Saturday, March 8, 2014

OOPS!!

Sorry to Zest! supporters  -  the post for March 8th should have gone on my personal blog
red botinki. blogspot.com
and somehow I got my wires crossed and it has appeared here.The penalty of doing several things at once!

What should have appeared here was thanks to all of you for supporting us last Monday and coming to hear Roy McFarlane who gave a stirring and lively performance, getting everyone to their feet to join in a call-and-response poem.

I mentioned on the 3rd March that we are putting our price for admission to Zest! nights up to a simple £3 per person; we cannot afford to continue the concessionary fee anymore, I'm sorry to say, as numbers of attendance have been dropping lately and unless we can afford to make enough to pay for the hire of Alexander's we will be left with one of two options: to find another venue, or else to close Zest! down.

We run Zest! totally for your benefit, not to make profit. And we do our best to bring an interesting variety of poets from elsewhere to Chester to give the Zest!evenings that extra zing.

SO, it's up to you, our supporters, to do what you can to keep supporting us!!  Please continue to do so: we have more exciting poets as guests for the rest of 2014, Chrys Salt in June, Brian Johnstone in October, and 3 local poets  - Maureen Weldon, Dave Costello and Edwin Stockdale -who have all achieved  their first publication in December. Congratulations to all three.

The next Zest! will be on Monday 2nd June. Please do your very best to come!

REVIEW OF "RISE" IN ROUNDYHOUSE, ISSUE 40

In her recent review of "Rise" in Roundyhouse magazine Ellie Rees talks of the 'earthbound pleasures' of my work, commenting that the poems have a 'simplicity and stripped-down nakedness, haiku-like in their power to capture an experience, however fleeting'. 

This is not the first time I've had such a comment on my work and I very much appreciate it as I do work carefully to pare the poems down to precisely the nucleus of a moment and no more. Of course it doesn't always work! And also I don't treat all my poems in such a way; it depends what the subject matter is. But where it is a matter of writing about harrowing issues like undergoing treatment for cance/ rape/ illness/ grief I do focus really hard on trying to achieve this spareness of language

.In "Rise" I have branched out into other fields than the cancer experience and observation of wildlife which is my other major focus; I have written a good deal about the habits of people whom I've observed, whether it's the child Nuala , or the inhabitants of the fictional Almond St,  and I was pleased to read Ellie's closing comments on the collection, saying saying that 'McEvoy's keen eye delights in the variety and eccentricity of everyday life'. I do indeed!

Her review makes a total now of three reviews of "Rise" so far: James Naiden reviewed it on  ink sweat and tears, and Matt Merritt gave it a very enthusiastic review on his blog polyolbion. I am very grateful to all three, and glad too that my publisher Jan Fortune is very active in sending out copies for review. I have heard from some poets that there are some poetry presses that don't do this. I have no idea if reviews help to sell copies of a book or not but at least they bring a book to people's attention and when they are generous, well-informed reviews, as these have been, it makes the writer feel appreciated and understood. Which is worth an enormous amount!

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Monday 3rd March

Apologies to Zest! followers  -we forgot to send out our usual reminder last month.But Zest! will be happening on Monday 3rd March 2014 , 8pm, at Alexander's as  usual. We have a very special guest in Roy McFarlane, former Poet Laureate of Birmingham. Roy says of himself he "walks the earth, delivering his words as and when he sees fit". And he has excellent delivery style!

Sunday, September 8, 2013

UPDATE

Just to let all our Zest! followers know that the guest poet on Monday 7th October will be Julie Boden, one of Birmingham city's Poet Laureates.

And in March 2014 we have yet another of Birmingham's Poet Laureates, Roy McFarlane, a man with a marvellous voice. (And a really cute beard unless he's recently shaved it off).

Well, we've had most of Cheshire's poet laureates as our guests, and one from Cumbria (Maggie Norton) so it's time to venture further afield!

Friday, November 23, 2012

Zest! Dates in 2013

Monday 25th February 2013 at 8:00 pm
Guest Poets - Jan Dean and Phil Williams Compère - Gill McEvoy
Jan Dean hardly needs any introduction to Zest! followers. Jan has published two collections of poetry (Macmillan and & Blackie) and had poems published in over 100 anthologies. Jan is well-known for her work with schools and has undertaken a whole lot of innovative and interesting writing projects. http://www.jandean.co.uk/ 
Phil Williams hosts poetry open-mic events in South Cheshire and has had poems published in Agenda, Iota, Poetry News and Planet. He grew up in South Wales, spent two years in Australia as a '£10 Pom' and studied and worked in Yorkshire. He now lives in Alsager, works freelance in marketing and edits the Leopard Poetry blog www.leopardpoetry.wordpress.com.

 Monday 3rd June 2013 at 8:00 pm
Guest Poet - Katrina Naomi Compère: Leih Steggall
Katrina Naomi is a South-London based poet. Her first full collection The Girl with the Cactus Handshake (Templar Poetry, 2009)was described as “arresting and vivid” by the judges of the London New Poetry Award. http://katrinanaomi.co.uk/ 

 Monday 7th October 2013 at 8:00 pm
Guest poets to be confirmed soon. Compère - Angela Topping
We will be taking entries for our special mini poetry competition to mark National Poetry Day 2013 - this will be the usual four-liner on the theme announced as the National Poetry Day Theme for 2013.

 Monday 2nd December at 8:00 pm
Our usual end of year Open Floor Joint compères - Gill McEvoy and Leih Steggall
Results of our special mini poetry competition to mark National Poetry Day will be announced and prizes awarded as usual

Tuesday, September 25, 2012


The next Zest! Open Floor Poetry Night is on  Monday 1 October starting at 8:00 pm, at Alexanders, Rufus Court, Off Northgate, Chester CH1 2JG (Entry £2/3)
Guest poet: Tom George
Compère: Angela Topping
Liverpool-based performer, Tom George “has been delighting audiences for over 10 years”. Tom has been featured on Channel 4 TV and staged several one-man shows at Liverpool’s Unity theatre.
STOP PRESS! Zest! mini-poetry competition to celebrate National Poetry Day 2012
To celebrate the forthcoming National Poetry Day, we are inviting all “Zesters” to submit a 4-line poem on the theme of STARS  at Zest! On 1st October (we’ll have slips of paper and pens available in case you want to create on the night). Remember to write your name and email address on your submission. All 4-line poems will be judged and the results announced at our Christmas Zest! Open Floor Poetry Night on Monday 3rd December 2012. There will be prizes for the best 3 submissions!!
At every Zest! we invite you to bring your own or a favourite poem to read, or just come to listen!
SLOTS FOR EARLY BIRDS: There are five 3-poem reading slots for those who register to read early.
POETRY BOOK TABLE: We also have have quality new and used poetry books available to buy on our poetry book table. Please feel free to bring any poetry books you would like to pass on /sell.
Other dates to put on your calendar
1. SPECIAL FESTIVAL ZEST! Monday 22 October 2012.  This Special Zest! Is to be held in collaboration with the Essar Oil Literature Festival, Chester 15-28 October, 2012 (£1.50 /£2 / £3)
We look forward to welcoming poets from all over the world at this special Zest! night.
2. CHESTER POETS AT THE FESTIVAL! Chester Poets will launch their new anthology along with readings and a little light music as well as another open mic session at The Cross Keys, Lower Bridge Street on Thursday 25th October at 7:30 pm (Free)
3. REBECCA GOSS: a special opportunity to celebrate National Poetry Day with Poet Rebecca Goss at  Bebington Central Library (Civic Centre Way, Bebington, CH63 7PN) at 2.30 pm on 4th October 2012.
Admission: Free (For other details: T: 01516437219 and E: Bebington@wirral-libraries.net)
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4. REBECCA GOSS AND MARY ROBISNON AT THE FESTIVAL! Rebecca reads again with Mary Robinson during the Essar Oil Literarture Festival, at Chester Town Hall, Northgate, Chester CH1 2HJ, on Thursday 25th October at 1pm (£3). You may already know that Rebecca lives in Liverpool and that her first full-length collection, The Anatomy of Structures came out in June 2010. Mary Robinson lives in Cumbria where she works in adult and continuing education and her collection The Art of Gardening was published in 2011.


Greetings from the Zest! Team
Zest! Open Floor Poetry


Tuesday, August 21, 2012

SOME MONDAYS NOT TO MISS

Mondays are often good nights for poets and here are a few Mondays not to miss!!

24 September: STARS ! A POETRY WRITING WORKSHOP TO MARK NATIONAL POETRY DAY
Stanley Palace, Watergate, Chester, CH1 2LF on 24th September 2012 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm. £15.
Poem Catchers presents a special poetry writing workshop  to celebrate National Poetry Day 2012- a creative evening in the inspiring setting of one of Chester's most historic buildings.
To book: email info@poemcatchers.com.

Sometimes the stars seem so close you could almost touch them; sometimes they’re hidden by light pollution. But they’re always them we give them names, we look up to them we navigate by them, we say we’re born under the influence of certain stars, we call our famous personalities “stars”. Rising stars. Falling Stars. Shooting stars. This workshop sets out via several writing exercises to explore our fascination with the stars, including our “earthling stars”, the celebrities.

Monday 1 October: NEXT ZEST! OPEN FLOOR POETRY NIGHT
Guest poet: Tom George
Liverpool-based performer, Tom George “has been delighting audiences for over 10 years”. Tom has been featured on Channel 4 TV and staged several one-man shows at Liverpool’s Unity theatre.

Monday 22 October 2012. FESTIVAL ZEST!
Special Zest! to be held in collaboration with the Essar Oil Literature Festival, Chester 15-28 October, 2012
We look forward to welcoming poets from all over the world at this special Zest! night.


Monday 3 December 2012: END OF YEAR ZEST!
Our usual end of year Open Floor

At every Zest! we invite you to bring your own or a favourite poem to read, or just come to listen! There are five 3-poem reading slots for those who register to read early. We also have have quality new and used poetry books available to buy on our poetry book table.

Zest! nights begin at 8:00 pm and take place at Alexanders Theatre Bar, Rufus Court, off Northgate, Chester CH1 2JG (Entry £2/3)