Performance

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Poetry Café – Bonfire Night

Coffee on the Corner, Littleborough 6.00pm to 8.00pm

An image made up of lots of words related to Poetry

On Tuesday, 5th November, we will hold our 3rd edition of the Poetry Café in Littleborough. This is a free, open-mic style poetry evening held in a lovely café. We welcome all genres of poetry and there might even be a short story.

All a welcome to attend either just to listen or to read some of your own, or some favourite poetry. Should you wish to read please let me, Seamus, know on arrival and I’ll add you to our list of performers for the evening. Generally, dependent on numbers each person will have the opportunity to read twice in the evening. Being bonfire night we can expect some sparklers and maybe some bangers but the organisers will not accept any work that is racist or attacks minority groups in any way.

The café are opening outside of their normal hours for our event so please buy some drinks, and maybe some of the excellent home-made cakes, to help support the owners who very generously provide the space.

Coffee on the Corner is just a short walk from Littleborough railway station and bus stops and there is parking on the nearby streets is free and after 6.00pm there is not a time limit in force.

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Free Monthly Poetry Event: Coffee on the Corner, Littleborough

18:00 – 20:00 – Coffee on the Corner -3rd September 2024

Close up of a microphone

This Tuesday marks the launch of a new monthly poetry open mic event in Littleborough at Coffee on the Corner. Join us every first Tuesday of the month to read, listen to poetry, and enjoy excellent homemade cakes and drinks available in the café.

Organized by Liz White and myself, we are grateful to Coffee on the Corner for hosting us. Although the event is free, please support the venue by purchasing drinks and their delicious cakes.

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Poetry / Spoken Word Workshop – FestiDale – Friday 16th August 3.00pm to 5.00pm

image of a sunset with an autumn tree and lovely golden colours

I’ve created this workshop on behalf of Cartwheel Arts for FestiDale, from the Royal Exchange Theatre, at Kingsway Park High School in Rochdale.

The theme is “I come from” and participants will be able to write about the things that make us who we are, and most importantly the things that make us happy.

There will be examples, discussion, templates and support and your words can be shared with others at the session. This workshop is open to both new and experienced writers and all materials and support will be provided. You can book a place online on a pay what you feel basis (from only £1) on the FestiDale website https://www.royalexchange.co.uk/season/the-festidale/.

Looking forward to seeing and hearing the work that will be produced.


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“Welcome to Rochdale” previews at FestiDale Launch

Last night, 7th August, saw the opening of the Royal Exchange Theatre’s FestiDale events in Rochdale.

I was delighted to hear my poem, Welcome to Rochdale”, performed by some of the local ambassadors and champions for the theatre, ahead of the opening speeches. The poem speaks of some of the history and innovations for which the town is famous and the social values that led to the formation of the cooperative movement, support for anti-slavery and welcoming new people to our community.

Members of the ambassadors and champions reading “Welcome to Rochdale”

I was really pleased by the reception my words received, and really impressed by the way the group performed the work. Shortly after the speeches we had a chance to watch the film of the poem and I am grateful for the performers, producers and film-maker, who made a really good film.

The large audience was welcomed by the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Councillor Susan Smith, the CEO of the Royal Exchange Theatre and the Headteacher of Kingsway Park School. Ambassadors and Champions introduced the events that will be included in the festival and all were warmly welcomed by the audience. Full details of the program can be found at https://www.royalexchange.co.uk/season/the-festidale/ where you can also book for the various ticketed events.

Deputy Mayor Janet Easley and Cllr Susan Smith

Music for the evening was provided by Littleborough Brass Band and with food and mocktails from New Cooperators everyone had a good time and the festival is set for a successful and creative run from today to 18th August.

Beautiful Artwork from Nic , 16 Serendipity Lane - which will be on show throughout the festival.
Beautiful Artwork from Nic, 16 Serendipity Lane
Photo of myself (Seamus) having just watched the film of my poem in The Den.
Sitting in the Den after watching film version of my poem
My new poem heads into the world tonight
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My new poem heads into the world tonight

My last post spoke about a poem that I had just completed for a commission. The details of the commission and the poem itself have been kept quiet pending its release – but I have titled it “Welcome to Rochdale”. I cannot reveal the content until it is public but I can say that the poem, about people and places in Rochdale, is optimistically upbeat. When I received the commission I was asked to make something positive and I was able to say that my work in this case would be unrelentingly positive.

The commission came from The Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester and they were looking for a 3 minute poem to use for a film as part of “FestiDale” a festival celebrating creativity being held in Rochdale. Festidale opens tomorrow, Thursday 8th August, and all events are being held in Kingsway Park High School. You can find the full programme at https://www.royalexchange.co.uk/season/the-festidale/

As part of the festival I will also be running a creative writing workshop on behalf of Cartwheel Arts from 3.00pm to 5.00pm on Friday 16th August – places can be booked on the link above and you can choose to pay either £5, £3 or £1 for your online ticket.

The workshop is titled “I come from….” And will give people a chance, and encouragement, to write about origins, place, family etc. I’ll share some examples for people to hear and read to give a flavour of what can be done. Participants do not need to have written poetry before and I will introduce some basic techniques and ideas to get everyone going. I’ll also provide materials and draft structures so that people won’t need to bring anything along.

I’m looking forward to seeing the film of “Welcome to Rochdale” this evening at the special preview event. Of course as well as the exciting anticipation to see the piece performed on film by local ambassadors and champions of the Royal Exchange Theatre, there is always a little bit of nervousness: How will they have made the work look? Will the audiences like it? Once the film is made available online I will post a link here and on my social media channels.

Massive thanks to the Royal Exchange Theatre for commissioning me to write the poem and to Cartwheel Arts and Rochdale Development Agency for suggesting they should ask me.

More to follow after the launch.

Riverside Writers Summer Celebration – 13th July 2024
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Riverside Writers Summer Celebration – 13th July 2024

Everyone is welcome to our celebration of Summer and creative writing this Saturday, 13th July, from 10am at Rochdale Central Library, Number One Riverside, Rochdale. There is no need to book, just come along on the day.

This free event promises to be both informative and entertaining and a great opportunity to talk about creative writing and find out more about our writing group.

We are delighted to have a special guest speaker William Pollard, the author of a book about Rochdale’s lost female author M R Lahee who wrote at a time when women were not generally accepted as authors.

Close up of antique bound copies of Rochdale News

There will be poetry from members of the Riverside Writers, music from the U3A Choir, Heywood Ukulele Group and the Rossendale Clog Dancers.

From 2pm we will adjourn to Vicolo Del Vino, The Butts, Rochdale, for meat and potato or cheese and onion pie.

During the afternoon we will be hosting an open mic session with plenty of poetry, spoken word and perhaps some tunes too.

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Open Mic, Littleborough, 15th May 2024

Following the successful return of the open mic session in 2023, I will be compèring an open mic session as part of the Littleborough Arts Festival at The Red Lion in Littleborough on Wednesday 15th May 2024.

The session will run from 7.00pm to 9.00pm, although the landlady will be happy to continue serving drinks until closing time.

Image of a microphone

All welcome and the event is free of charge. There is likely to be a good mix of poetry and spoken word plus music and singing to make an enjoyable evening. Those wanting to read, perform, play or sing please let me now when you arrive and I’ll add you to our list.

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Open mic at The Red Lion, Littleborough, Weds 17th May, 7:00pm

Image of a microphone

On 17th May I will be compèring an open mic poetry evening at The Red Lion, in Littleborough, from 7:00pm to 9:00pm.

All are welcome and those wishing to read or perform should simply let me know on arrival so that I can include them on the list.

The free event is brought to you by Littleborough Arts Festival who will be running a wide range of arts events and activities over the long weekend from 19th to 21st May – details of all events can be found on the Littleborough Arts Festival Facebook page.

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National Poetry Day – 6th October 2022

Having just delivered a project, Climate Worx, a series of creative writing workshops looking our planet, our environment and climate change I was delighted to see the announcement, this week, that the theme for National Poetry Day 2022 (NPD22) is the “Environment”.

Photo of trees in winter

For National Poetry Day in previous years I have run poetry workshops and delivered performances for libraries, schools and writing groups. This years theme promises to deliver lots of inspirational and thought provoking poetry.

With a lifelong interest in all things environmental and a degree in Ecology I always relish the opportunity to help spread appreciation and understanding of our natural world through creative writing, art and photography.

Image of planet earth as seen from lunar orbit

With that in mind I currently have a range of poetry creative writing workshops which focus on the environment and include sessions suitable for all ages from 5 upwards and with any level of experience in creative writing. Most importantly we can have fun whilst flexing our creative muscles and sharing the experience with others (hopefully in the room rather than only via Zoom).

Sessions for the day itself can be booked for two hours in the morning, the afternoon and the evening (depending on travel times) or half or full days. Poetry written in the workshops can be recorded on audio with a digital file provided to share with your group, family and friends.

For those that would like a more permanent and physical record of their work it is possible to run a series of workshops in the weeks before 6th October from which the work produced can be collected into an attractive book and the work can be performed at an event on or close to the NPD22.

NPD22 is still 7 months away but slots can book up quite quickly so if you’d like to discuss your requirements or plans please email seamus@onepoetsvision.co.uk

Prices start from £100 for a two hour session including travel within 20 miles of Littleborough.

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Save the dates – Altrincham Word Fest returns in May 2019

The second Altrincham Word Fest will run from 11th to 26th May 2019 at various venues in the town and promises to be even more exciting that the first edition held in 2018.

Last year’s festival followed a poetry event created by Anne Early and Yoko Isami as part of the Hidden Arts Festival in 2017. That first festival in 2018 proved to be a great, popular success with demand for new events and bigger venues for 2019 and Anne and Yoko are putting the finishing touches to the schedule of events in May.

So why am I, a Rochdale poet, so keen to promote this event?

  • Is it because I’ve been invited back to Altrincham for the 3rd year in a row (1st year was the Hidden Arts Festival)? Perhaps a little bit….
  • Is it because it has a great line up of talent? Well it does….
  • Is it because it celebrates writing and literature? Well it does….
  • Is it because it is different from other Literature Festivals? Yes, absolutely!

This is a festival that does something different, this is a festival for writers; it puts its energies into encouraging all of us to go out and create, to write our own literature and to share the joy of writing; and it does that through workshops, performances, writer events and of course the open mic (that I’ll be hosting again in 2019).

As a writer I experience and see the benefits people from all walks of life, of all ages and with all levels of experience can gain from putting their thoughts and ideas into words. I know the value in terms of enjoyment, fulfilment, health and well-being that writing can bring and to be involved in a festival that promotes this is both a privilege and a great pleasure.

Dates for the specific events will be appearing soon on the www.altrinchamwordfest.com website and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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Altricham Word Fest – Open mic at Coco’s Italian

Photograph of a vintage ink bottle with a dip pen in the bottleMy first event at Altrincham Word Fest last month was the poetry open mic, in the upstairs room at Coco’s Italian Restaurant, where poets and listeners enjoyed an evening full of top-notch and varied poetry.

Once we had managed to shoehorn everyone in we started off with a few of my own poems before the first of the open-mic performers took the stage. It was genuinely a pleasure to hear 16 year old Alex Swinton and 18 year old Nanda Saravanan, both students at Altrincham Grammar school, remind us that young people have depth, empathy, can see beyond the obvious and then translate what they see into words.

With a total of 14 people contributing their work in the open mic session we had poems about relationships, politics, Mills and Boon, mathematics, illness and bereavement, growing up, oran-utans, South Africa, whales, Metrolink, truth and lies, dreams, nature, a cosmic photo album and society. There were smiles and laughter, sad faces and perhaps the occasional tear; in fact everything we might hope for in an evening of poetry.

The atmosphere and support for all of the poets was superb and it was honestly great fun and a privilege to compere the evening.

Many thanks to the following poets for sharing with us:

  • Alex Swinton
  • Nanda Saravanan
  • Judith Hey
  • Duncan Battman
  • Jennifer
  • Charlotte Gringras
  • Fred (the Urban Poet) Varden
  • Polina Sparks
  • Alan Clemo
  • Judith Wilson
  • Tracy Fisher
  • Sam Barke
  • Mark Jones
  • Martin Zarrob

As the event approached I had wondered how ticket sales had been going when I received a message from organiser Anne Early that the session had sold out and sales had to be closed. On the night we had even more people arrive and the capacity of the room was stretched beyond its normal limits but the atmosphere was calm, friendly and supportive (if a little warm).

Final thanks to Anne Early and Yoko Isami for organising the event and the festival and to Jane Eaton for providing the venue.

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Wigan Diggers Featival

Image may contain: textI am delighted to announce that I will be performing at The Wigan Diggers Festival on Sept 8th 2018.

The festival which commemorates Gerrard Winstanley, pioneering socialist thinker (before the term was coined) and leader of the 17th Century Diggers movement, is celebrating its 8th year on 8th September (some kind of serendipity?) and continues to grow and flourish. The full line up includes a wide range of music and spoken word including:

  • The Blockheads
  • Merry Hell
  • Barnstormer 1649 (featuring Attila The Stockbroker)
  • The Commoners’ Choir
  • Joe Solo
  • Bard Company
  • Patrick McKenzie
  • The Amber List
  • Gerry Ffrench
  • Jupiter Hollow Blues Band

The poetry slot is at 2.50pm when I will be performing alongside three other poets (details to be announced shortly) so expect to hear words and rhythms that will shake the cobwebs of your social consciences.

There will also be a range of other activities including entertainment for children, a range of stalls and of course there will be plenty of food and drink.