This draws together mainly poetry workshops, with a few creative writing ones, across the Midlands for 2013:
Saturday, 9 February 2013 Erotic, platonic, geographic: a workshop on love,Avebury,from 10:30 to 16:30 (GMT)A poetry workshop from Martin Malone and Jo Bell in the fantastic setting of Avebury – the village hall is right on the edge of the largest stone circle in the world.
Just before Valentine’s Day we will write about LOVE of all sorts – the sexual, the love of friends and family, the love of place. A day of writing exercises will bring out the very best in your work; we want you to produce the best poetry you can. Surprise yourself and enjoy a busy, friendly day of writing. Our range of prompts, published poems and discussions will generate the best creative chemistry.
Saturday February 23rd 2013Birmingham Goes Pop: Writing Workshop led by celebrity DJ and Poet Charlie Jordan.St Pauls Gallery, 94 Northwood Street , Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, West Midlands B3 1TH
11pm- 3pm
The first in an exciting series of workshops organised by Birmingham’s leading Poetry Collective “Write Down Speak Up” in which new venues and locations will provide a platform to stimulate your creative talents. Our experienced team of workshop leaders will rotate to ensure expert knowledge as well as enthusiasm and writing experience at their event.
St Pauls Gallery is the World’s leading retailer in signed limited edition album cover fine art. Opened in 2002 St Pauls has steadily grown to what is now the largest collection of licensed album cover art in the World. With well over 100 signed prints on permanent show and sale, the gallery is a place not to be missed if music is your passion. Also on show are exclusive collections of signed limited edition musician portrait photographs and fine art prints. St Pauls also actively invests and trades in rare fine art prints and originals by world renowned artists including Andy Warhol, Picasso, Bridget Riley and Salvador Dali.
St Pauls’ range of album cover fine art from bands including Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Queen, David Bowie & The Beatles is on show in the various white wall gallery spaces, each print signed by the original artist who created the work all those years ago. Album cover artists include Sir Peter Blake (The Beatles, Ian Dury), Storm Thorgerson & Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis (Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, 10cc), Karl Ferris (Jimi Hendrix, Donovan), Terry Pastor (David Bowie), and Jim Fitzpatrick (Thin Lizzy)
Charlie Jordan is a past Birmingham Poet Laureate and freelance DJ who has hosted shows for national and local stations including Radio 1, Radio 2, Capital FM, BRMB, Heart FM, LBC, BBC London and BBC WM as well as a host and events facilitator at venues such as London’s O2, Madam Tussauds, Birmingham’s Town Hall, and the I.C.C. Charlie will be assisted by Event co-ordinator for the day Gary Longden.
The day will commence with a guided tour of the gallery followed by a series of writing exercises exploring individual artwork, their themes and their eras which span the period from the 1960’s to the present day. Local celebrity will be specifically explored. Do you know the local location of the tower block featured on the classic Led Zeppelin 4? Come along and find out!
Charlie and Gary will present some bespoke poems inspired by the gallery to inspire and offer a sense of place.
A nearby pub and cafe are available for a mid -session break, although workshoppers are welcome to remain within the gallery for the duration.
There will be an opportunity to perform completed work at the end. Gallery Director Symon Bland has asked for copies of completed work inspired by the event to be submitted to him afterwards if the authors wish. Who knows, your work could be part of the next celebrity launch!
Session Fee: £10
How to reserve your place: E mail writedownspeakup@gmail.com
Numbers are restricted, first come first served.
Off Street Paid Parking available almost opposite the gallery in Northwood St.
Sat 23rd/Sun 24th Feb Worcester Pub Thetare Compnys Weekend festival- Stourport Manor hotel
Workshops from £5
Saturday 13th April, Hotel Du Vin, Cheltenham. 4pm – 6pm,
Chloe (the Midnight Storyteller) is running a voice and performance workshop to kick off the Cheltenham Poetry Festival. If you’d like more confidence to read your poems in public, to learn how to project so that you can be heard with or without a mic, to get past your nerves, consider going to this (which is also great fun and I heartily recommend it!):
Speak your Poem Workshop
Reading at the Festival? – This is the perfect warm-up for your poetry events.
Even if you don’t want to be a performance poet, your work deserves to be well presented.
Chloë of the Midnight Storytellers helps you be clear and confident when speaking your poems to an audience, with or without a microphone, in this informal 2 hour workshop.
With 20 years’ experience of performing and teaching, spoken word artist Chloë gives you simple techniques to communicate the power of your poem.
With plenty of giggles and games, you’ll explore:
- How to control performance nerves
- How to make sure they can hear you at the back
- How to do justice to your work.
What to wear: Comfortable clothing *that you feel good in*. (This is important!) Ok for gentle stretching but not gymnastics.
What to bring:
- Notepad/pens for jotting
- Poems you want to work on for your event OR poems you like, to practise on.
PLEASE BOOK DIRECT WITH CHLOË *not* the festival hotline
£9 full price
£4 student / unwaged / senior
email chloe@midnightstorytellers.co.uk or phone 01451 861185
Sun 21st April - “Only Words Aloud” – a repeat of the successful workshops we ran last summer and autumn 2012 – this one is a storytelling workshop for beginners, taking you through what storytelling is, how it works, basic concepts and technique. A confidence boosting day of fun and pracitcal exercises – by the end of the day, you will have told your own first tale in front of a small, sympathetic audience.
Sat 27th April – “More Words Aloud” – a follow-on to Only Words Aloud, for those with a little experience of storytelling and seeking to explore further. Lots of telling and practical games and exercises to help you delve further into the traditional art of oral storytelling. Includes final telling segment with shared gentle feedback. Content will be geared towards those attending, so if you have been before, we will cover new areas / exercises to suit the assembled group.
Both workshops are lead by Sophie Snell, 10am – 4pm, held in Sophie’s own home, in a large extension overlooking Allestree Park, Derby. Help can be offered, as before, with train pickups. Contact Sophie direct for more information and booking form. Tel 01332 840007 or email robandsophie@hotmail.com. Bookings must be made in advance £35 OWA, £45 MWA (smaller group). Note you can follow up these workshops with our Flying Donkeys open night on Wed May 8th when you can tell a tale “for real” in front of a welcoming sympathetic audience.
Fri 31st may ROOM TO WRITE WEEKENDS
This will be our sixth year of running residential writing courses at the wonderful Ceridwen Centre in Carmarthenshire. They are the sort of weekends where you come home feeling you’ve been away for much longer; whether this is because of the stunning setting, the quality cuisine, the boisterous banter, the fruitful flow of ink – or all the above – is for you to decide.
We’ll be there twice this year and neither Ceridwen nor Spiel Unlimited have put their prices up. So, for a modest £195, you can enjoy the very best in comfort, creativity and companionship. Click here to explore the delights of Ceridwen.
Places are available for the weekends of Friday 31st May to Sunday 2nd June and Friday 27th to Sunday 29th September 2013. Contact Marcus by email or on 01285 640470 if you’d like to come along or want more details.
