Claire Walker joined us as guest poet in November, for an engaging reading from her V Press pamphlet, The Girl who Grew into a Crocodile … and some tantalising and accomplished new poems, destined, we’re sure for her Claire’s collection. A diverse range of voices for the open mic, with poets joining us from Gloucester and Swindon, as well as regulars from Cheltenham and district.
In October we were thrilled to have Kathy Gee as guest poet. A thoroughly enjoyable reading from Kathy’s V Press collection, Book of Bones … and other poems. Again, a strong open mic topped off a smashing night of poetry.
September’s Poetry Café – Refreshed in Cheltenham welcomed guest poet Deborah Harvey who gave us an unforgettable evening of powerful poetry. A strong open mic was represented by David Clarke, Michael Newman, Peter Wyton, Jennie Farley, David Ashbee, Belinda Rimmer, Sam Loveless, Gill Wyatt, Stephen Daniels, Chris Hemingway, Flash and hosts Roger Turner and Sharon Larkin. We were delighted to welcome poets from Bristol and Swindon to Poetry Café – Refreshed, and looked forward to guest poets from Worcestershire during October and November.
On 10 August 2016, Poetry Café – Refreshed celebrated its first birthday. We were delighted to welcome Patrick Osada, who is on the management board of South magazine, as the guest poet on this special occasion.
We’ve been enjoying some superb poetry. Over the past year, we’ve had a succession of exciting guest poets come to read and perform for us:
- John Alwyine-Mosely – August 2015
- Tom Sastry – September 2015
- Nina Lewis – October 2015
- Avril Staple – November 2015
- Brenda Reid-Brown – December 2015
- David Clarke – January 2016
- Sue Johnson, Bob Woodroofe and Joy Thomas – February 2016
- Paul Harris – March 2016
- Matt Duggan – April 2016
- Rachael Clyne – May 2016
- Lesley Ingram – June 2016
- Ben Banyard – July 2016
- Patrick Osada – August 2016
… and the quality of the poetry from the open mic poets has been high too!
At the ‘anniversary edition’ of Poetry Cafe – Refreshed on 10 August 2016, at the open mic we had: David Ashbee, David Clarke, Miki Byrne, Annie Ellis, Jennie Farley, Robin Gilbert, Sharon Larkin, Michael Newman, Stuart Nunn, Belinda Rimmer, Roger Turner, Gill Wyatt.
We’ve had many more poets join us at the open mic over the past year, including Kathy Gee, Sarah Bryson, Polly Stretton, Judi Marsh, Holly McGill, Anna Saunders, Howard Timms, Marilyn Timms, Kev Alway, Courtney Hulbert, Briony Smith, Chris Hemingway, Aled Thomas, Gill Garrett, Elizabeth Chanter, Michael Skaife d’Ingerthorpe, Samantha Pearse … and on one memorable occasion Dom Joly.
Smokey Joes – a relaxed, informal atmosphere
We look forward to the next year of Refreshed. Guest poets for the next three months are:
- 21 September 2016 – Deborah Harvey
- 19 October 2016 – Kathy Gee
- 16 November 2016 – Claire Walker
Please make a note of 16 November and 14 December, the last two Poetry Café – Refreshed events for 2016 … and we already have a number of exciting guest poets lined up for 2017!
