There was a fantastic mix of words and music at Verse Matters in October. Shelley Roche-Jacques kicked off the evening with a lovely reading which explored the historical role of women writers. This was an apt opener, given the continuing inequalities in publishing, particularly for women, and for Black and Asian writers. In 2005 the Free-Verse-Report asked why so few …
Tag Archives: Performance
Poetry Out Loud: Performance and Publication in the Digital Age
Last night I took part in a fantastic event with Helen Mort, Malika Booker and Rommi Smith at the Chemic Tavern in Leeds. The event was part of the Debating the Book series, which includes a wide range of readings and talks across Yorkshire. It is an exciting year for poetry at the University of Leeds. The Poetry Centre has …
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Verse Matters – September
After another fantastic night in August, Verse Matters is back on Thursday 10 September with more talented artists. There’ll be fantastic poetry from the formidable Toria Garbutt (A Firm of Poets), beautiful music from Lou Richards and poetry from the wonderful Genevieve Carver (Paper Boat Poets). There’ll also be open mic performances from Iranian musician/ MC MoLi Nik (ASSIST), Katherine …
Poetry in Pudsey
I’ve never been to a poetry night in Pudsey before. But Poetry and a Pint at Cafe Lux seems to be going from strength to strength. A Firm of Poets have a residency at Cafe Lux, which is part of Pudsey Wellbeing Centre: a place where ordinary people are standing up and sharing their poetry with the …
A busy old weekend in Yorkshire
It’s a busy weekend in Yorkshire for poetry. Big ROMP kicked us off on Friday night in Rotherham with the usual warm welcome and fantastic poetry. Poets young and old read poems, and shared stories and beautiful acoustic music. I performed a couple of new poems: “Sweetest Victory” and “People inside People”. ROMP Anthologies are coming very soon, …
ROMP/ A Firm of Poets Workshop and Performance
Last Saturday (23 May), I headed to Rotherham for a workshop run by A Firm of Poets. Ralph Dartford put us through our paces before we performed as A Firm of Poet Associates. I performed “Wrinkly Bellies” (recording coming soon) alongside four other talented poets, including Kev Titterton, Liz Ferrets and Carol Eades. The main crew were amazing. Gav Roberts (ROMP) …
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Verse Matters: A Feminist Arts Event
We’re getting closer to going live with Verse Matters: a new feminist arts event that I am setting up in Sheffield. We’re teaming up with a fantastic new cafe at The Hide on Scotland Street where we’ll be running every first Thursday of the month from 7.30pm. Verse Matters provides a platform for poetry, spoken …
Pound a Poet
The South Yorkshire Poetry Festival kicked off last night with more than a splash of Henderson’s Relish at the Fat Cat in Sheffield. Four poets performed their work as part of Gorilla Events’ Pound a Poet. Sarah Chomasin’s set, which included “Misogynist Sandwich” jostled alongside some striking open mic performers, including Anamoli Meraki. The crowd was super supportive and there was …
Rachel Bower 