"THE MOTHER" AND HISTORY: PAST/PRESENT/FUTURE
An International Conference
University of Queensland
2-4 July 2009

3:30 - 3:50 p.m. Maurilia Meehan reading from her novel The Bad Seed (Rm 816, 8th floor, Michie Building)

Bio: Maurilia Meehan (www.mauriliameehan.com) is the award-winning author of five novels and many short stories. Her work has been translated into French and German.
The Bad Seed, her most recent novel, is available from www.fishpond.com.au

More details: http://www.uq.edu.au/mothering/

Dee's Bookstore & Boutique, 900 Main St., Evanston, WY 82930, (307) 789-0166

WHEN: Friday July 24th, through to Sunday July 26th, 2009.

VENUE: English & Drama Department of Loughborough University, Leicestershire, LE11 3TT, England, UK http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/ea/

For details of courses at Loughborough, see http://www.lboro.ac.uk/ or telephone +44 (0)1509 263171.

HOW TO GET THERE: http://www.lboro.ac.uk/about/map/pages/finding-lborouni.html

TICKETS: Will be available imminently. £20 covers whole festival, including all events and a workshop. Other ticket types will be announced shortly.
All ticket enquiries to Ruth Salt, telephone 01509 222 761 (overseas: +44 1509 222 761) between 9am-5pm BST, or e-mail

SPECIAL EVENTS at the festival:

DREAMS OF MAY - first public performance of this critically acclaimed play outside London.
It is a one woman play in poetry about loss and transition. The play takes place on a train where the woman’s memory is triggered by objects causing her to look over her life and confront her demons. This internal conversation is revealed to the audience through poetry and music, ultimately expressing a life of growth, and the discovery of a hope which allows the character to find her way forward. Written by SUE GUINEY Interview Starring ROSALIND CRESSY

STORIES DRUMMED TO POLAR SKIES by Siobhan Logan.
Exclusive and specially rewritten version of the dazzling fusion of poetry and science spectacular. The original version of 'Stories Drummed to Polar Skies' was performed at the National Science Museum and the Richard Attenborough Centre. http://homepage.ntlworld.com/siobhan.logan1/

ROSIE LUGOSI, renowned vampire poetess, brings her hair-raising poetic cabaret. Be very scared - you might laugh your way to a cracked ribcage.
Author of "Creatures of the Night" If you want to attend a FREE workshop with Rosie Lugosi, ask for the Rosie Garland one. Details of how to book appear below.

POETS CONFIRMED TO READ/PERFORM

GAIL ASHTON, author of "Ghost Songs" (Cinnamon)
CAROLE BALDOCK (editor of "Orbis"), author of "Bitching" (poetry, publisher: Sound), widely anthologised, and also the author of numerous non-fiction books, including "How to Make Money from Writing" and "How to Succeed as a Single Parent". l
TINA BASS, "Mechanical Expressions" (Writers Forum), "Fat Man Dancing" (Poetry Monthly Press), etc
DAVID BIRCUMSHAW, "The Ghost Machine," "A Chidee's Alphabet" and "The Animal Subsidies" (Arrowhead)
JULIE BODEN, Birmingham Poet Laureate (2002/3), Poet-in-residence at Symphony Hall and Town Hall in Birmingham, amongst other highly poetic things! Author of "Beyond the Bullring"," Cut on the Bias", "Through the Eye of a Crow", "Wasted Lives", and "Bluebeard's Wife" (Pontefract Press).
WAYNE BURROWS, editor of Staple, and author of "Marginalia" (Peterloo)
NICK CARBO, "Secret Asian Man" (Northwestern University Press)
SALLY CLARK, anthologised by Templar (2007-8), and placed in the Bridport 2005) and BBC Wildlife Poet (2005).
JANE COMMANE: anthologised in "Gists and Piths", "Bluebeard's Wives", et cetera; co-editor of "Under the Radar"; co-founder of Nine Arches Press (with Matt Nunn).
ROSEMARY DUN, "Lorelei Gets it on" and "Born Lippy", plus the new CD "Me and My Big Mouth" (Big Mouth Productions)
JOHN ELSON - comedy poet, artist, stand-up comedian, and compere at King Knut's comedy club in Peterborough.
ANDY FLETCHER
ANGELA FRANCE, "Occupation" (summer 2009); runner-up 2009 Torbay Festival Competition.
MARK GOODWIN, "Else" (Shearsman), anthologised in "Coffee House", etc.
RADCLIFF GREGORY, author of "Everywhere, Except...", "Figaro's Cabin" and "Fragile Art" (under pseudonym; Catamount, no longer available).
BRENDAN HAWTHORNE, editor of 'Read the Music' and Poet Laureate on http://www.thestirrer.com. Publications: Station Fifteen (2008, Limited 1st edition, ISBN: 978-0-9554467-1-9); Slide (Poetry Monthly Press, 2007); Urban Dawn (bluechrome, 2004); The All Night Cafe and Other Dives (with Geoff Stevens, The Poetry Wednesbury Imprint, 2006).
SONIA HENDY-ISAAC, "Flesh" (forthcoming, bluechrome)
MARTIN HOLROYD
CHRISTOPHER JAMES - WINNER: NATIONAL POETRY COMPETITION 2009
PAT JOURDAN, award-winning poet, "The Cast-Iron Shore", "Turpentine", and "The Bedsit" (poetry), plus the new short story anthology "Rainy Pavements".
CHRIS KINSEY: BBC Wildlife Poet of the Year in 2008. She received an Arts Council of Wales Writer’s Bursary in 2000. Her collection, Kung Fu Lullabies, Ragged Raven Press, came out in 2004. A second collection, Cure for a Crooked Smile, is also forthcoming from Ragged Raven, and a third, Swarf, from Smokestack Books.
EMMA LEE, "Yellow Torchlight and the Blues" (Original Plus)
PAUL LEE, "The Light Forecast" (Original Plus)
BOB MEE: The Maker of Glass Eyes (Cinnamon, 2009) and Paradise Road (2003).
MATT MERRITT: "Troy Town" (Arrowhead Press, 2008)
IAN MORGAN, "The Flesh Suite" (forthcoming, bluechrome).
MATT NUNN: "Happy Cos I'm Blue" (Heaventree Press)
KERRY ORANGE
TONY PETCH
LESLEY QUAYLE
SUSAN RICHARDSON: "Creatures of the Intertidal Zone", and also one of the resident poets on BBC Radio 4's 'Saturday Live'.
STEVE ROONEY
SAM SMITH
GILLIAN SPRAGGS, author of "Outlaws & Highwaymen", editor of "Love Shook my Senses: Lesbian Love Poems".
BEN STAINTON, "The Jealousies" (BeWrite Books)
GEOFF STEVENS, 2009 Ted Slade Award winner, "The Phrenology of Anaglypta" (bluechrome) et cetera; also editor of "The Purple Patch".
JON STONE
CAROL THISTLETHWAITE "from the field book" (BeWrite Books)
PAM THOMPSON, author of 'The Japan Quiz' (forthcoming, Redbeck Press), Spin (Waldean Press) and Parting the Ghosts of Salt (Redbeck Press); also widely anthologised.
LYDIA TOWSEY
DEBORAH TYLER-BENNETT, "Clark Gable in Mansfield", and editor of "Coffee House" .
MIKE WILSON: Desperanto (forthcoming)

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ALL WORKSHOPS ARE COMPLETELY FREE!

That's right, completely free, no catches. However, you will need to buy a ticket for the festival to be eligible. You will need book your workshop space in advance if you want to be guaranteed a place.

At present, you can only attend one free workshop, although this may change, depending on demand. To book a workshop, contact Ruth Salt (details below) by e-mail or telephone, and let her know your three most preferred choices. You will then be allocated to your most preferred workshop(s) with spaces left.

All workshop enquiries to Ruth Salt, telephone 01509 222 761 (overseas: +44 1509 222 761) between 9am-5pm BST, or e-mail R.Salt@lboro.ac.uk.

CONFIRMED TO GIVE WORKSHOPS:

Carole Baldock:
Cinnamon Press: Small Press Publishing (no maximum place limit)
Sally Clark: "A Hole to See The Sky Through And Find a Poem In." Led by Sally Clark this writing workshop will explore holes: from black holes, bolt holes, man holes to holes in your socks. Holes can be both a trap and an escape, framing what we experience of the world. With examples of views through holes from poets, philosophers, journalists, and sculptors plus a chance to make and use a few holes of your own, just bring pen and paper and let the holes provide the inspiration.
Angela France: 'Speaking through the Mask' - writing as persona. (20 places)
Nick Carbo:
Rosemary Dun: Poetry From Nowhere - how to write poetry when you're uninspired. You've got a deadline, or you have a nub of an idea which won't develop, or you just want to write a poem, and your muse appears to have deserted you. Come along and discover how to bring forth your poetry. Prepare to be bold and have fun. Workshop led by Rosemary Dun, lecturer, poet, writer and performer, MA Creative Writing. (15 places)
Rosie Garland (aka Rosie Lugosi!): Performance Poetry
Sonia Hendy-Isaac: Slam Poetry
Matt Merritt: Poetry and Place: look at making poetry from your immediate locality, taking in geography, local history, etc. (15 - 20 places available)
Mike Wilson: “Why do poets die younger than other writers?’ Research has shown that, of all writers (fiction, biography etc.) it’s the poets that are likely to die earlier than the rest – this seems to be the case world-wide, and is not necessarily just about famous and infamous suicides we’ve heard about... It’s about you and me! Mike Wilson looks at the poet’s fascination with the lure of death and the prosaic facts behind the morbid flights of fantasy. Not for the faint-hearted.

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Thus far, there is no budget, so at present they are very kindly donating their services. So PLEASE come along and show your appreciation for them. They are all excellent published poets, so I am sure that buying books by any/all of them will be money very well spent.

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The event aims to offer a diverse array of poets and other contributors, ranging from the literary, through to the comic. Hopefully, there will be something for everyone.

The festival will feature performances, readings and workshops with published poets. Expect lashings of lyrical lycanthropy from Rosie Lugosi, and a special production of Sue Guiney's critically-acclaimed play in poetry, "Dreams of May", performed by Rosalind Cressy (http://www.thelionspart.co.uk/aboutus/rosalindcressy.html), an outstanding actress with an impeccable career CV, including a number of Shakespearian roles.

There will also be an open mic slot.

Apart from the poets reading, some author authors will be available to meet in person and sign copies of their books on sale. One already confirmed is Louise Pymer http://chipmunkapublishing.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=86.

The event will also be attended by some poetry publishers/magazines, and some press, including:

BeWrite Books
bluechrome http://www.bluechrome.co.uk/store/shop/
Chroma http://www.chromajournal.co.uk/
Cinnamon Press http://www.cinnamonpress.com/index.htm
Original Plus Books / The Journal
Poetry Monthly http://www.poetrymonthly.com/
Ragged Raven Press http://raggedraven.co.uk/
Staple http://staplemagazine.wordpress.com/

Some of these publishers will be presenting exclusive showcases featuring cutting-edge modern poetry from some of their finest authors.

More details will be released as they are confirmed. Please send any enquiries or offers of help (organising, printing leaflets, promoting, et cetera) should be send to the creator of this site.

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I also run Polyverse Poets, a closed group on Facebook exclusively for published poets.
If you request to join Polyverse Poets, I will check that you have been published before approving you. This is out of respect for the group's members, and to protect their privacy.

To subscribe to the mailing list, please contact

Contact Details
Website
Location: Leicester, United Kingdom
Recent News PLEASE NOTE THAT NO MORE POETS CAN BE ADDED TO THE LINE-UP. IT IS FULL. However, poets (published only) are welcome to contact me to go on the standby list to offer readings, performances, and/or workshops to cover for cancellations. You will be given as much notice as is feasible.

I have tentatively begun setting up the next event (which will not be before 2010), and poets are welcome to volunteer for that. For more details, see

October 15-18, 2009,

Bouchercon Conference, Indianapolis, IN

Featuring Marta Stephens

more details to follow