On the second Wednesday of every month in a cosy cave three floors below the Malt Cross you’ll find Crosswords, Nottingham’s only subterranean spoken word open mic. Our Martin Grey popped down to May’s event and also had a chat with the organisers, Leanne Moden and Jake Wildeman, and this month’s headliner, Gemma Baker. Read more.. Published in Left Lion Magazine – 18th May 2018
Yes its finally here! Frank McMahon’s tenth (yes tenth) volume of poetry. Take a look at this latest collection from DIY Poets very own ‘Bard of The Brief’. From gun crime to Amazon (no not the forest), running to Dr Who this volume has it all. Social commentary, wry humour and literary comment. All human life is here. What more could you ask for? Own your own ‘real book’ for a mere £4. Book 10 X alternative cover PDF
Reviewed by Frank McMahon My Family and Other Superheroes is the first book by Jonathan Edwards. There is a lot of sometimes surreal imagery, such as in Evel Knievel Jumps Over My Family which has the stuntman attempt to jump his motorbike over all the generations of the Edwards family, “his anxious face an act to pump the crowd, surely”. There’s a story of how his parents met involving Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren in Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren…
Sue Allen Talks Poetry Interviewed by Martin Dean M. How long have you been performing poetry? S. About 15 years on and off. M. What was your first break into performing poetry? S. I first performed in a pub called THE DEAD POET at Holbrook in Derbyshire. I had been attending a poetry workshop and the facilitator talked me into doing it. I was instantly hooked and was soon into the open mic circuit across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. M. Tell…
DIY Poets Quarterly Gig At The Maze 8th February 2018 Reviewed By Frank McMahon First up was co compere Sue Allen who did some poems that she described as “being out of her comfort zone,” with lots of word play. Poems such as No Place for Poets with its image of “crushed between bus stop and litter bin” created vivid and sad images. I was also particularly impressed by Burning Through Skin. The night’s other compere Andrew Martin delivered a…
DIY Poets started fifteen years ago with the production of issue 1 of our free A6 zine. We wanted more people to read poetry. I had never seen anyone read a book of poetry on the train. We put the zines out in local bars and cafes. We got Arts Council funding for our first couple of years. We originally met monthly in the Peacock on Mansfield Road. Another aim of DIY Poets is to encourage poets to submit their…
A Poetry Collection by Andrew Martin ‘Andrew is a poet with strong political beliefs and a massive environmental and social conscience, which shines through in his poetry. He writes from the heart with a deep sense of integrity, and his poems are instantly recognisable, with a wit and wisdom that allows him to discuss big ideas in ways that are still fully accessible. Whether he’s talking about birch trees or global migration, fox hunting or bras, the British weather or…
By Lytisha Tunbridge Full of the excitement of the successful launch of Every Last Biscuit, I decided that it was the time to branch out and take myself, and my pamphlet on tour. Abroad. So, just before Christmas I hopped on a train over to Brussels and secured myself a slot at Speakeasy, the monthly spoken word event. I happened on the Christmas Special so the event was somewhat larger than normal and there were about 150 people packed into…