Oh, so much juicy news for you this month!
First of all, our next Words & Ears, on Thursday March 30th, will feature guest poets Charles Lauder Jr, assistant editor of The Interpreter’s House, and Jennifer McGowan PLUS a guest presenter in the shape of Stephen Payne (because I’m going to be waylaid until the interval). I’m so glad I can make it to half the event, because for one, I’m really looking forward to hearing Charles present some poems from his new pamphlet Camouflaged Beasts (out in April from Black Light Engine Room) – thrilled to say we’re the first date on his UK reading tour. Jennifer was part of Jo Bell’s 52 initiative, and has a new collection from Arachne Press, With Paper for Feet. See what the critics say about her work and hear her read here. Full details about the event below – open mic contributions welcome as always.
Meanwhile, I’m very excited to announce the fifth Words & Ears Poetry Competition, in association with this year’s Bradford on Avon Arts Festival. The competition, which is for a poem of 20 lines or less on the festival’s theme of Flights of Fancy, is offering a first prize of £500, plus £150 second, £100 third, seven Highly Commended places, plus a local prize for poets in the BA15 (Bradford on Avon) postcode area. Our judge is Carrie Etter, whose third collection, Imagined Sons, was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry by The Poetry Society. The closing date is July 30th 2017. For full rules and how to enter, simply go to the Bradford on Avon Arts Festival website, and follow the poetry competition link. Pay your entry fee (£4 one poem, £10 for three) on the site, then email your entry or pop it in the post. No entry form required.
And finally, we have an extra Words & Ears event lined up for you at the Greenhill Cottage Gallery, Southwick, near Trowbridge BA14 9PR, at 7.30pm on Easter Monday, April 17th. This will feature guest poet Rebecca Gethin, about whose new collection A Sprig of Rowan (Three Drops Press) Penelope Shuttle says: ‘We are taken on an elemental and magical journey rich in colour, close observation and lovely active language. A beautiful collection.’ See more about Rebecca here. She will read a selection of her poems relating the sea – think mermaids, selkies, smugglers and seabirds – to the backdrop of the brilliant art installation Beached by ceramicist Liz Watts, which featured at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe. Open mic contributions welcome as always – particularly on the theme of the sea! Entry is £5 on the door, to include a glass of wine or soft drink.
Hope to see you soon,
Best wishes,
Dawn
