Stanza News
July
* A warm welcome to Sean Cable, our new Stanza rep in Romford.
* Many of our Stanza reps are involved in the Poetry Society centenary celebrations.
* Many of our Stanza reps and Stanza members can also be found on our Facebook page and on our Members' Profile pages.
* The 2009 Stanza Poetry Competition is open for entries! Theme is 'Villains'. Open exclusively to Stanza members who are also Poetry Society members.
Aberdare
Bath
Birmingham
Bradford & Leeds
Bridport
Cambridge CB1
Cambridge CB2
Cornwall - Camelford
Cornwall - Penzance
Devon
Dorchester
East Anglia
Edinburgh
Falmouth
Forest of Dean
France
Goring
Guildford & Woking
Hertfordshire (North) / Poetry ID
Highlands & Islands
Isle of Wight
Italy
Kent & Sussex Poetry Society
Kent (North West)
Lancashire (Pennine)
Leicestershire South
Lincolnshire (Louth)
London East
London (Harrow, Herga Poets)
London (Highbury & Islington)
London North
London South East
London South West (Barnes)
London South West (Brixton, Streatham)
Ludlow
Lymington
Manningtree women's group
Milton Keynes, Beds & Northants
Norfolk
North West (FY & PR)
Nottingham
Oxfordshire
Plymouth Waterfront Writers
Portsmouth & Havant
Second Life
Southampton
Spain Alicante, Murcia & Valencia
Spain Mar Menor
Stoke
Switzerland
Teesside
Twickenham
Wales (North)
Wales (North East)
Yorkshire (North East & Riding)
Aberdare - Aeron Elias Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* South Wales Valleys Literature Development Officer will be at our next meeting (2nd July) to see what support she can give to the "Alun Lewis Evening" on September 17th. I can now confirm that John Pikoulis will open the evening with a talk on the Poet.
* We are also producing some T Shirts with our Aberdare Stanza Logo for us to wear during the Aberdare Summer Festival. I am sorry to say some of us will not do them justice.
* 17 September at 7pm. The Aberdare Stanza aim to hold an evening celebrating the local born (Cwmaman) war poet Alun Lewis. This evening will consist of a talk by a university authority on Alun Lewis. Poetry Readings and Music (Welsh Harp) will follow the talk. Refreshments will be provided. Cynon Valley Museum & Gallery. Depot Road, Aberdare, Mid. Glam.
Bath - Nikki Bennett-Willetts Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Poetry Society centenary events in Bath.
* We meet on the second Wednesday of the month, except December. 'Uni-Verse' - a lunchtime poetry group that celebrates international poets and poetry. Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, 16 –18 Queen Square, Bath. 12.30 – 14.00. Drinks available, bring your own snack, sandwiches. Bring a poem to read either in translation or in the original with summary, or come to listen only. Each event hosted by Nikki Bennett. Visitors £2; Members / Students £1 Tel: 01225 312084 / www.brlsi.org/ / e: admin at brsli.org.
Wednesday 8 July
David Francis - poet & songwriter, from New York, USA
‘His poetic world of contemporary romance flowers in my imagination… Poems sows introspection; the musical riffs seed emotions…’ (Eve Hanninen, editor, The Centrifugal Eye). David Francis will read from Poems and new verse published in the UK and the USA. 12.30-14.00pm. Soft drinks provided. Please bring your own sandwiches.
Wednesday 9 September
Duncan Tweedale on Georg Trakl
Wednesday 14 October
Nitasha Kaul making a return appearance
Wednesday 11 November
Chinese Poetry Yu Yan Chan and Caroline Heaton
Wednesday 9 December
Anne Armitage – Twentieth Century Russian Poe
* Professional Development Surgeries: Poetry Can offers free professional development surgeries for poets in the region. These will be available on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. To book a surgery call Colin Brown, Director of Poetry Can, on (0117) 9330900.
* Literature South West www.literaturesouthwest.co.uk - Please visit this website if you are involved in literature in the South West. We hope you find the website useful.
* Visit Poetry Can's website for details of events happening in the South West www.poetrycan.co.uk/
Birmingham - Jacqui Rowe Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* We meet at the Selly Park Tavern, Pershore Road, Birmingham on the 3rd Monday of the month, 7.30 to 9.30.
* MAKING POETRY WORKSHOPS in Birmingham www.jacquirowe.com/page6.htm
* Blue, a collection of poems by Jacqui Rowe, out now from Flarestack www.flarestack.co.uk
* 21st July – Poetry Bites at the Kitchen Garden Cafe with Luke Kennard www.jacquirowe.com
Bradford & Leeds - Bruce Barnes Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Poetry Society centenary events in Yorkshire.
* Saturday July 4th - Page to Stage event at the Bradford Playhouse, 4 Chapel Street, Bradford BD4 (tel 01274 820666). This event is a script in hand showcasing of new work by the students on the Snowgoose new writing course- so please come along and lend your support and critical appreciation to these new writers! The event starts at 7.30pm and is followed by a discussion involving audience, director, actors and writers. The cost is £5.
* Kipling, Curry & Yorkshire. Celebrating Rudyard Kipling and his roots. His life and poetry, and his remarkable father John Lockwood Kipling. 7.30 pm. Monday 6 July, the birthdate of Kipling's remarkable father, John Lockwood. The Cross Keys Inn, Otley Rd, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 2JR. Tickets will be priced between £10 and £15 and will be available shortly. More information will be shortly available at www.bradwan.co.uk. Glyn Watkins is a Bradford based poet, writer and performer and has been: 'Bard of the Red Beard' at The Ginger Family Festival at the National Botanic Garden of Wales; 'South Milford’s Poet of Fete'; Sustran’s 'Lost Line Poet' at Queensbury; The Ilkley Festival Uncut Fringe; and creator of ‘J.B. Priestley and Pie’ and ‘Curry and Kipling’ nights.
* The Albert Poets, SECOND THURSDAY OF EVERY MONTH FROM 8PM - ADMISSION FREE. Thursday 9th July 2009, 8:00 at the Albert Hotel (next to Huddersfield Library): Neil Clarkson; Rachel Davies; Andrew Rudd Andrew. albertpoets at live.co.uk. The Albert Poets are now on Facebook.
* 'MEET AND MAKE WORD MUSIC' is a private, online poetry meeting place. The site provides an opportunity for sharing, debating and exploring human expression through poetic form. Initially set up for members of the Poetry Society Brighton Stanza, the site is now being opened up, by invitation only, to poets worldwide. There is no cost involved - it is purely a poetry community - and is a great place to showcase your writing, creative initiatives, poetry festivals, workshops, or any other wonderful ventures you may be involved in. Members submit poems and ideas on a monthly basis for others to offer commentary and support. If you would like me to send you and/or your Stanza members and invitation, please let me know - it would be good to have you on board. With warm wishes: white_wonders at btinternet.com - Elaine Ruth White.
* Lake District Writing Retreat 17 July - 23 July 2009. www.theasianwriter.co.uk OR shaikhf AT hotmail.com
Perfect for any writer looking to get away from the humdrum of every day life, meet other writers, and get down to some serious writing all in the beautifully inspiring Lake District. All writers, of any ability are welcome, to serious established writers, to those who are just starting out on their writing journey.
All rooms have an ensuite, with shower and w/c -for your convenience they are shared rooms (twin beds/bunks), please state a preference of twin/bunk. Individual bookings for the full week, all inclusive are just £200. If you would like a room of your own, you will need to pay for a double room at £400. (Please note however accommodation may be subject to change)
Full programme and menu will be fixed once I have enough people signed up and at the ready! For those who are unfamiliar with the area, its one of the most beautiful surroundings in England, famous for the home of William Wordsworth, and Beatrix Potter. Our cottage is located not far from Windermere.
If you need any more information please drop me an email. Group bookings and shorter breaks within these dates may be eligible for discounts so please ask.
So whether its the poetry by the lake that inspires you, or a mountain retreat, join us on this wonderful journey.
If this isn't for you, don't forget your fellow writers and share this email with your group or networks,
Look forward to hearing from you, Farhana Shaikh.
Bridport - Carole Buchanan-Browne Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Poetry Society centenary events in Dorset.
* Bridport Stanza have now been meeting regularly for the past two months. We have now moved from reading poems that we both like and dislike to reading a selection of our own poems. We have been halfheartedly attempting "homework" inspired by an article in poetry news (I believe) that suggested writing poems based on a favourite word. To spice things up a little we then placed the words into a saucer and picked a random word. This proved to be a challenging task. I ended up with the word "smile", which to avoid cliches emerged as a sad poem.
Cambridge (CB1) - Helen Mort Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* No news this month.
Cambridge (CB2) - Ronald Westbrook Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* The Shelford Poetry Circle (which I lead) meets one afternoon a month. If any local PS members would like to come please contact me.
Cornwall (Penzance) - Howard Phillips Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Poetry Society centenary events in Cornwall.
* Stanza meets on the 1st Monday of each month at Penzance Arts Club in Chapel Street, 7pm. Please come along and bring a poem to share with the group. Why not bring a friend?
* The next Stanza meeting is at Penzance Arts Club on Monday July 6th at 7pm
* Gerald Hull, Penzance Arts Club Chapel Street Penzance TR18 4AQ. Thursday 2nd July 2009. Poets welcome to read on the night at 7pm. Gerald Hull 01736 810728 Poetry Society Stanza Penzance 01736 366567. An evening of Poetry and acoustic music. Gerald Hull has recently moved to the area from Northern Ireland and was recently featured on Radio Cornwall. Gerald will also be reading at the Poetry Festival in Ireland this year. He will be reading from his second major collection of poems. Also Music by Malcolm Star and poetry by Nick Round. Poets welcome to read on the night. Admission free.
* Wednesday 26 August 11am to 4pm. Poetry Society Centenary celebrations. Relax... enjoy a poetry day in the stunning setting of Trengwainton Garden. Poetry readings, workshops, book signings. For all the family! Garden open 10.30 to 5pm. Tea room open from 10am. Situated near Madron, Penzance TR20 8RZ. Normal admission charges apply. Tel: 01736 363 148. In association with the National Trust. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-trengwaintongarden
Cornwall North - Helen Wood Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* See www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/events/ for details of Poetry Society Centenary events in Cornwall.
Saturday 25 July, 10.00 am to 4.00 pm at Trebah Gardens
Part of the Great Trees of Cornwall Project to celebrate the Poetry Society's Centenary, sponsored by the Tanner Trust, Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership, and The Poetry Society. This workshop will include lots of study of notable trees at Trebah, with writing exercises as well as consideration of tree poems by other poets (do bring along one you've discovered). If you attend the March workshop, you'll be able to study the contrast and tensions between late winter trees and how they change to the full glory of summer.
Devon - (ExCite Poetry, Exeter area) Rachel McCarthy Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Fantastic Launch event on Friday 5th June at the Devon and Exeter Institution, sold out venue of 50+, guest poet Greta Stoddart. Open mics have been a roaring success - every second Thursday of the month at local retro junk shop 'Otto Retro' allowing people to talk about their poetry and encourage others.
* This Friday 3rd July, ExCite is hosting a book launch and open mic with local press Oversteps at the Exeter Pheonix Arts Centre, 7.30pm, tickets £5 / £3 conc.
* Workshops - one with all-round writer and tutor Roselle Angwin in July and one with Julie-ann Rowell, who teaches Poetry at the Universtiy of Bristol. See www.rachelmccarthy.com/Welcome/stanza for full details.
Dorchester- Pam Zinnemann-Hope Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Poetry Society centenary events in Dorset.
* The readings to celebrate the Poetry Society Centenary will take place at Max Gate on September 11th & 18th & at the Charmouth Heritage Centre on Oct 2nd. Please visit the Centenary Events section for details & how to reserve a ticket. Hope to see you there!
* The summer workshops are now over but there will be more workshops in the autumn, details soon.
* Graham Fawcett is coming to Dorchester on Saturday Nov 28 with Dante’s Dramatic Journey Part 1 – an introduction to and close reading of Dante’s Inferno. Please visit his website for details & how to book: www.grahamfawcett.co.uk
East Anglia Coast & Brecks (IP, CO & NR) - Fred Ellis Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* See www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/events/ for details of Poetry Society Centenary event at Sutton Hoo.
* This Stanza, that covers a wide area, works with other regional poetry groups to ensure that all of our members have access to live poetry.
* East Anglia is well served but even so we have organised no less than three new Poetry Cafés in the last year! This brings to four the number of Cafés that are supported jointly with Suffolk Poetry Society. These four cover the County of Suffolk and are to be found at Halesworth, Woodbridge, Sudbury and Bury St Edmunds. Though each of these venues has a unique flavour they all share a common approach to promoting Good Poetry, Well Spoken and for this reason they are moderated readings rather than Open Mike. The atmosphere is informal and the audiences attentive. Readers from all parts of East Anglia come to give voice to new pieces, and value the work of fellow poets.
Edinburgh - Stephanie Green Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Stephanie Green is the new Stanza rep. Contact details to follow soon.
Forest of Dean - Jean Brodie Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* No news this month.
France (Vergongheon, Auvergne) - Jim Barron Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* No news this month.
Goring - Mary Williams Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Our Stanza meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 7.30pm - 5 Summerfield Rise, Goring - to discuss any poems you may have written recently. Everyone welcome. We enjoy the poems we read together, making suggestiions for each other's work. We discuss with interest new ideas as they come along. We are only a small group but enjoy our meetings, we don't pretend to be experts, but make giving helpful comments about each others efforts our priority.
Guildford & Woking - Sharyn Owen Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* No news this month.
Hertfordshire (North) / Poetry ID - Richard Copeland Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Poetry Society centenary events in Hertfordshire.
* We meet regularly each Thursday at 7.30 pm at the Settlement, Nevells Road, Letchworth Garden City - to write and have a read-round of new work. Richard Copeland's website: http://richardcopeland.wetpaint.com/.
* Please note that the Letchworth Settlement will be closed from the 17th July to the 17th August for the Summer Recess, so during this period, Poetry ID will be somewhat itinerant. For further information during this period, contact Richard Copeland.
* Poetry Society members might like to know that a CD of Poetry ID members reading their work is now available for the princely sum of £5 (not a lot). Entitled 'Renshi', the entire proceeds of sales will be donated to the North Herts Branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. They can be ordered from Phil Ilsley at The Cottage by the Church, Weston, Herts SG4 7DJ or email p_ils AT yahoo.co.uk.
* As part of the Letchworth festival, North Herts Stanza Poetry ID will be presenting an evening of poetry and music at the Letchworth Arts Centre, Leys Avenue on Thursday the 30th July from 7.30 - 10.00 pm. Admission is £3.00 on the door and the event will feature readings by members of the group, plus two musical interludes. The venue is situated above the Three Magnets pub and is accessible via the arcade.
Highlands & Islands - Maggie Haggith Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* No news this month.
Isle of Wight - Edmund Matyjaszek Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* See www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/events/ for details of Poetry Society Centenary events on the Isle of Wight
* 2009 is the Centenary Year of the Poetry Society, founded in 1909. The Poetry Society is the major national organisation for those who read, write, and love poetry. It is an independent charity, owned and run by its members. It has over 60 nation-wide "Stanzas" or local groups. The Isle of Wight was one of the founding stanzas in 2005. A schedule of events and activities to celebrate the Centenary will be circulated later this month, including the first Isle of Wight Open Poetry Competition "Island Voices".
* Loft Poets meet 10.30 am every Wednesday in Ryde Town Hall. The Council Chamber, Ryde Town Hall, Lind Street.
Italy - Alessio Zanelli Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* No news this month.
Kent & Sussex Poetry Society - Clive Eastwood Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Our link-up with the National Trust in June was a great success. Almost 40 people turned up at Sissinghurst Place to hear a superb reading by James Fenton accompanied by birdsong. The hospitality of the N.T. was much appreciated. A new programme of events will begin in September, details available by mid-August. Poetry Society centenary events in Kent and Sussex.
Kent (North West) - Anne Stewart Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Kent North West Stanza meets at 8pm in The Two Doves, 37 Oakleigh Road, Bromley Common, Kent, BR2 8HD, a friendly 'local' pub, with a conservatory space separate from the main public house. Street parking near the pub and in the streets behind it. Bring a poem, can be your own, if you have one you'd like included in the discussion.
* Meantime, here are all the other meeting dates for 2009:
Oct Thurs 8 (National Poetry Day)
Nov Tue 17
Lancashire (Pennine) - Theresa Robson Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* The Pennine Lancashire Poetry Society Stanza meets at 7.30pm on the second Wednesday of the second month at the New Inn, Parson Lane, Clitheroe. The Stanza is open to Poetry Society members only.
* Wednesday, September 9 2009
- Talk (subject and speaker to be confirmed).
- Workshop - please bring several copies of one of your poems for circulation.
Leicestershire South - Charles Lauder Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* South Leicestershire meetings - where thoughts about poetry and related matters are shared - are held on the third Saturday of the month upstairs at Waterstone's in Market Harborough at 2pm.
* July's meeting has had to be cancelled but the next meeting dates are:
August 15
September 19
All are welcome to bring a poem to discuss (6 copies is usually good) - either one they've written or one they admire (or even hate!).
Lincolnshire (Louth) - Christopher Sanderson Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Louth Poetry Group meets the last Thursday of the month, 7.30pm at 30 Victoria Road.
www.louthpoetrygroup.lincolnshirewritingcentre.co.uk/
or writers AT lincolnshirewritingcentre.co.uk or 01507 600 064.
* We would like you to know about our new poetry pamphlets website which you can see at: www.freepamphlets.poetryshop.co.uk/. Lincolnshire is a beautiful county, but it is geographically vast yet populatory miniscule. We therefore need to find a way to extend our communications beyond the tread of tyre. The poetry pamphlet site is one small step. We hope you would care to read, and better still to contribute your poetry.
London East - Jenny Shepherd Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* We had a good meeting on Sunday 28 June, with a new member, John Tufail joining us. We spent part of it in the garden for the first time ever, but sadly, we were driven indoors by a shower of rain...
* Our next meeting will be on Sunday 26 July at the usual time and place, being 4:30pm at my house.
London (Harrow, Herga Poets) - Dorothy Pope Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* In June, Herga Poets gave two public readings. The first, on the 9th, was to an audience of about ninety carers and the people they care for. The second was on the 20th at a local church who are having a day to welcome all in the community.
London (Highbury & Islington)
* No news this month.
London (North) - Katherine Gallagher Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* See www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/events/ for details of Poetry Society Centenary events in Osterley Park and House.
* We are continuing to meet at Hornsey Library for discussion and critiques of our poems on the first Friday of the month.
London (South East) - Jocelyn Page Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* No news this month.
London (South West - Barnes) - Kavita Jindal Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* See www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/events/ for details of Poetry Society Centenary events in Osterley Park and House.
* The London South-West Stanza meets one evening a month for an informal workshop session. We welcome new members to the group.
* As part of the Poetry Society Centenary celebrations this Stanza is organizing events at the beautiful National Trust property Osterley Park.
August 30 and September 27: Poetry workshops as part of the property’s Family Days. An introduction to poetry for all ages. Readings, tasks and critique for those who want to write a poem on the day. Workshops coordinated by the Barnes Stanza and joined by Katherine Gallagher from the North London Stanza.
This is a free event for National Trust members. For non-members, the poetry workshop is included in the entrance fees on the day.
For more details on these events check the Centenary Events link on the Poetry Society’s website.
London (South West - Brixton / Streatham) - Wendy Dyer Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* We're a relaxed group. Our Stanza meets monthly on the first Wednesday of every month. Reading and discussing both published works and our own material. Brixton Hill SW2, 8pm to 10pm - contact 020 8671 0107 for more details. Newcomers welcome.
Ludlow
* See www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/events/ for details of Poetry Society Centenary events in the Ludlow area
* In the National Trust’s Dudmaston house near Bridgnorth, Shropshire another, smaller group of us has installed a poetry display in the old kitchen (now an ‘activities room’), again with invitation and opportunity to write.
Lymington - Keith Bennett Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* No news this month.
Manningtree women's group - Sally Festing Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* The Manningtree Stanza group continues to hold workshops at fortnightly intervals. Poetry Workshops will be at 10 Central Maltings, Kiln Lane, Manningtree, CO11 1HR.
Milton Keynes, Beds and Northants - Mark Niel Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Poetry Society centenary events at Stowe Gardens.
* Our group meets every 3 months - all welcome.
* Poetry showcase at the Poetry Cafe: as a Stanza, we can hold our own Poetry event (or share a night with other Stanzas) at the Poetry Café for very little cost. We do have to bring enough people in to keep the bar busy. This is something we can think about for the future. The Café is based at 22 Betterton Street, London - near Covent Garden.
* Please let me know of any local poetry events and I’ll add them to the diary. I hope to see you at the next Stanza meeting or one of these events soon!
* First Tuesday of month Northampton Edge of Town Pub Ripping Pages
* First Tuesday of month Coventry, Tin Angel Pub Night Blue Fruit
* Second Sunday, every 2 months - Milton Keynes, MADCAP Tongue in Chic
* Tuesdays London, Poetry Café Poetry Unplugged, 22, Betterton St Covent Garden
* First Friday of the month Quaker Centre, Downhead Park, MK - Speakeasy Writers Group Reading for feedback.
Norfolk - Martin Figura Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* We are also attenders of Café Writers, a live literature event in Norwich that packs in 50 to 100 people every month. Last month we had readings from our competition winners along with Penny Shuttle and the new Faber poet Emma Jones. We meet on the second Monday of every month.
North West (PR & FY) - Kate Eggleston-Wirtz Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* There is a poetry group who gets together for open mic at Borders Books in Preston on the 4th Monday of every month, but they have recently lost their leader. We are checking this out and seeing if they wish to be involved with our group in some way.
Nottingham - Richard Goodson Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* No news this month.
Oxfordshire - Mike Kavanagh Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* We meet with a workshop format e.g. each poet reads and we keep to one poem each; we then go around the circle and everyone has a chance to comment one by one; I'll time everything so we don't run out of time; the poet stays silent during the comments, but is given a chance to respond, clarify, ask questions, etc. at the end. If you can manage it, please email your poem to me for circulation to the group prior to the meeting which will give people a bit more time to digest it. Otherwise, please bring 7 copies for the night.
Plymouth Waterfront Writers - Godfrey Ackers Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Poetry Society centenary events at Cotehele.
* Four of us gave readings at Cotehele as part of the Poetry Society centenary celebrations on Wednesday 3 June. It was a splendid day, and we settled in the shade of a noble tree on a manicured grass bank over-looking the lily flowering pond. There was a captive group of ten or so visitors on the lawn beside us, and I addressed them with the usual opening spiel about anniversary celebration etc. at the end of which one of them stood up and said apologetically that they were all German and would not be able to understand! Worth a cartoon: the man who... However the rest of the afternoon went well, with a few listeners who stopped a while, plus two who stayed, one of whom was a visiting Philipino lady who wrote children's verse for their equivalent of Children's Hour. They took Poetry Comp entry forms. Next meeting is scheduled for July - after Wimbledon.
Portsmouth & Havant - Maggie Sawkins Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Poetry submissions are invited for a forthcoming anthology of Portsmouth poems. For guidelines please refer to tongues & grooves website - www.tongues-and-grooves.org.uk
Second Life Stanza - Adele Ward Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* There was great excitement when a New York Times journalist visited Second Life to see a replica of the Chelsea Hotel, the well known haunt of poets and musicians. We gathered together to put on an impromptu poetry reading to give the Chelsea Hotel the right bohemian atmosphere and you can see how a virtual poetry reading looks here www.pookymediafilms.com/2009/04/poetry-at-hotel-chelsea.html Some Stanza members are up there on stage, and so am I but my microphone packed up!
* We were delighted when our Stanza was featured in Poetry News and the group continues to meet every Wednesday at our Writers’ Circle at 10pm. This is a good time for international members to get together and read out or listen to others, with about twenty or more usually attending. The Writers’ Circle has fiction as well as poetry and anything read can also be published on our website which gets about 20,000 hits per month, so people do have the satisfaction of being heard and read. www.writtenword.org.uk
* Members have asked for workshops and so we’ve revived the Just Poets online workshop on www.communigate.co.uk/london/justpoets The message board on Just Poets has been going for about eight years and its now active again with poems being posted for feedback. The standard of the poetry and the quality of the feedback certainly makes it worthwhile. One of our members, who goes by the name of Klannex, is on Just Poets and is also an active reader at live events in London and on Second Life.
* Occasionally we have poetry competitions with a choice of book or equivalent cash prizes, and over the past month we ran a contest for the best poem on the theme of London. It coincided with the launch of my own poetry collection Never-Never Land and I was pleased when the winner chose to take a copy of the book rather than the cash (my colleague Peter Chowney was sure they’d opt for the money!) The winning poem was a wonderful one by the very talented Stanza member Jayne Dunsmuir and it can also be seen on the Written Word website on the competitions page.
* We have always had a link to the Poetry Archive by touching a poster of Andrew Motion in our Poetry Stanza Oast House (our virtual HQ) and were a little saddened when his very active term as Poet Laureate ended. The arrival of Carol Ann Duffy was cause for celebration though, and we have set out more books and links to their work, plus a link to U A Fanthorpe who will be missed. We would love to see other Stanza members from various groups on Second Life and also on the Just Poets message board.
Southampton - Con Connell Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* We meet regularly, on the fourth Wednesday of the month, at the Art House Cafe in Southampton. We also have a poetry 'open mic' - Moving Voices - on the third Friday of every month, also at the Art House. Members (and everyone else!) always welcome.
Spain (Alicante, Murcia & Valencia - Christopher North Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Members of the Liceo Poético de Benidorm (www.liceopoeticodebenidorm.com) attended a reading of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath's poems and prose written in and about Benidorm by Christopher North, Anne Griffith and Huw Griffith at La Seu Benissa and as a result have offered a bilingual collaboration celebrating the Benidorm poems and Prose of these two poets next June in Benidorm itself.
* August 16th poets Terry Gifford and Christopher North will be giving a bilingual reading of their work at the Casa de Cultura in the village of Sella (christopher at oldolivepress.com for confirmation of start time etc) - a preview of their forthcoming bi-lingual joint collection: 'The Other Side of Aguilar'
* Mimi Khalvati will be running a course at the Almassera Vella starting August 29th - but as I write there are no spaces available. John Hartley Williams returns to Almassera to run a 7 day course 'Get Your Writing Moving' starting September 12th, Gerard Benson arrives October 17th to run a course 'Poetic Know-how and Poetic trance' and Gwyneth Box will chair a one week bilingial workshop looking at poetry and translation starting October 31st. Further details www.oldolivepress.com.
Spain (Mar Menor) - David Urion Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Stanza Mar Menor has taken off better than we could have anticipated. We have 13 members on our list and usually have around 10-11 at our writing workshops or poetry readings alternate Wednesday mornings in San Javier. Our members come from Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Hungary, England, Malta and Zimbabwe, and have brought a wealth of experience and diverse poetry interests that have helped our meetings to be fun, informative and inspiring.
* The group seems to have bonded well and we have planned writing sessions and excursions to take us up to the end of June 2009 - so we can assume that the sessions are interesting enough to have stimulated interest within the members to want to continue coming!
* We have received free use of premises to hold our sessions from the local youth department and this in turn has enabled me to put some of our members in touch with the coordinator there to sign up and join a language exchange project between Spanish and English speakers that I have been part of for a while.
* A personally useful by-product of our local publicity to attract Spanish poets to our group has been contact from a Catalan poet who visits our area each weekend and saw our leaflets in the local library. He presented me with a signed collection of his fantastic work and introduced me to other Spanish poets and readings that I was previously unaware existed. I have recently been to a lively reading and book launch by 3 Catalan poets who have their own radio programme in Barcelona and also been invited to take along our members to attend creative poetry writing workshops in Spanish run by the University of Cartagena each month. Slowly but surely we are finding our feet and making a name for ourselves and most of our newer members seem to be coming from referrals from existing members. I can say that I´ve enjoyed attending every session we´ve done so far and Wednesdays can´t come around fast enough as they bring so much pleasure.
Stoke - John Williams Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* The next meeting of the Stoke Poetry Stanza will be on Tuesday, 21st July starting at 7.30 pm. in the meeting room of the Leopard pub, 21 Market Street, Burslem.
Switzerland (Geneva) - Emily Bilman Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* In our informal July meeting, we will be deciding how we'll proceed for next year's meetings. We will be planning how to contact and collaborate with other English writing groups her e in Geneva. Anyone who wants to join in from the UK is welcome.
Teesside - Andy Croft & Maureen Almond Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Teesside stanza is organising a reading at Ormesby Hall, outside Middlesbrough, on 9 July. The first half of the event will be a reading by local members of the Poetry Society. The second half will be a reading by the distinguished US poet Frank Reeve (father of the actor Christopher Reeve) supported by two jazz musicians. If the event is successful, Ormesby Hall hope to run a Summer arts festival in 2010, which will include several contribitions from Stanza members.
* See www.poetrysociety.org.uk/content/events/ for details of Poetry Society Centenary events in the Teesside area.
Twickenham - Judith Watts Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* The Twickenham Stanza now has 17 active members. We meet to workshop every second Monday at Langton's Bookshop, Church Street (which has a great poetry section). Members have recently read at Rhythm & Muse in Teddington (www.rhythmandmuse.org) and TheTroubadour. We hope to plan a poetry al fresco session for the spring. Contact Judith at poetrypassion AT live.co.uk
Wales (North) - Daffni Percival Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Due to the big distances between people in this area, I have started an email list on Yahoo for the Stanza for members to post their poems and read each other's work. We already have two up there. The link is northwalesstanza AT yahoogroups.com. Membership for posting is open only to Stanza members but anyone can read.
Wales (North East) - Cross Border Poets - Robbie Burton Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* The second meeting of Cross Border Poets will take place on Monday 13th July at 7.30pm in the Haydn Rees Room, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold. This session will be devoted to the reading and feedback of members' work. There'll also be an opportunity for members to discuss involvement with Cadwyn Clwyd’s ‘Sense of Place’ project and its potential for using poetry as a means of enhancing the NE Wales area for visitors and the local community alike.
Yorkshire (North East & Riding) - Paul Stanley Contact this Stanza Top of Page
* Are you interested in becoming part of a touring group? If so, get in touch with me.
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