WORD! featuring Steve Carroll

Leicester’s biggest and best spoken word night returns on July 6th with the usual feast of open mic slots (get down to the Y at 7 if you want to sign up) and special booked act this month – Steve Carroll.

There’s also a workshop 4-6pm with Steve Carroll – so contact secretagentartist@hotmail.com if you want to book onto it.

Lyric Lounge Leicester

30th July, 31st July, August 1st.
10.00am – 10.00pm
New Walk Museum

‘The Lyric Lounge’ is a groundbreaking, site specific festival of poetry and spoken word. Following its sell out success at The Y Theatre in 2009 and after 12 months of eager anticipation, this year it comes to New Walk Museum…

A whole range of free activities will run from 10am until 10pm and take place in the main gallery, studio rooms and cafe. In the day, chill out with coffee, books and films, draw with festival artist in residence; Tim Clarke, or choose from an impressive host of poetry workshops. Be entertained with music and poetry over ‘Lyrical Lunchtimes’, chat to The Book Doctor, or take to the mic yourself.

In the evening catch everything from WORD! with Mark Gwynne Jones and his amazing band, to John Hegley, The Godfather of performance poetry. John will be performing his brand new show, ‘The Adventures of Monsieur Robinet’ – against a back drop of museum objects.

With a line up that includes poetry from the internationally acclaimed, Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze and music and lyrics from the likes of Kenny Wilson, Mike Sole and ILUVLYRICS, ‘Lyric Lounge Leicester’ invites participation from people of all ages and is definitely not to be missed. For the full programme, associated projects and information on the festival’s late night cabaret, visit www.lyriclounge.co.uk .

‘Lyric Lounge Leicester’ is part of the ‘Igniting Ambition’ programme. It is artistically directed by Lydia Towsey with patronage from Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze. ‘Lyric Lounge Leicester’ It is managed by Writing East Midlands, in association with WORD!. It is funded by MLA (Museums Libraries and Archives), with further support from Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, Leicester Libraries and Leicester Arts & Museums Service. It’s delivery group includes: The Literature Network, Find Your Talent and 2Funky Arts.

Pens, Poets, Pictures and Jazz

Tuesday 4th May
Pens, Poets, Pictures and Jazz – an exciting cabaret-style evening in the large hall at Leicester Adult Education College. See our website for details www.writingschoolleicester.co.uk Tickets (£2.50) go on sale on 19th April from the College and are likely to be snapped up. We hope to see you there.

Ripping Pages

Where: The Romany, Trinity Avenue, Northampton
Entry: free; open mic night of spoken word loveliness.
Description: The Mamma of Northampton’s Spoken Word Scene (see? I capitalised it! ) , Ripping Pages is back baby, YEAH!
See what inspired the Awen to rise up, and what gave a springboard to the formation of Bardcore. Contact rippingpages@hotmail.co.uk

WORD with Mimi Khalvati

Tuesday, 6th April, 8pm, Performers 7pm, The Y Theatre, £2/£3
Box Office: 0116 255 7066 www.ytheatre.co.uk

WORD! is the longest running poetry and spoken word night in the East Midlands. It takes place on the first Tuesday of every month at The Y Theatre at 8pm (arrive 7pm if you want to perform) . It consists of an open mic and booked act, supported by music and film visuals. WORD! is a mainstream ‘night’ but with an unusually diverse audience base, that very much includes mental health service users. The night is compered and coordinated by Lydia Towsey. For more information, email: secretagentartist@hotmail.com or ring: 07888847840

April’s WORD! will feature the acclaimed Mimi Khalvati and is in partnership with Staple Magazine: staplemagazine.wordpress.com

Next month WORD! will be re-launching it’s visuals – AND WE NEED YOU!…

If you write and would like to try your hand at reading or performing your work in front of others, we’d love to make some film visuals to go behind you. All you need do is send us your work (no more than 3minutes when read out) before March 31st. We’ll illustrate it, then you just turn up at The Y Theatre (7pm on April 6th) to perform in front of the film screen. Easy as that.

If you’d like to have a go, please send your pieces to our filmmaker, Keith Allott
(keithallott@hotmail.com) or me Lydia (secretagentartist@hotmail.com)

Speakeasy Poetry Smackdown

20:00 – 23:00 Speakeasy Poetry Smackdown

Where: The Brewery Tap, 80 Westgate, Peterborough PE1 2AA

Entry: £4; Open Mic and featured performers

Description: “To celebrate Speakeasy’s second birthday we are doing something slightly different!! It’s going to be Milton Keynes Poets VS Peterborough Poets in a fight to the poetic death. Yes that’s right… its fight night with a good old fashioned poetry slam. The winner walks away with a genuine wrestling mask, a support slot on the next Speakeasy in April and also free entry to all Speakeasy’s till next March!!! Plus the Speakeasy title…. I think you would agree it is going to be epic. If you want to enter then please contact keely or Mark on our website.” Yes, MK poets in some good, old-fashioned poetry rucking with the poets of Peterborough. Bring it on!

Mark Niel will be the headliner for the night (http://www.akickinthearts.com) and be appearing as a totally unbiased judge. Apparently there’s thematic dressing-up and all…

http://www.speakeasypoetry.com/

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=339265263525

Althorp Literary Festival – author announcements

This June, the Althorp Literary Festival will celebrate its seventh anniversary, presenting an exhilarating weekend of talks, readings and debates, in some of the most beautiful rooms of Althorp House.

Alan Davies will talk at the Althorp Literary Festival in June, about his latest book ‘My Favourite People and Me’, which is a childhood memoir about growing up in the late 70s and 80s. Alan Davies, currently appears as a resident panellist on the BBC’s popular QI quiz series and known for his starring role in mystery series Jonathan Creek.

Join much loved travel writer Bill Bryson as he discusses his latest release ‘At Home’, which stems from Bryson’s realisation that we devote a lot more time to the Wars of the Roses or the Normandy Landings than considering what most of history really consists of: centuries upon centuries of people quietly going about their daily business – eating, sleeping, having sex, endeavouring to be amused.

Join Jenni Murray at Althorp as she shares her remarkable story ‘Memoirs of a Not So Dutiful Daughter’, detailing her childhood, and most significantly, her relationship with her mother. As the regular presenter of Radio 4 Woman’s Hour since 1987, she has daily demonstrated her incredible range and depth and a unique ability to understand the feelings and complexities of those she interviews, talents she has also brought to BBC Newsnight and Everyman and BBC Radio Today and Thursday Call.

Award winning journalist, author and Newsnight presenter Gavin Esler will be joining us to discuss his new release, ‘Powerplay’. Join Gavin as he tells his story of the decline in the US – British ‘special relationship’, as seen through the eyes of Alex Price the British Ambassador to Washington, at a time of crisis. Gavin Esler has anchored the BBC News Channel since 1997 and reported for news and documentary programmes across Europe, Russia, China and North and South America. He joined the presenting team of BBC Two’s Newsnight in January 2003. Gavin is also the author of several novels.

John Julius Norwich, English historian and travel writer will be providing an insightful talk on his new release, The Great Cities in History. John Julius Norwich is the author of many varied publications, including The Normans in the South, The Architecture of Southern England, A History of Venice and Byzantium: The Early Centuries. He has written and presented some thirty historical documents for television and radio, and is a regular lecturer on his many travel subjects.

Tickets for the 2010 Althorp Literary Festival will go on sale mid April. Further details can be found at www.althorp.com or telephone 01604 770107. For media enquiries, please contact: mail@althorp.com.

Short Fuse – On The Road

May 18th

Short Fuse Presents: ON THE ROAD

jet setters + globetrotters
wagon-jumping hobos, mountaineers and intrepid backpackers
check out the very best in travel writing + short fiction on the move,
headliner tbc

See website for details: http://shortfusefiction.com

Book online at: http://www.leicesterymca.co.uk/y-theatre-whats-on-details.php?listing=776

Tickets £5.50/£4 concs

Short Fuse – Metropolis

April 20th

Short Fuse Presents: METROPOLIS

blitz + glitz + fritz lang
bright lights, big city
apple, smoke, gay paris…
headliner TBC

See website for details:http://shortfusefiction.com

Book online at: http://www.leicesterymca.co.uk/y-theatre-whats-on-details.php?listing=775

Tickets £5.50/£4 concs

Short Fuse – True Romance

February 16th, 8pm
The Y Theatre, Leicester

Headlining: PAUL BURSTON, author of The Gay Divorcee

Short Fuse is a short fiction showspace. Championing both the short story form and its writers, we place unpublished writers of quality fiction on an equal footing with more established writers. The evenings are often themed. The atmosphere is cabaret-style – warm, vibrant, supportive of first-time readers, with breaks between readings, music and a bar. Interested newcomers and short fiction fans alike can expect an evening’s great entertainment.

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