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Frank McMahon’s 6th (or 7th?!) Poetry Book Available Here . . . FREE!

Frank McMahon’s 6th (or 7th?!) Poetry Book Available Here . . . FREE!

UntitledHe’s churning them out like Billy Whizz. On the Nottingham poetry scene he’s a blur of free verse, and his world view often rings true. It’s another top quality collection – funny, thought- provoking, exploring a range of themes from the deeply personal to the small, everyday frustrations of modern life. If you’re a local poet and you’re considering getting a pamphlet together, watch out for Frank – he’ll get there first. Every time.

Frank’s books are available at DIY Poets gigs, and at associated literature events.

It’s also available here as a free download:

I Wish I Could Play Guitar Like Rory Gallagher PDF

DIY POETS Quarterly Gig – May 19th – 7:45 @ THE MAZE, NOTTINGHAM

DIY POETS Quarterly Gig – May 19th – 7:45 @ THE MAZE, NOTTINGHAM

It’s been a hectic few weeks for DIY POETS with the formidable success of the International Womens’ Day event at Rough Trade Nottingham which raised a chunky bit of money for relevant charities, a trip to Birmingham for  a gig with a community choir and Frank churning out more published volumes of his work. On the grapevine, it’s becoming legend that volume 7 will actually be available before volume 6 – Frank is clearly travelling in the Tardis of poetry publication. Look out for his work, it’s now available at Five leaves Bookshop, as well as at DIY Poets’ gigs.

The May gig sees Hazel Warren in the featured poet slot – a relatively fresh face to DIY Poets who has quickly become a mainstay  – her verse is insistent, quirky, compelling and puts a smile on yer face, and we’ll have a selection of the usual suspects for a warm up, as well as an appearance from the mighty Mouthy Poets!

Music will be from the always excellent Paul Carbuncle.
DIY Maze may 2016 PDF final

DIY POETS Host Sheffield Poets @ The Lofthouse in ‘Lace and Steel’ on Jan 31st, 3:00 to 6:00

DIY POETS Host Sheffield Poets @ The Lofthouse in ‘Lace and Steel’ on Jan 31st, 3:00 to 6:00

Lace and Steel Loft House final PDFDIY POETS endured a full on brolly buster back in October 2015, when they travelled to Sheffield to take part in WORD DROP, a fringe festival event at the Hop Hideout Beer Shop. Poets mingled on wooden benches supping craft ales, listening to a Stranglers album on audiocassette, the perfect antidote to the rain pelting down beyond the beer shop doors. Some fine poetry got read, some from Nottingham, the rest from Sheffield, and a mutual respect was born.

Well, it’s the turn of DIY POETS to host, so on Sunday 31th January between 3:00 and 6:00, at the Lofthouse, ‘Lace and Steel’ will join forces again to bring a poetry experience to savour, poets from Sheffield travelling down to Nottingham.

There will be music and song from Stacey McMullen.

I hope they bring the Stranglers cassette down from Sheffield, and if it rains we won’t be bothered.

DIY POETS Quarterly Gig @ The Maze, Nottingham, Thurs 11th Feb 2016, 7:45

DIY POETS Quarterly Gig @ The Maze, Nottingham, Thurs 11th Feb 2016, 7:45

DIY maze Feb 2016 blake depp FINAL pdfAs featured in today’s Nottingham Evening Post, and fresh from the exertions of Nottingham Poetry Festival, mingling with the likes of Henry Normal and Lemn Sissay, and from jumping on stage to perform at any given opportunity, DIY POETS are back on home turf at the Maze.
So, to sample some very fine poetry, from a diverse and colourful line up, covering every subject under the sun, from potatoes to Donald Trump, although the difference there is not great, from bass players to unruly technology, from chocolate bunnies to mobile phones, from romance to psychedelia, it’s kaleidoscopic, a sonic tonic for the chronic cynic, and also too for innocent bystanders who only came in for a quiet pint.
Headlining is the metrical maestro, Leanne Moden, who has the knack of pulling you right into her dazzling breeze of words. Don’t miss.
And stay around to check out POP ORCHESTRA, our music act.

DIY POETS Quarterly Gig @ The Maze, Nottingham, Thurs 11th Feb 2016 – 7:45 pm

DIY POETS Quarterly Gig @ The Maze, Nottingham, Thurs 11th Feb 2016 – 7:45 pm

DIY maze Feb 2016 blake depp FINAL pdfAs featured in today’s Nottingham Evening Post, and fresh from the exertions of Nottingham Poetry Festival, mingling with the likes of Henry Normal and Lemn Sissay, and from jumping on stage to perform at any given opportunity, DIY POETS are back on home turf at the Maze.
So, to sample some very fine poetry, from a diverse and colourful line up, covering every subject under the sun, from potatoes to Donald Trump, although the difference there is not great, from bass players to unruly technology, from chocolate bunnies to mobile phones, from romance to psychedelia, it’s kaleidoscopic, a sonic tonic for the chronic cynic, and also too for innocent bystanders who only came in for a quiet pint.
Headlining is the metrical maestro, Leanne Moden, who has the knack of pulling you right into her dazzling breeze of words. Don’t miss.
And stay around to check out POP ORCHESTRA, our music act.

DIY POETS’ DIARY DATES – December 2015

DIY POETS’ DIARY DATES – December 2015

cropped-11143331_10156209684665438_6237317540433413888_o.jpgDIY POETS member and seasoned poetry campaigner, Leanne Moden is running an Open Mic at the Malt Cross on Weds Dec 9th. Free entry! With headline acts and caves to explore . . .

New Year:

DIY POETS have an event at the Lofthouse on Sunday 31st Jan, 3-6 pm, Free entry. With visiting poets from Sheffield, bringing some lyrical steel!

Forthcoming DIY POETS quarterly gigs at the Maze for 2016, more details to follow in due course:

Feb11th
May 19th
August 11th
November 10th

DIY Poets at The Maze 12.11.15

DIY Poets at The Maze 12.11.15

Reviewed by Martin Grey and Lytisha

 

John Humphreys, acting as our MC, introduced the evening reminding us all that the fabulous DIY poets group has been around for in excess of 10 years now. He also reminded the audience of our tag line: We are nice and we don’t always rhyme before introducing Leanne.

Leanne Moden has not been in Nottingham long, but is certainly making her mark on the poetry scene. She began with a poem taking us back with her through teenage memories of a gig in Brixton where she’ll never forget the burst capillaries on the bass players face which is as up-close and personal as a fan gets. Not quite as close as the close call the questioner that was on the receiving end of Leanne’s well thought out arguments about Lady Gardens almost had! Ever questioning social attitudes, Leanne’s poems encourage you to think whilst you laugh along.

Martin Dean was up next. He took us on a trip through Rome, where he encountered foul smelling strangers and noted that chaos was a word the Italians invented. Possibly not Martin’s dream holiday? It wasn’t all negative, there was a pppositively pppleasant pppoem with plenty of alliteration to push people along. A good set that took us around Europe.

Next up Isis made her debut on the diy stage with a great set including her own tribute to Lear in the form of a nonsense poem as well as a couple of others leaving us all enraptured by (her) charm. We look forward to hearing a lot more from our new star.

Following our newest performer was one of our more seasoned stars, Clare Stewart who put out an urgent call for the mister or missus scientister out there to come up with a cure for her blister which was curtailing her kissing. She also got us wondering what those pristine swimmers that don’t wet their hair get up to while some of us piss about with poems and paintings. As ever an entertaining set.

Andy Szpuk was next. After unwinding the mic, a little trick he is working on, he raged against the injustices around, including the spiking of the capital to stop homeless people sleeping in conspicuous places. In a tongue in cheek change of tack Andy then performed a poem for Daily Mail readers entitled Benefit Scroungers. Then to the delight of the audience Andy treated us to a sneak preview of his Musical in progress by singing We’re good at making guns to the accompaniment of detonators being ‘clicked’ by the audience members’ fingers. Plenty of food for thought.

Martin Grey changed the tone completely and we all loved his lovely poem about love and how lovely love is. He then went on to disclose his precocious childhood through his piece about counting on his hands at school. Although I have to say I agree with Martin and not the teacher… but maybe that says more of my attitude to authority figures that are not getting it right… Martin concluded his set, which he delivers with an almost snake like mesmerising charm, with a moving piece about missing people.

Leading us into the first break was Trevor Wright. He told us of the dim glow under the door indicating the presence of his offspring, whereas in very recent times it had been seeing the area beneath the tree a Teddy haven or a fairy ring, or kicking every last leaf in the world depending on how the imagination was moving. They do grow up so fast! Trevor concluded his set with Yella! one of the poems included in the with local anthology produced by Five Leaves Press about the refugee crisis. Does anyone tune into the stars?

After a ten minute break for more crowd loosening beverages, Orla Shortall, or Sparklechops as she claimed she’d been called, got the second half underway. A warm delivery of charm over strong messages is quite a forte of hers and tonight was no different, her journey from John Donne’s The Flea to the sometimes awkward mornings after sex, via the DH Lawerence Heritage Centre definitely kicking off the second half with a bang.

Being stuck in things you can’t control was the theme of our next poet, Lytitia Tunbridge, who regaled us with stories of how it gets harder to buy bras as you get older, how we never look up from our gadgets and the concern you feel when your bath is at risk of falling through your ceiling. She finished with “Beyond Control”, likening our journey through life to being off balance on a see saw. A set delivered with punch and vigour, full of struggles we can all relate to, except for maybe the bra buying.

Lytitia, Orla and Clare will be headlining our event at The Lofthouse on 24th November, the only event in the Nottingham Poetry Festival to feature female headliners, so power to us!

Next up was Andrew Martin, aka the world’s nicest man, who filled his five minutes with an A to Z of the politics of land use and how our rights to use it are being eroded by the interests of the powerful and the wealthy, set inside Chatsworth and Oxfordshire. A nicely textured, softly delivered set that challenged the politics of class and the notion that the grass is always greener.

Continuing the textured tones, Richard Bower then filled our souls with a trilogy of emotions. “Morning” showed us the hope from touching nature on a brand new day, “Nightfall” showed us the storms in the fragile darkness of endings, while “Skin to Skin” reminded us that it’s ok to articulate the dreams you have. The straight talking beauty of Richard’s words couldn’t fail to take you into your own emotional highs and lows.

Next up was the Breath on Paper, Phil Deakin, who took us back to our childhoods with “The Ghost of Yesterday”, which told of how easy it is to become invisible by using his time in school with the nickname ‘Ghosty’. He then charged his phone for all the time it has stolen, the friendships it stopped him finding and the people it stopped him meeting. The irony of using technology to spread his was not lost on him as we all took heed of his valuable words. Phil is most definitely a man with a lot to say.

The plentifulness of the poets was partly down to our next performer, The Cat in the Hat, our leader, Frank McMahon, who was having a rare night off the compering. Ever a fan of the short poem, Frank wistfully took on the Beatles, strong villains and fragile heroes, from John Lennon not believing he could sing in the shower to Liverpool, not Hemel Hempstead being the home of rock and roll, via the denim and leather days of his youth and the worlds apart between Steve Davis and his “First Hero” Alex Higgins. He finished with “From Green to Black”, about how his Dad swapped the green of Ireland for the black of Wolverhampton. Once again, a century break performance.

Frank led straight into our most excellent compere, John Humphreys, who of course plugged his book launch/50th birthday party, but only because you should all come to his night and buy a copy. John is a musical encyclopedia and his latest piece was about Lee Hazlewood, who very few of us had heard of, but we’re told was a highly influential 1950s American artist whose words and melodies helped define popular music. With deep, slow, warbling tones, John took us through his tribute to the man, not only giving a fine performance but also educating us in the process.

Our final pre headline poet was an impromptu set by Hazel Warren, because, well, we like to include everyone if we can, and she certainly didn’t disappoint with two excellent pieces. “Jumpers for Goal Posts” challenged the gender expectations of boys and girls, while “Brew Love” masterfully cut through the struggle to open your heart after being hurt, with the thoughts that can go through your head when making a cuppa for someone you think you might grow to like. Humble yet warm, it was a teariffic way to end the second half.

After a quick refill, it was time for our headliner, Chris Page, the Dark Lord, who really rose to the occasion. Chris marvellously manifested his misery with a glint in his eye and a smirk in his stanzas, the 20 minutes flying by before you felt they’d barely begun. With a haiku that smiled through your pain, to stories of self destruction caused by untied shoelaces that told you that the bad will always pass, we were sent into the darkest nursery rhymes that we’ve heard for a long time. Certainly, that was a teddy bears picnic I’m glad I missed! Two dark Christmas poems followed, which beat the Christmas lights with the mid November Christmas spirit, before “Twelve Nights” which deconstructed and rewrote the twelve days of Christmas into something much more relevant to the problems we face today. He finished with a letter to the child he doesn’t have yet, telling them, and us, in heartfelt details, about some bad experiences of his own, while inspiring us to want to do as well as we can should we ever get the chance to give the gift of life. Every clap and cheer was more than justified, it was a superb set.

The night ended with acoustic vibes from Stacey McMullen, who has more musical talent in his metatarsal alone than most of us have in our entire bodies. “Lines in the Sand” showed the stark plight of war refugees, while “Woke Up this Morning” reminded us that the blues was alive and well. There was even some acoustic “Killing in the Name of” thrown in for good measure, before finishing up with a fitting singalong to“54-46 (That’s My Number)”. Stacey’s effortless flipping from blues to jazz to funk to reggae certainly finished the night off in style.

So, there we have it, another great night with the DIY Poets. That is indeed what we said now. Once again, we were nice and we didn’t always rhyme. Hope to see you in February!

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DIY POETS’ DIARY DATES – November 2015

DIY POETS’ DIARY DATES – November 2015

While some people grow facial hair during the month of November, DIY POETS find themselves with a growing diary. Dates are sprouting like sideburns chemically enhanced by steroids, some of them DIY POETS events, plus others attended regularly by the collective. I’m assembling this lot from the back of crumpled fag packets and faded biro scribble from the back of my hand, so it may be incomplete, but nonetheless it’s a neatly trimmed, well groomed web post:

– DIY POETS Quarterly Gig at the Maze, Nottingham – 12th Nov – doors open 7:45
DIY POETS @ The Lofthouse as part of Nottingham Poetry Festival – 24th Nov – 8:00 till 10:30 – FREE! (Doors open @ 7:45)
 Speech Therapy @ The Guitar Bar as Part of Nottingham Poetry Festival, 26th Nov – 8:00
– Frank McMahon launches ‘I Wish I Could Sing Like Noddy Holder’ @ Nottingham Writers’ Studio – 4th Dec – 7:30

 

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