DIY Poets always provide a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere and this special event to mark International Women’s Day 2019 was no exception. Organised by a subcommittee of female DIY members “Women Say Stuff” is now in its fourth year, and goes from strength to strength showcasing fantastic, inspirational female voices performing to a mixed audience. In line with DIY Poets tradition, it was a night of three halves featuring poets Cathy Grindrod, Ioney Smallhorne and DIY’s own Hazel Warren providing music…

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By Hazel Warren and Frank McMahon Local bards DIY Poets had their thirty third show at the Maze on 14th February, Valentine’s day but it was not planned for to be on that date. The night was brilliantly compared by Jake and Hazel. There were ten DIY Poets with five minutes each, followed an open mic, featured poet Laura Grevel and headline musician Eibhleen Concradah. First poet up was Will, who gave us atmospheric “old stories of the forest” with…

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By Martin Dean As venues go this was one of the most impressive I have seen in a while. A 1920’s picture house – the only one of its kind left in Sheffield. Three DIY poets, Martin Grey, Hazel Warren and yours truly made the trip to Sheffield for the second Indie Beer Feast. This gorgeous venue was packed with a variety of mouthwatering ales/lagers and street food and was a sell-out. The food court which was originally built as…

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DIY Poets Maze 15 November 2018 Second Half Review by John Humphreys A warm welcome from our ever-genial host Andrew and the 2nd part of the DIY poets’ slot had begun. First up in the 2nd half was Sue, with an ever-stylish line of hats for her wonderful mix of feminism and humour and a new poem, about lies insincerity and mistrust – must be those men again. Then from her fabulous book, the monkey mind emerges, with the ape-shit…

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[Reviewed by Leanne Moden] Martin Dean is a poet with an incredible talent for lush descriptive imagery and the poems in his first collection, ‘The Curious Dance between Life and Death’, tackle the theme of mortality. It’s an incredibly ambitious subject, and Martin explores it by focusing on individual moments, captured through his evocative words. The collection takes readers on a journey across differing time periods and geographical locations, but the underlying message is the same – life is strange,…

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[Reviewed by Leanne Moden] Imagine if George A. Romero had written Dawn of the Dead as a series of delightfully witty, irreverent and gruesome poems, or if Capcom had made Resident Evil with an even more lyrical sensibility. Imagine if Sam Raimi had told the story of Evil Dead as a surreal public service announcement, and Ash spent the entire film kicking butt and talking in haiku. If that all sounds like good fun to you, then you will absolutely…

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In his latest blog, DIY poet Martin Grey reflects on life changes, procrastination, exhaustion and stepping outside your comfort zone. For anyone trying to fit writing around nine-to-five working this is a real breath of fresh air. Please do take a look.

[Review by Leanne Moden] Sue Allen is a witty wordsmith with a talent for finding the Funny in every situation. ‘Rude Awakenings’ is her first collection of poetry, and it’s just as saucy as the title suggests. There’s plenty of sex and rock & roll sprinkled throughout the book, and Sue does a great job balancing the surrealist pieces with the more serious poems. Whether she’s longing to be Johnny Depp’s string vest, lamenting the puckish nature of her own…

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Compiled by Martin Grey I’ve been making a list of all the regular spoken word events in Nottingham. There’s 14 I know about. I might have some details wrong and might be missing some nights or have some that aren’t running, but it’d be good to fix any errors and have a full list for everyone 🙂  Between The Shadow and the Soul – Pay what you can – City Arts – First Wednesday of every month – 7.30pm to…

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I am pleased to announce the release of my first collection of poems – ‘The Curious Dance Between Life And Death’. Download a preview The theme is inspired by a quote from Lao Tzu – “Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sides.” The opening piece of the book sets the scene as Jack progresses towards his last breath. From this poignant beginning ‘The Curious Dance Between Life And Death’ explores human experience as one…

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