 2008
Arts in the Peak is looking for poets and artists living in and around the Peak to work collaboratively on designing companion stones to the Derbyshire guide stoops. There will be a fee of £550 each for artist and poet for each stone designed. For full details go to www.artsinthepeak.co.uk.
Competitions
Poetry on the Lake 8th International Poetry Competition | Closing Date: 12-May-08
Categories: 1.Silver Wyvern – max.60 lines, theme ‘Colour’, Adjudicator: Jo Shapcott. 2. Short poems – max.10 lines, open theme, Adjudicator: Penelope Shuttle. 3. Formal verse – max.40 lines, open theme, Adjudicator: Michael Swan. Prizes: Silver Wyvern Award + £400; £100; £50 x 2 Short & Formal: each £50 + designer bowl
Entry Fee: £5 for one entry, £12 for three entries, £20 for six entries, then £3 per poem
Contact: Poetry on the Lake, Isola San Giulio, 28016 Orta NO, Italy
Website: www.poetryonthelake.org Email: poetryonthelake@yahoo.co.uk
Virginia Warbey Poetry Prize 2008 | Closing Date: 19-May-08
Details: For poems of up to 40 lines. First prize £800. Judge: Gillian Clarke.
Entry Fee: £3 per poem and five poems for £12 Contact: CFW Poetry, PO Box 474, Eastleigh, SO50 0AN Website: www.poetrypf.co.uk
Indigo Dreams Press Booklet Competition 2008 | Closing Date: 30-May-08
Three Winners will have an A5 Booklet (to 44 pages) of their poetry printed and each will receive 50 copies. Submission: Selection of 10 to 15 poems Length: Poems to be maximum 36 lines. Entry Fee: £15 per block of poems Contact: Cheque payable Indigo Dreams Press and entries to Indigo Dreams Press, 8 Reynolds Court, Hildersley, Ross-On-Wye, HR9 7NE. Please email any queries to indigodreamspress@tiscali.co.uk or sae for reply to above address. Full details/email/overseas entries visit www.indigodreamspress.co.uk
Frogmore Prize 2008 | Closing Date: 31-May-08
For poems of up to 40 lines. Adjudicator: Clare Pollard. The winner of the Frogmore Poetry Prize for 2008 will win two hundred guineas and a two-year subscription to The Frogmore Papers. Entry Fee: £2 per poem Contact: The Frogmore Press, 42 Morehall Avenue, Folkestone, Kent CT19 4EF
The 2nd Annual Ted Walters International Short Story and Poetry Competition 2008 | Closing Date: 31-May-08
For poems of up to 40 lines and for short stories of up to 2000 words. The University of Liverpool Creative Writing Society for Lifelong Learning will donate £1 from each and every poem and short story entered to the Macmillan Cancer Support. Judge: Linda Walters Entry Fee: £3 for the first entry, £2.50 for subsequent entries
Contact: Mr Tommy McBride (Group Secretary), The University of Liverpool Creative Writing Society for Lifelong Learning, 50 Onslow Road, Kensington, Liverpool,
Merseyside L6 3 BB Email: thomas.mcbride2@sky.com
Comma Press present