Bruises, Cramps I did not sleep well tonight. A few days ago I felt pain just below my chest. When I probed with my fingers I felt resistance, something hard. I sat up and tried to convince myself it was a bruised rib, a cramp. It started moving upward through my lungs and trachea. I [...]
April 2, 2011
When I Was Seven When I was seven I believed in heaven, a place I thought was full of clouds, choirs and cartoons. I went to church every week, past the wooden cross near my grandmother’s house. I was convinced the real Jesus Christ had been nailed to it, one really hot summer. I had [...]
April 1, 2011
WHAT Talking Cities (part of Birmingham Book Festival’s Spring Thing) WHEN Saturday, April 9th, 18:30 WHERE The Library Theatre Birmingham Central Library, Paradise Place, Birmingham B3 3HQ (map) MORE INFO The Spring Thing is a leaner, more compact version of the Birmingham Book Festival, a short but intense celebration of literature which makes the wait [...]
April 1, 2011
WHAT Swindon Festival of Literature WHEN Saturday, May 14th, 19:30 WHERE Town Hall Regent Circus (map) MORE INFO The Swindon Festival of Literature‘s grand finale is an extravaganza of of music and poetry, with tunes from the Glow Globes and Angela Jones, and a very strong line-up of poets, featuring, in no particular order, Catherine [...]
April 1, 2011
Untitled Snug in the driver’s seat, I gaze across the road. The engine idles. No-one else is here, it’s dark, it’s late, it’s raining. The rain falls in staccato waves, following a cadence I do not recognise. The street I know quite well – I’ve lived here all my life, or so it feels – [...]
March 31, 2011
WHAT Cheltenham Poetry Festival WHEN Saturday, April 2nd, 18:15 WHERE Slak Bar 16 Bath St, Cheltenham GL50 1YE (map) MORE INFO The Cheltenham Poetry Festival have invited me to take part in their Polish-themed event, where I will share the stage with Gabriel Olearnik, a published poet described by the Polish Institute as someone who [...]
March 31, 2011
Have you heard of 30/30 projects? It’s when a foolhardy poet decides to produce one poem each day for every day of the month. For a reason I’m sure someone knows very well, more often than not, that month is April. This year, I have decided to try my hand at it, and so from [...]
February 19, 2011
WHAT Sssh Boom Ssh Boom WHEN Saturday, February 19th, 19:00 WHERE The Nave 1 St Paul’s Rd, Islington, London N1 4 (map) MORE INFO This is the third instalment of Sssh Boom Ssh Boom. The night is a surprising mix of various art forms – from dance, through music, magic and theatre to, well poetry. [...]
February 16, 2011
WHAT Brizzlemania WHEN Wednesday, February 16th, 20:00 WHERE The Arts House 108a Stokes Croft Bristol BS1 3RU (map) MORE INFO I love Bristol, but I have never had the chance to perform there. Except, that is, for an unplanned guest slot at a Smoke & Mirrors featuring Bernat, Laura & Sergio, which ended in me [...]
January 31, 2011
WHAT The Freeway Poets WHEN Wednesday, February 2nd, 19:00 WHERE The Winchester 39 Poole Hill, Bournemouth, United Kingdom (map) MORE INFO The Dutch tour is over – watch this space for some pictures and a quick recap, coming very soon indeed – but February promises to be a very busy month, with several gigs in various [...]
April 3, 2011
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