The Drum, Write Down Speak Up and Apples and Snakes present
SHAKE THE DUST WEST MIDLANDS REGIONAL FINAL

Prepare to be blown off your seat by the energy, power and honesty of a new generation of poets.

PROFESSIONAL SPOKEN WORD ARTISTS Brenda Read-Brown, Spoz, Matt Windle, Andy Craven-Griffiths and Dreadlock Alien have coached teams of young people from across the region. Now those young poets are ready to Shake the Dust.

Join the 5 WEST MIDLANDS TEAMS as they showcase their work and compete for a place at the National Shake the Dust Final.

    “There will be times when they get nervous – even terrified, but that’s natural and it’s cool. Just go with it and then you can look back and say, I did that!.”
Spoz, Shake the Dust Poet Coach, Birmingham.

FEATURING special guest performances by Jam Jah Sound System with Juggla.

JUDGED by Akala, Sic’Nis and Charlie Dark.

PARTICIPANTS: Broadway School, Holyhead School, Stockland Green School, Queensbridge School and Woodrush School.

SHADOW POETS: Connie Bell, Hayley Frances, Laura Yates, Elisabeth Charis and Deci4Life.

When: Saturday 9 June 5pm
Where: The Drum, 144 Potters Lane, Aston, Birmingham B6 4UU
Tickets: £4
Info: the-drum.org.uk / applesandsnakes.org
Booking: 0121 333 2444

Apples and Snakes and Birmingham Libraries present
Poets' Place

Poets' Place is an informal gathering of poets that happens twice a month. It is an opportunity to meet like‐minded people, give and solicit feedback on your poetry, or just sit back and write for a couple of hours without interruption. You can use the Poets’ Place to make new friends, discover new poets, share and have your work critiqued, make useful connections, set a writing schedule... The Poets' Place can be whatever you decide to make of it.

Whether you are a published poet, a slam champion, or someone who is still wondering whether poetry might be worth a try, stop by. There is no need to book ahead: just show up with your poems or a blank notebook. There will be someone there to make you feel welcome and advise you on how to make the most of your time there.

The Poets’ Place is located on the Lower Ground Floor of Birmingham Central Library and it access via the Netloan Centre.

When: Saturday 16 June / Saturday 30 June, 2pm - 4pm
Where: Birmingham Central Library, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3HQ
Tickets: £FREE
Info: www.birmingham.gov.uk/centrallibrary / www.facebook.com/placeforpoets

Apples and Snakes, Peepul Centre, Phoenix Digital Media Centre and Legacy Trust present
The Loneliness of The Long Distance Diva

A gifted but deeply flawed diva reflects on her life: a prize seemingly everyone would want. 

A modern day epic of strength and vulnerability inspired by Alan Sillitoe’s classic The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner, the show is a compelling choreopoem, combining poetry and physical theatre with sublime cutting edge music and stunning digital visuals. Written and performed by multi-talented artist Carol Leeming. 

"Carol is a strong and confident performer" - Benji Reid, Breaking Cycles

"devolved British writing and performance at its best" - Dr Corinne Fowler, English Department Leicester University  

When: Thursday 21 June and Friday 22 June, 7.45pm
Where: Curve Theatre, Rutland Street, Leicester LE1 1SB
Tickets: £12 / £8
Info: www.curveonline.co.uk / 0116 2423595
Booking: www.curvetickets.co.uk / 0116 2423595

Apples and Snakes presents
Hit the Ode

Hit the Ode brings the most exciting poets from the region, the country and the world straight to the heart of Birmingham.

Hit the Ode brings the most exciting poets from the region, the country and the world to the heart of Birmingham. Join us! We have poems. Poems written on the backs of lottery tickets and on the margins of holy books; poems which yell through covered mouths and whisper through megaphones; poems which send you emails every day and poems which are not available to take your call right now. Good poems. Come and get them.

Line-up:

From Birmingham, shortMAN: shortMAN merges rhythm and rhyme in an eloquent examination of black history, justice, equality, and social issues.

From Manchester, Mike Garry: Mike’s heroes are the underdogs and the outsiders. He has been described by the Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder as ‘the best street poet ever.’

From Botswana, Andreattah Chuma: a member of the renowned Exodus Live Poetry collective, Drea has enchanted audiences from Gaborone to Glastonbury – but it will be her first performance in Brum!

A very few open mic slots will be available on the door (the pre-bookable slots have all been claimed). For more info, contact bohdan@applesandsnakes.org.

When: Thursday 28 June, 7.30pm
Where: The Victoria, 48 John Bright St, Birmingham B1 1BN
Tickets: £5
Info: www.thevictoriabirmingham.co.uk / Facebook
Booking: on the door

Open mic: half of the open mic slots available via email ( bohdan@applesandsnakes.org), the other half can be claimed on the door on the day of the event.

WHAT IS 'GO AND SEE'
Go and See does what it says on the tin: it allows West Midlands poets to attend spoken word events (regular nights, one-off shows, slams, etc.) in other parts of the country by covering the price of travel and tickets to the event.

If you are a performance poet, this could be a wonderful opportunity to hear new voices and discover new styles; to finally catch your favourite artist live; to chat with successful event organisers and use their experience to improve your own night; or to make contacts in a part of the country you haven’t had the chance to visit yet.

We will ask those who take part in the scheme to write a short blog entry about their trip (or record a video response), to be posted both on the Punch Records website and the Apples and Snakes blog.

The deadline is the last day of each month. By the 7th of the following month, we will pick one or two lucky applicants and send them off to see the event(s) of their choice. This project will function every month until further notice. So, no more excuses. Don’t just sit there. Go and See! To apply, click here.

Go and See is a partnership between Apples and Snakes and Punch Records. For more info click here: www.punch-records.co.uk.

Search for next Birmingham Poet Laureate
Birmingham Central Library are looking for an experienced poet who is capable of producing original and creative poetry, somebody who is able and willing to perform their own work and prepared to get involved in key high profile events (corporate, arts, cultural and
educational) and as well as community events throughout the year. Poets applying should have experience of writing and sharing poetry, be well informed of the city’s poetry scene and have engaged with a variety of groups/individuals. The successful poet will also be commissioned to attend various events and write poetry about Birmingham during the year. If this is you, apply now! For details, visit  www.birmingham.gov.uk/poetslaureate or contact Nikki Bi, the Reader development Support Officer.
Info: nikki.bi@birmingham.gov.uk
Deadline: 17 August

Being Human – Poetry in Performance
A strikingly original performance of poetry from around the world developed by Midland Creative Projects with Bloodaxe Books and in association with the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry. The quality of the creative team and the fineness of the poetry makes this arguably the most important and powerful performance of world poetry in the 2010s
When: Friday 22 - Saturday 23 June, 6.30 pm
Where: Belgrade Theatre, Belgrave Square, Coventry CV1 1GS
Info: livepoetry.org/dates-venues

Phenomenal Women III
Building on the success and popularity of the previous 2 'Phenomenal Women' events, Birmingham Poet Laureate, Jan Watts brings you another evening of poetry by 'phenomenal women'. This event is open to all and will feature a range of poetry from women that Jan has met, worked with or come across throughout her Laureate year. Some reading slots are taken, please contact Jan Watts via roaringgreasepaint@hotmail.co.uk to find out more.
When: Thursday 27 June, 7.30 pm
Where: Birmingham Library Theatre, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3HQ
Info: roaringgreasepaint@hotmail.co.uk / 0121 433 4389