 | Issue 16 of FourXFour Poetry Journal is now live, featuring another four great poets from within Northern Ireland: Maureen Boyle, Chris Jenkins, Dave Wilson and Gary Allen. From the editorial: "By the time Issue 17 is released this summer, FourXFour will have passed its fourth birthday. So far, we have brought you sixty-four individual poets with two hundred and seventy poems (counting our Bonus Round Issue). These are phenomenal numbers, and are testament to the depth and variety of poetical talents in ‘our wee country’. FourXFour is committed to a 50/50 split between male and female poets (currently at 32:32) across all issues, and endeavours to seek out great poetry from all circles and backgrounds. We are only one platform for poetry in Ireland: I undertook a recent tally of literary journals and zines – both online and in print – within Ireland, and was delighted to find over forty. We want to see more NI poets published, within Ireland and outside it, and will continue our pledge to help bring those with promise and ability to the fore." |
 Poetry NI presents:
The Belfast Book Festival Poetry Slam Saturday 18th June, 8.30pm, Crescent Arts Centre Open to all poets, we invite you to ‘take the mic’ and enter our annual poetry slam competition. Share your work in front of a lively and appreciative audience, with new readers always welcome. To enter, just register at the start of the night; names will be drawn out at random, with each poet invited onstage to read. Available slots will be limited to 22 due to time constraints, so it will be first come, first served. No pre-registration before the event. You have three minutes in which to compete. There’s three rounds in all with the outright winner declared Slam Champion 2016! Rules: All poems must be the sole work of the poet reading them (if for reasons of disability, you are unable to read and wish to nominate a reader on your behalf, just let us know). The time limit for each poem is three minutes - if you go over, you are disqualified, so watch the clock! One poem only per round. No props or musical accompaniment Pre-book tickets online at the Crescent Box Office. Good luck to all our entrants! [ And don't forget, we also have our regular PURELY POETRY open mic night on Friday 3rd as well in Crescent Arts Centre at 8.30pm, so a double dose of poetry goodness for June! ]
Purely Poetry last night: you guys were awesome, arriving at the new time at 8.30pm... we had very personal poems about all types of mental health, great to hear men writing those poems; co-host Geraldine O'Kane cried at a poem! We explored politics, love, cottages in Donegal, loss, self reflection, family and the legacy of Craig David (eek) and text speak and topics in-between.
Be proud of the way you listen and support one another as an audience and a community. We love the respect you share for one another as poets and humans, all helping create a space where you can share your words safely and still have the craic. We are honoured each month to be part of that. We hope you are too. Many thanks to our readers from last night: Colm Bradley, Nathan Elout-Armstrong, Vincent Creelan, Ona Harris, Robert Wilson, David Smylie, Matthew Rice, Elizabeth McGeown, Thomas Elliott, John Mc Guckin, Zakk Appleyard, Dave Wilson, Stephen Douglas, Savannah Dodd, Lesley Martin, Mark Cooper, Anthony Ferguson, Chris Jenkins, Neil Gardner, Emma Devlin, Ivona Coghlan, Gilbert Ignacio and William Donnelly. Also, a huge shout out to regular reader David Braziel, we missed you and all at PP wishes you a speedy recovery. We are back on 3rd June for more open mic goodness, and our annual Belfast Book Festival Poetry Slam on 18th June... more details soon!
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