London Poetry Festival

They are still some slots for readers, if you're interested

When: August 8, 9, 10 & 11: Friday to Monday.
Where: Waterloo St John's Church, Waterloo Road, London SE1

The 4th London Poetry Festival starts about 7:30 p.m and finish by 11:00 p.m each evening.

As its signature presentation The 4th London Poetry Festival will present this year's Five Poets in Residence in all the four of the evening events. The Residence Poets are:

Anjan Saha, Claire Askew, Helen Long, Nnorom Azuonye and Sharon Harriot. You may read their works on Poet's Letter website or on the Festival website.

Please note there is an open invite to all of you who are poets - please contact us for reading at the Festival (We could still accommodate some more readers) either on facebook or to contact@poetryfestival.com

We need some volunteers to help us run the festival's four evening events (from (6-11 p.m). If you can spare the time and effort please send us an email.

The Festival is run on a not for profit basis so it is here because of the support and energy everyone involves offers it for free, for the love of word.

Tickets are kept at a very low level: £6 full price and cons £4.

CULTURE NIGHT VOLUNTEERS WANTED

I've never been to culture night but it's a great idea.

Temple Bar Cultural Trust is currently looking for volunteers. On Friday 19 September 2008 over 100 of the city’s museums, galleries, theatres, historic houses, cathedrals, artists studios and cultural centres will open their doors so visitors can join them for a FREE night of entertainment and discovery. Tours, talks, exhibitions and a wide range of events can be experienced until 11pm.

For more information or to express interest please contact Lorraine Maye, Cultural Projects Manager, at: T: 01 6772255

Performance Poets

This sounds really interesting on BBC Radio 4, Wednesday nights 23:00. Some recorded at the Latitude festival in Suffolk. Includes Aoife Mannix, a Dublin poet living in London, Cat Francois, Byron Vincent.

Deconstructive Wasteland has some good articles on poetry at Latitude.

I'm a little daunted by performance poetry though I will be performing myself soon, so I have to get over it. Come and see me at Electric Picnic. And be kind. I need to do some memorising too, I think.

Are they always humourous? Often rhyme too, probably easier to memorise.

Free Arts around Dublin

Why not drop by the Civic Offices this summer, Thursday lunchtimes.

OPERA IN THE OPEN - AMPHITHEATRE, CIVIC OFFICES
From Thurs 07 August until Thurs 04 Sept., every Thursday Dublin City
Council is presenting an open-air opera performance at the
amphitheatre at Civic Offices (behind Christchurch Cathedral).
Performance this week will be "Cosi fan Tutte" by Mozart and it will
start at 13:00. Great lunch time entertainment if you are interested
in a bit of opera.

Reading by Marian Keyes

Marian supports the charity Focus Ireland, the homeless charity - that is charity for the homeless, not charity without home). She gives good girly read, I saw her at the Dublin Writers' Festival, and she's doing one on Sunday August 17th in The Sugar Club, Leeson Street Dublin to raise funds.

It's 20 Euro in but it's in a great cause She says:

I'll read and tell stories and answer questions and there will be chocolate and spot prizes and a prize for nicest handbag, so will you come? It'll be a right laugh and we'll all feel good for having done an altruistic act. How about it? I'd LOVE if you'd come.

Details here.

Dún Laoghaire Festival of World Cultures

Graffiti In Dunlaoghaire
Originally uploaded by infomatique

If you're near Dún Laoghaire from Friday 22nd to 24th August, why not volunteer to help at the Festival of World Cultures

They are looking for people to do a wide variety of tasks ranging from, artist liaison, production and technical assistants, photographers, volunteer supervisors, performance supervisors, hospitality facilitators and much more.

They say:

All volunteers will receive a specialised health and safety training session prior to the Festival weekend. Not to mention meeting new and interesting friends as well as gaining automatic access to the members only Festival Volunteers Club.

There was a poetry slam too but I didn't hear about it. Deadline was July 25th

The Festival is looking for contenders to take part in an exciting new addition to the Festival's programme. If you think you have what it takes to twist a tale in two minutes and battle it out with 15 other poets, then this is the event for you.

Did anyone enter?

Books of Fury from the Crockett and Powell blog

So I'm not the only one who doesn't like bent spines, folded down corners, notes in the margin etc. Which I suppose is a bit silly if the book in question cost 5 Euro from Tesco...

And am I the only one with a thing about stationary? I can't walk by a stationary shop. And the stationary cupboard at work is like a little temple - pens, pencils (I always write in pencil) rubbers, sharpeners and most of all, notebooks. Yum.