Dead Good Poets – March 2009 Diary

Wednesday 4th @ 8pm – DEAD GOOD POETS SOCIETY OPEN FLOOR. 24 spaces of five minutes for you to perform your own poetry. New poets always welcome as are new audience members! Old poets and audience also welcome! In fact, EVERYONE’s welcome. The 3rd Room, Everyman Bistro, Hope Street, Liverpool. Arrive early to book a performance slot. Compered by Peter Crompton £3 / £2

Friday 6th @ 7.30pm – SLAMbassadors poetry slam semi final. Stop, look and listen to the sound of young Great Britain! In a time when perceptions of young people are distorted by relentless bulletins of gun and knife crime, in a climate where young people are questioned about their respect for society and for themselves, SLAMbassadors UK, Britain’s only online slam, gives young people in London and Liverpool the opportunity to have their say – and say it their way. You can see the cream of Liverpool’s young lyrical talent battle it out to reach the London Final and perform alongside spoken word artists Curtis Watt, Nikki Blaze and internationally acclaimed Dub Poet Levi Tafari, who is also judging the contest. The Blackie, Great Georges Community Cultural Project), Great George Street, Liverpool, L1 5EW. Places are FREE but LIMITED so please book a ticket in advance. Call Jess at Writing on the Wall on 0151 703 0020

Friday 6th: 6.30pm -9pm: Merseyside Polonia! An event celebrating British and Polish culture: debate, poetry, food, information. Venue: the Academy of St. Francis of Assisi (by Newsham Park), Gardner’s Drive, Liverpool L6 7UR. Free.

Sunday 8th @ 8pm – Launch of UNSUNG, new poetry magazine plus Open Mic. Venue: The Thirsty Scholar,Manchester. £2 – pay on the door. Contact unsung.machester@gmail.com for more details.

Monday 9th @ 8pm – The Bards of New Brighton Open Mic Poetry event – friendly and fun! Venue: the Magazine Pub, Magazine Brow, New Brighton, Wirral. Free.

Wednesday 11th – Words Alive! An open mic night for poets, writers and singer songwriters. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or already more established. Whether you want to perform or just sit in the audience everyone is welcome. The Citadel, Waterloo Street, St Helen’s. £2 / £1

Friday 13th @ 7.30pm – Half Evil Poetry & Acoustic Night with Cayn White, Gordon Zola, Pete Crompton and musician Julie Booth. Plus Open Mic. MCed by Jeffarama
The Blue Boar, Deansgate, Bolton

Saturday 14th: 2-4pm – DEAD GOOD POETS SOCIETY POETRY READING GROUP. No poetic experience required, just a sense of enquiry. The Hornby Room, Liverpool Central Library, Liverpool. Refreshments provided. Free.

Sunday 15th @ 8pm: Write Out Loud’s super-friendly Read Around. Poetry Open Mic open to all! The Howcroft Inn, Pool Street, Bolton. £1

Wednesday 18th @ 8pm – DEAD GOOD POETS SOCIETY GUEST NIGHT. Tonight we celebrate the poetry of Edmund Cusick with the award of the first Avalon Prize for poetry, a competition established in his memory. So, lots of poems, readers, poetry and film. The 3rd Room, Everyman Bistro, Hope Street, Liverpool. £3 / £2

Thursday 19th: 9pm – 11pm: Wirral Ode Show, open mic poetry event hosted by the glamtastic Jason Richardson. Stork Hotel, Price Street, Birkenhead. Free.

Saturday 21st @ 2.30pm. World Poetry Day will be marked by US Soldier-poet, Brian Turner, and Thingumjig Theatre. Brian will read from his award-winning book Here, Bullet which is full of haunting poems written during his time in Iraq. Using evocative puppets and live music, Thingumajig Theatre will perform scenes from A November Day, the story of a First World War survivor’s unexpected encounter with a stray dog who knew no boundaries. Developed in association with the Imperial War Museum North and performed by Kathy Bradley and Andrew Kim. The Whitworth Gallery, Manchester. Visit www.poetsandplayers.co.uk for more details

Friday 27th: 7.30pm – 9.30pm. Cipher – Liverpool Young Writers. In this inspirational showcase, Liverpool Young Writers present a dizzying array of talent in an evening of writing, rhyme and music, supported by 1EXTRA favourite, Young KOF and a surprise special guest. This unmissable event is hosted by Liverpool’s very own queen of hip-hop, Nikki Blaze. The Performance Space, Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool. Tickets are free, but book in advance to reserve a seat.

Monday 30th March @ 8pm: Write Out Loud at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton. Open Floor spots themed around “friends”. Come a little early to book a slot. £3

OPPORTUNITIES

TOP TIPS FOR WRITERS

* * * Would you like to find out details of publishing opportunities, performance venues, workshops and courses?
For FREE friendly on-the-spot appraisal and advice bring examples of your writing – stories, poems, scripts – to The Writing Advice Desk at
Childwall Library, Childwall Road, Liverpool 15 6YG.
Poet and short story writer Dinesh Allirajah will be at the Writing Advice Desk at
Childwall Library from 5.30 to 7.30pm on Wednesday 4th March 2009.
Dinesh Allirajah founder member of Asian Voices, Asian Lives. Dinesh has featured on BBC Radio Merseyside, BBC TV’s Network East and on Radio Four’s Loose Ends. His short story The Prisoners was broadcast on BBC Radio Four. Dinesh has also been guest on British Council tours in Bangladesh and Nigeria. He currently teaches creative writing at University of Central Lancashire.
Publications include A Manner of Speaking (Spike, 2004)
For further information contact WINDOWS PROJECT 0151 709 3688

* * * Manchester Poetry School Workshop with Brian Turner. Sunday 22nd March, 2-4pm. Ring 0207 582 1679 to book a place. £56 (£37 concs) including lunch at The Poetry School, 163 Palatine Rd, Manchester M20 2GH.

* * * Flax is looking for vibrant and arresting new poems

Flax 018 will present some of the best new poetry from the North West of England.
If you think you’re writing it, then please send up to 200 lines. These could comprise of separate poems, poem sequences, or a complete long poem.
We are accepting email submissions between 18 March – 15 April 2009.
Please read the full submission guidelines on http://tinyurl.com/c7apjj before sending any work

Previous Flax anthologies are available as free downloads from the same website, if you’d like to get a feel of what we have published in the past.
Flax is committed to the professional development of the writers it publishes and offers a bespoke service to support the needs of each individual writer.

Contact sarah.hymas@litfest.org for more information.

* * COMPETITIONS * * *

* * * Poetry for Mugs | Closing Date: 15-Mar-09
Details: For poems with the title ‘My Cup of Tea’. The winning four poems will be published on mugs to celebrate the opening of Bank Street Arts in Sheffield. Poems should be a maximum of 9 lines, with no more than 40 characters per line.
Entry Fee: £0. Please send entries by email to prize@bankstreetarts.com
Website: www.bankstreetarts.com

* * * Queen Mother Memorial Poetry Competition | Closing Date: 30-Mar-09
Details: Format: 3 verses, 3 lines per verse, 10 words per line. Founder and originator: Kumbi Johnson. Entry Fee: £1 per poem. Contact: 19 Westbourne House, London SW1W 8SJ. Website: royalpoetrycompetition.googlepages.com
Email: kumbi.johnson@googlemail.com

* * * David Burland Poetry Prize 2009 | Closing Date: 31-Mar-09
Details:For poems of up to 40 lines in either English or French. Maximum of three submissions per author. Judge: Michel Francois. First prize £150.
Entry Fee: £5 for the first poem, £3 for additional poems
Contact: Anna Burland Services Limited, 2nd Floor, 3 Brindley Place, Birmingham B1 2JB Website: www.michel-francois.com

* * * Diversity House (Excel for Charity) International Poetry Competition 2009 | Closing Date: 31-Mar-09
Details: For poems of up to 40 lines. First prize £150. Judge: Geoff Stevens
Entry Fee: £3 per poem or £12 for 5 poems. Contact: Website/Entry Details: www.easternlightepm.com/excelforcharity/diversityhouse_poetry2009.html
or www.easternlightepm.com

* * * 3rd Annual Ted Walters International Short Story and Poetry Competition 2009 | Closing Date: 31-Mar-09
Details: For poems of up to 40 lines and for short stories of up to 2000 words. Judge: Linda Walters. First prizes: £200.
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 3BB. Email: thomas.mcbride@sky.com

* * * Buxton Poetry Competition 2009 | Closing Date: 01-Apr-09
Details: For poems on the theme of Stone. There are three categories – Open Category for poets over 18 yrs, Young People’s category for poets aged between 12 and 18, and Children’s category for poets aged 11 and under. All entries must be posted with a completed application form. The 2009 judges are Fleur Adcock and Michael Schmidt.
The open category prizes are £300, £200 and £100. The Young people’s and Children’s prizes are book tokens. Entry Fee: £5 per poem for open category. Young people’s categories free. Contact: To get a copy of the form by post please contact claire@buxtonfestial.co.uk (or tel 01298 70395) or visit www.derby.ac.uk/buxtonpoetrycompetition to download a form from 9th October.