“… life, literature, and the pursuit of happiness in the famous Troubadour cellar-club, London’s liveliest and best–loved poetry landmark since the 1950s …”
welcome
from Coffee-House Poetry organiser, Anne-Marie Fyfe
Dear Poets and Poetry Fans
A great and enthusiastically-supported start to the season with the place packed and eight wonderfully different poets with a superb set from each: next-up’s a troupe from acclaimed poetry publisher, Oversteps Books, on Mon 6th Feb: hope lots of you’re planning to join us in celebrating another of the very fine poetry presses helping keep poetry alive and out there!
For those who haven’t already heard about our leap into publishing with our hotel-themed anthology (and a Troubadour workshop tie-in) see our Spring 2012 Newsletter...
And we’re delighted to announce Jane Draycott and Bernard O’Donoghue as 2012 Troubadour International Poetry Prize. judges: closing date’s in October 2012 so you’ve plenty of time (and several Troubadour workhops) between now and then to perfect your prize submissions.
And do check-out the 2011 Troubadour International Poetry Prize if you haven’t already: some great poems, thanks to our dedicated poet-judges, our sponsors and all those of you around the world who, by submitting your poems, keep Coffee-House Poetry thriving.
Anne-Marie
next event
mon 6 feb: oversteps books, with alwyn marriage (ed.), michael swan, ann kelley, robert stein, ann segrave, christopher north, joan mcgavin & graham high
First Coffee-House Poetry visit from a South Devon press who have been publishing quality poetry for almost 20 years, with a roster of poets many of whose names will be familiar to Troubadour regulars, and to anyone au fait with the world of contemporary poetry publishing, magazines, venues and events, led by Alwyn Marriage (latest collection, Touching Earth, 2007), former Chief Exec of two literature aid agencies and now Oversteps Managing Editor, who’ll read, and will introduce Oversteps poets:
- Michael Swan (2nd collection, The Shapes of Things, 2011) works in English language teaching and applied linguistics;
- Ann Kelley (Because We Have Reached That Place, 2006) wrote The Burying Beetle (shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award) and The Bower Bird (Winner of the Costa Children’s Book of the Year Award);
- Robert Stein (1st collection, The Very End of Air, 2011) reviews contemporary classical music for Tempo and International Record Review;
- Ann Segrave lives in Lewes and is deeply influenced by the Sussex Downs landscape as well as Crete and Provence; her Aviatrix was published in 2009;
- Christopher North (Explaining the Circumstances, 2010) founded Metroland Poets and now runs a centre for writers in the mountains north of Alicante;
- Joan McGavin (Flannelgraphs, 2011) is an Associate Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Winchester;
- Graham High (The Range-Finder’s Glasses, 2011) edits Blithe Spirit, journal of the British Haiku society, and has appeared in over 40 different haiku and haibun journals world-wide.
readings - spring 2012
mondays 8-10 pm, £7 (concs. £6)
- mon 23 jan: troubadours of spring, voices new & re-discovered, with jonathan davidson, liz berry, jennie christian, karen mccarthy woolf, edward mckay, tamar yoseloff, dante micheaux & katy evans-bush
- mon 6 feb: oversteps books, with alwyn marriage (ed.), michael swan, ann kelley, robert stein, ann segrave, christopher north, joan mcgavin & graham high
- mon 20 feb: what we should have said, an entertaining, enlightening, innovative & unpredictable spoken-word shindig, with stuart silver, ellen cranitch, robert minhinnick, samantha wynne-rhydderch & pianist, huw warren
- mon 5 mar: magma #52 launch, with guests, inua ellams & greta stoddart
- mon 19 mar: tipping the night porter, a hotel-themed end-of-season poetry-party with guest readers, music & prize-quiz
See full details of this season’s poetry readings
classes - spring 2012
workshops & seminars, sundays 12-3.30 pm, £28 (concs. £24)
advance booking only, with cheque, please, as our workshops/classes are frequently oversubscribed
- sun 5 feb: the magic of realism, neruda, vallejo and paz with c.l. dallat
- sun 19 feb: an exaltation of larks, themed writing-workshop with anne-marie fyfe
- sun 11 mar: late check-out, themed writing-workshop with anne-marie fyfe
