Literature South West Arts Council England


Welcome to the Poetry Can’s new website, your one-stop portal to the world of poetry in the South West of England.



Poetry Can Poetry Competition 2008

The decision has been taken NOT to hold the Poetry Can Poetry Competition in 2008 

We are, however, planning on running the competition again in 2009



Street Poetry 

Poetry Can seeks poems about streets

Streets, roads, avenues etc have long been a source of inspiration to poets, see, for example, On Raglan Road by Patrick Kavanagh and the equally magical Raglan Lane by Brendan Kennelly. (page 54)

Poetry Can asked the poet Sara-Jane Arbury to write a series of poems about one of Bristol’s favourite thoroughfares, Park Street. Sara-Jane wrote her poems after spending a couple of weeks walking up and down Park Street talking to the people who work, shop, socialise and walk there. (click here to read poems)

Poetry Can would like to collect poems about the streets that in some way are important or significant to you.  It may be the street where something momentous happened - where you fell in love or where your heart was broken, or it may be a street where you live or lived, or a street where amazing characters live or it may be one you just love to walk down. It may be the street on which sits the pub or the club or the shop or the cinema of your dreams, or it may be a street that fills you with dread, but whatever the reason it must be a street you think is worthy of a poem.

Please send your poems to: streetpoetry@poetrycan.co.uk

Over the next year we will publish the best of them on the web site. And who knows, by the end of the year we may have an A-Z of the magical, poetic streets from all around the world and your street may be in it.      

Please note:

  • You may submit as many poems as you wish
  • Each poem may be in any style, of any length, but must take as its theme a named street, road, avenue, lane or thoroughfare etc.
  •  Each poem should be sent by email to: streetpoetry@poetrycan.co.uk
    PLEASE include your name, address, telephone number, email     address, plus the titles of your poems.
  • Poetry Can cannot return your poems.
    If you require a receipt please request a reply
    No changes can be made to a poem once it has been submitted
  • Poetry Can accepts poems for this project from anywhere in the world
  • Poems should be in English and should not have been published or accepted for publication elsewhere
  • All poems must be the entrants own work
  • No poem should be a translation of another poet’s work
  • The project is open to poets of any age 
  • Poetry Can will publish a selection of poems on the Poetry Can website as it receives them through the year.
  • Poetry Can will not enter into correspondence re. submissions, nor will it provide feedback on, or critique of, poems.
  • The copyright for each poem remains with the poet   


Thinking of writing a poetry show to take on the road?
Here's a bit of useful first-hand advice from Paralalia - David Johnson and Peter Hunter - who received an Arts Council grant to take their multi-media poetry show, Tales from a Paralalia Universe, around England in 2007.

Tales from a Paralalia Tour


Poetry Can have moved offices.

The new office and postal address is:
Poetry Can
12 Great George St,
Bristol,
BS1 5RH

Tel: (0117) 9330900


email and web addresses remain the same.



Poetry Can Poetry Competition 2007

Poetry Can is proud to announce the winner of the Poetry Can Poetry Competition 2007 as Denise McSheehy, a poet based in Totnes, Devon.



Poetry Can Poetry Competition 2006 winner, Elizabeth Whyman,  launched her Poetry Can published collection, Touchpiece, at Bristol Poetry Festival 2007.
The collection, costing £8.00 is available to order from Poetry Can by calling 0117 933 0900 or email:
admin@poetrycan.co.uk



Touchpiece by Elizabeth Whyman
Published by Poetry Can
ISBN 978-0-9539234-2-7



Bristol Poetry Festival 2008

Dates 4th - 14th Sept 2008



Bristol Poetry Festival 2007

Thurs 6th Sept to Sun 16th Sept 2007.

Bristol Poetry Festival brought together the most entertaining,

inspirational and award-winning poets and performers from Bristol, the South West, all over the UK and abroad in its annual celebration of language and real life as we live it.

 

Poets/performers this year included:


     Clare Shaw      Elizabeth Whyman

Brian Patten                     Clare Shaw             Elizabeth Whyman


Carol Ann Duffy        
  Carol Ann Duffy             John Sampson



Sean O'Brien     Jane Draycott     Frances Leviston
    Sean O'Brien                  Jane Draycott            Frances Leviston


Jean Sprackland     Ian Duhig   Colette Bryce
    Jean Sprackland               Iain Duhig                Colette Bryce


     
  Gwyneth Lewis            Daljit Nagra           Robyn Bolam


Ruth Padel
   Ruth Padel
 


Performance Poetry Shows included:


Ralph Hoyte
   Ralph Hoyte

Big Mouth’s Monster Bash At The Crypt
stars:

     
Elvis McGonagall  Jude Simpson    Byron Vincent       Nathan Filer


A Night of Lurid Love Poetry

     
Steve Tasane  Rosemary Harris Sally Crabtree  Sara-Jane Arbury 
                                                                              Glenn Carmichael.

Poetry Festval Poetry Slam featuring


         
Lucy English   Byron Vincent   Shagufta Iqbal   Theo Weywood

        
Dame Gabrielle      Felix J                Hayet                  Ucoc  

BBC Radio 4 Slam Final.

Forgetting To Remember

Festival Can Openers

Easton Can Openers

Acoustic Night Festival Special
The Lansdown Poetry Night




About Poetry Can

Poetry Can believes that poetry has a unique power to explore and express the experiences of life: poetry affects everyone. Poetry Can sees its role as enabling and encouraging as many people as possible across communities to get involved in poetry activity, raising awareness and enjoyment of this powerful art form.

If you would like to add any information to the site about your poetry event or activity, poetry group or institution click on contact and add your details/information or a return contact and we'll get your information up on the site.

If there's anything you'd like to see added in the future, please tell us and we'll see what we can do.

Please remember that this site is being constantly updated, so visit us regularly to see what's new.

We hope you enjoy the site and find it useful.






Spiel Unlimited courses at Ceridwen in Carmarthenshire 7/5/2008

Fancy time away freeing up your creative juices with like-minded people?
Want to pick up a pen, let your imagination wander, cast your words to the winds?
Ever thought of treating yourself to a writing weekend?

Ceridwen is all about inspiration. Here you will enjoy fabulous food, cheerful companionship, spectacular scenery, and workshops that entertain, engage and exhilarate – giving you the space to create. Invention. Expression. Freedom.

Aesthetica Creative Works Competition 7/5/2008

National arts magazine, Aethetica, is looking for undiscovered talent in fiction, poetry and artwork & photography.
Prize: £500 in each catagory.
Deadline: 31st August



Bath Can Openers 12/5/2008

Open mic with guest poet: David Johnson, poetry slam winner and international performer, launching his new collection.
plus poetry from Peter Hunter

NB, change of venue

Come along to share some poems or just listen.

A S P - Poetry Circle 15/5/2008

Open forum for poetry.
Bring a couple of poems to share - another poet's or your own.

Theme this month: Thomas.

A Boatload of knees 15/5/2008

A creative open mic night
music, poetry, comedy, performance welcome
(not a James Blunt factory!)
Bring your own mind.

Banner quotations taken from Pickings And Cuttings, a long running column of poetry quotations by Dennis
O’Driscoll in the literary journal Poetry Ireland Review, edited by Tony Curtis and published under the title As The
Poet Said, by Poetry Ireland in 1997.
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