Words&Words&Words is a new spoken word evening in the Aberystwyth Arts Centre, inspired by innovative and collaborative poetry events such as the Poetry Wales Gelynion / Enemies project. Words&Words&Words features special invited slots in association with literary journals such as New Welsh Review, Planet, and more, as well as open mic slots. We welcome any type of spoken word performance, and especially encourage those that are innovative and cross-art-form. Collaborative slots are arranged in advance. If you would like to participate, please leave a comment on the Contact Form and we will connect you with another poet to work with. To perform at the open mic, please sign up at the Performance Studio between 6:30-7:30. You will have an opportunity to do a sound check before the show begins.

• Special Guest Poet: Matthew Francis

  • Matthew Francis is the author of five poetry collections, of which the latest is Muscovy, published by Faber in 2013. His poetry has twice been shortlisted for the Forward Prize, and in 2004 he was chosen as one of the Next Generation poets. He is the editor of W.S. Graham’s New Collected Poems, and author of a critical study of Graham, Where the People Are. He is Professor in Creative Writing at Aberystwyth University.
• Bilingual collaborative poetry: Eurig Salisbury and Hywel Griffiths
  • Mae blynyddoedd lawer wedi mynd heibio ers i Eurig a Hywel ddechrau cyfnewid llinellau o farddoniaeth ar y bws i ddifyrru’r amser ar y daith i’r ysgol … mae’r cydweithio barddol yn parhau, ond bellach gyda cherddi go iawn, pramiau a barfau amheus!
  • Many years have passed since Eurig and Hywel first started swapping lines of poetry on the bus to pass the time on the daily school commute … the poetic collaboration continues, but now with proper poems, prams and dodgy facial hair!
• North Wales International Poetry Festival poets
  • Kārlis Vērdiņš (Latvia) poet, translator of T.S Eliot, Walt Whitman, Joseph Brodsky and others, literary critic, researcher at the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art at the University of Latvia, and musician in the literary band Maukas (Sluts).
  • Jana Putrle Srdić (Slovenia) poet and translator of English-language poetry.
  • Nikola Petković (Croatia) is a poet, novelist and Professor Professor at Department of Cultural Studies, University of Rijeka.
  • Ivana Simić Bodrožić (Croatia) poet and prose writer, published five books, including the award-winning autobiographical novel Hotel Zagorje.
  • Marko Pogačar (Croatia) published four poetry collections, three books of essays and a short story collection. He is the editor of Quorum, a literary magazine, and Zarez, a bi-weekly for cultural and social issues. His texts have been translated into some thirty languages.
  • Oscar Martín Centeno (Spain) is a poet and multimedia artist who combines poetry with the use of digital technologies. He also makes documentaries and digital presentations on art and culture.
• Cross-art-form performance: Mary Jacob and Maxim Hywel Davies-Walter, poetry and music collaboration
• Guest compere: Nia Davies

Special slots

The series includes a range of different types of special slots. These are arranged in advance and usually limited to 10 minutes. Formats include:

• Invited guest poet/author – leading poets and writers read from their work
• Literary journal – reading by an author published in a current issue of a journal from among our friends list
• Translation – paired reading including the translator reading in English and the author or another native speaker reading in the original language
• Collaboration – we can set you up with a compatible writer to create a new collaborative piece for you and your collaborator to perform (not sure how this will work? See the videos of the Poetry Wales Gelynion / Enemies project performances on S. J. Fowler’s blog for a range of examples)
• Cross-art-form performance – poetry or other performance involving media (images, video etc), spoken word with music, and other non-traditional formats
• Inspirations – read from the writers who inspired you, and then read the poems you wrote in response

On any given night, we will have several different types of special slots, arranged in advance, with the remainder of the time available for open mic readings. Please leave a comment on the Contact Form if you would like to arrange a special slot.

See this blog for more details about the event programme.

Acknowledgements:
The event is part of the North Wales International Poetry Festival organised in cooperation with Literature Across Frontiers, Poetry Wales and Wales PEN and with support of the Croatian Writers’ Association and Ministry of Culture of Croatia, Latvian Literature Centre, Ministry of Culture of Slovenia, Creative Europe programme, and Aberystwyth, Bangor and Liverpool Universities.
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