Sewing word seeds - an interactive Poetry Walk in Dartington GardensSATURDAY 10th JULY

with Pamela Sandry Gorman, Susan Taylor and Simon Williams

FUN – These three poets drew festival goers out in Pied Piper style to explore the vistas of Dartington’s fabulous gardens.  INFORMATIVE – As well as their own poems, they trod in the footsteps of late and great thinkers along these paths, delivering small insights by Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst and Rabindranath Tagore. CREATIVE – This event featured a short walk around the heart of the garden and an alternative loop, exploring the boundaries. Both adventures included time for people to compose a few words of their own.

 

Adjusting the contrast at WAYS WITH WORDS

SUNDAY 11th JULY at Dartington Hall

Peter Farrie (songs), Susan Taylor (poems) & Simon Williams (poems and songs)

Three is an odd number and, all things being even, these three highlighted some acute angles on love and life in a quirky cabaret of verbal and musical scores, adjusting the contrast from wry to wise and from flippant to fey.

As Einstein said ‘Falling in love has nothing to do with gravity.’

Tradewinds festival special! at WAYS WITH WORDS

SUNDAY 18th JULY -

Trade Winds at Ways With Words extended an invitation to visitors to join them in their third Festival Extravaganza. The Trade Winds crew are a hardy bunch of performers who, all year round, appear at evening showcase events in South Devon pubs. Poets, singer songwriters, storytellers and musicians come together to swap material and pool new ideas. This year in Dartington’s new venue, The Signature Lounge.

 

Word command at EPICENTRE BOOK CAFE, PAIGNTON

WEDNESDAY 30th JUNE

*Liv Torc * Edwards & Oliver * Chris Brooks * Susan Taylor * Simon Williams

Graham Burchell * Ronnie Conboy * Zion Lights * Chris Gower * Ellie Davies

* Robert Garnham * This star-studded line-up launched the first spoken word event at The Epicentre Book Cafe in Paignton. The evening was a good mix of performance poetry, story telling, recited poetry, comedy, and Bryce talking in a funny accent (!)

 

 

The enchantment of place at BATH POETRY CAFE WEDNESDAY 16th JUNE

at Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institute, Queens Square, Bath

Following on from the very successful appearance at the March Poetry Cafe of Dartmoor poets Susan Taylor and Simon Williams, they returned for the June Cafe which celebrates places and landscapes. Bath Poetry Cafe attracted poets from a large area and the evening will featured groups from Bristol, Corsham, Stroud & Frome putting on their own presentations within the usual format of the Cafe.

 

Moor poets at CHARLES CAUSLEY FESTIVAL

SATURDAY 5th JUNE

WORKSHOP at the Link into Learning Venue, Launceston

with Graham Burchell & Susan Taylor

Moor Poets, Graham Burchell and Susan Taylor led a high speed poetry workshop at Launceston's first festival celebrating the life & work of its famous son, the poet, Charles Causley. Through the window of one of Charles Causley's poems, they presented techniques to create a poem inspired by his words.

 

Moor poets FESTIVAL POETRY READING

SATURDAY 5th JUNE

in St Mary Magdalene Church, Launceston

with Graham Burchell, Susan Taylor and Simon Williams

 

Knit expo Cabaret A LONG AFTERNOON at EXETER PHOENIX

SATURDAY APRIL 17th - 2pm through to 7pm

This event was part of Exeter’s first Knit Expo; a pioneering experiential knitting event/platform, where knitters and non-knitters came together to celebrate the wealth of creativity in this ever-growing and exciting art form. The cabaret included  Belinda’s new singing trio, Multi vox, songs from Colourful Genre, wooly poetry from Susan Taylor,  plus a variety of new poems from the creative writing workshop run by Nell and Rachel.

 

Plymouth language club at PLYMOUTH ARTS CENTRE

SATURDAY APRIL 3rd

Partners in poetry, Susan Taylor & Simon Williams were tonight’s guests at Plymouth’s well known & eclectic poetry venue. Simon read from published work and his new manuscript, He/She. As well as a new sequence of poems has lost her sheep, Susan performed some of her collaborative work with dance by Katerina Kyriacou, from Temple of Nothing's womens' theatre project.
The Language Club is a tolerant and friendly performing writers' space, hosting names from the national, as well as the regional, poetry scene.

 

The harp and the unicorn at BATH POETRY CAFE

WEDNESDAY 17th MARCH  

at Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institute, Queens Square, Bath

An Evening of Poems Celebrating Love and the Great Tradition of Irish Poetry and Song.  The second year of the Poetry Cafe's famous and hugely successful Love Cafe with special contributions from Rose Flint, Rosie Jackson and first time at the Cafe for long distance visitors, the well-known Dartmoor Poets, Susan Taylor and Simon Williams. The Harp and the Unicorn included an exciting set of readings in honour of St Patrick's Day, showcasing Peter Wyton, John Terry, Paul Feldwick, David Skidmore. The readings are organised by Martin Malone, Peter Wyton and Sue Boyle.

 

Give your heart for haiti at THE LIGHTHOUSE, PAIGNTON

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 14th

The Lighthouse Music Hub on Paignton Sea Front hosted a big fundraising /funraising event featuring the bay’s poets, acoustic musicians & bands. From performance poets to acoustic acts to hard core rock and roll... its all about wearing your heart on your sleeve, not just for your other half, but for a good cause. Valentines day at the Lighthouse threw out the commercial to donate all the lovely proceeds to Shelterbox.

Hoot! cabaret at  CHAGFORD

SATURDAY JANUARY 30th

JACKIE JUNO’s quintessential cabaret, for this so-nearly-a-blue-moon night, with ladles of comedy, poetry & music from The Invisible Opera Company of Tibet & Rob Barratt , the bard of Bodmin & Peter Farrie, with supporting artists, Lucy Lepchani, Susan Taylor & Simon Williams

This  particular  “HOOT!”  raised £150 for Haiti Emergency Relief fund

 

Trade winds at THE TRADESMANS ARMS, SCORITON

SUNDAY JANUARY 24th

This week The Tradesmans Arms celebrated the first year of reopening with its celebrated makeover, after being closed for a whole bleak break year. Fireworks are promised for Friday night, but Scoriton’s monthly Trade Winds was already in fine form with a well balanced array of performers - seven poets, seven singers and Mavis, our regular storyteller. The evening was loosely themed around the weather and there was a small blizzard of poems about snow, proving that we Devonians, too, have plenty of words for our wintry precipitations!

wassail spectacular outdoor tradition at STOKE GABRIEL ORCHARD

SATURDAY JANUARY 16th

From teatime until the starlit orchard sleeps replete!

‘The more the merrier’ - no poetry, as such, but much inspiration for it in the form of Wassail King & Queen, Mummers, Morris Men, Storytelling and our beloved Wassailing Quire, BBQ & copious amounts of local mulled cider and apple brandy.

“Good Master and Mistress our wassail begin, Please open your door and let us come in, With our jolly wassail. Oh, little Robin Redbreast he has a fine song, Give us of your cider; we won’t keep you long, With our jolly wassail. Wazzail, Wazzail!”

 

Trade winds winter solstice an-yule gathering

at SCORITON VILLAGE HALL, nr BUCKFASTLEIGH

SUNDAY 20TH DECEMBER

Our biggest and brightest ‘Gathering of the Clans’

Once again, we invited all of our performer/audience friends from far and near to our fabulously fairy-lit village hall for a final 2009 get together in good company. This was a night to remember, with much exceptional ‘ceilidh in the old fashioned sense of the word’ shenaniganalia. Many thanks to all of our generous supporters for the craque and for the banquet.

 

GALA EVENING, St lawrence Chapel, Ashburton

FRIDAY 4th DECEMBER

An  evening celebrating the 25th anniversary of the setting up of the present

guild of St Lawrence whose aims are to preserve the ancient St Lawrence Chapel and develop its use for the community and as a heritage centre. Spoken word from Moor Poets, Becky Gethin, Ian Royce, Susan Taylor, Simon Williams and Sara Hurley. Music included fabulous singing from a variety of artists, including the Viva choir.

 

Derwent poetry festival MASSON MILLS, MATLOCK BATH

FRIDAY 20th to SUNDAY 22nd NOVEMBER

A weekend of the best in contemporary poetry in a beautiful spa resort in the Peak District in Derbyshire. This year’s Templar Poetry Competition winners, Nuala Ni Choncuir, Paul Maddern, David Morley and Dawn Wood read from their newly published pamphlets, alongside guest poets. There were also readings by poets from the new Templar Poetry anthology, ‘Stripe’, including Susan Taylor

 

In the Flesh - BARBICAN THEATRE, PLYMOUTH

SUNDAY 15th NOVEMBER

Susan Taylor & Katerina Kyriacou appeared in ‘Recall’ - a short collaborative piece from Temple of Nothing women’s theatre company. Exploring the timeless subject of courtship; in its depth, form and formlessness, they give voice, movement and vision to a young Dartmoor suicide, whose story lingers on in offerings of flowers, pebbles and friendship bracelets on her grave. Then love’s thread is followed back into antiquity, where a young Sumerian queen tempers the darkness with sweetness and her powers of seduction.

 

This evening was part of Barbican’s Theatre’s annual fringe festival, running from Friday 13th to Sunday 15th October - a three day explosion of live performance, featuring 45 artists from around the globe. There were experiments in stage-craft, from weird to wonderful, simple to hell-bent fury, bitter and twisted to heart stoppingly beautiful.

 

TRade winds at THE TRADESMANS ARMS at SCORITON,

SUNDAY 25th OCTOBER  

Trade Winds, one of Susan & Simon’s monthly ad hoc sessions for performers of all trades was a wee bit on the quiet side. Most of the regular poets were, no doubt, at the Torbay Poetry Festival. It soon livened up though, thanks to K C Moan - the great little jug band from Totnes.

First Draft to Final Draft - moor poets workshop
SATURDAY 17th OCTOBER

Buckland-in-the-Moor Village Hall, Buckland
Workshop leaders: Caroline Wilson, Susan Taylor and Simon Williams
In this session we were assessing and refining all the work in progress which has been done at the Moor Poets workshops over the Summer season, with a view to inclusion in a forthcoming Moor Poets pamphlet, due to be released in time for Christmas.
 

Scorpio Moon Presents... at BOGAN HOUSE, TOTNES

SATURDAY 17th OCTOBER - 8pm

Michael Hillier, Sharie Neyland & Martin Hicks joined Sam Burns, Susan Taylor & Simon Williams for a compelling mix of songs and music, poetry and comedy, all in the original setting of Bogan House, a Totnesian Tudor merchant’s Reception Room with original features (both architecture and performance -wise!)

North meets South at the APPLEDORE BOOK FESTIVAL   
THURSDAY OCTOBER 1st St. Mary’s Hall, Appledore
Four poets from opposing edges of Devon read from their latest collections. Alyson Hallett, Frances Thompson, Julie-Ann Rowell and Susan Taylor kaleidoscoped love, snow, the movement of stones and travel into poems designed to send their audience reeling into the dark and sensuous substance of life.

Poetry picnic at porlock arts festival

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12th with guest poet, Peter Dent

The Jubilee Gardens in Porlock was the sun-drenched setting for short readings from the gathered clans of South West poetry groups, including Oversteps Poets, Moor Poets, Fire River Poets,  Uncut Poets, & The Language Club. The poets were accompanied by sounds of apples falling, birds singing and the occasional weekend traffic sounds from the adjacent, quaint Porlock High Street. Much poetry was read, heard and inwardly digested.

The organiser of this annual event, Tilla Brading, said it was the 27th Autumn Poetry Picnic that she had run. That must be quite a record for a South West poetry event, or even a UK one.

 

Courtyard reading at THE SCOTTISH POETRY LIBRARY

FRIDAY AUGUST 21st

An hour of poetry, hosted annually by the Edinburgh School of Poets and featuring a vast array of diverse and diverting poets, including the Oversteps Poets, each reading a very speedy little set of poems in the outdoor arena, which is the steps of the Scottish Poetry Library.

Muse and munch at THE EDINBURGH FREE FRINGE

FRIDAY AUGUST 21st  

at St Martins Church, 232 Dalry Road, Edinburgh, EH11 2JG

From the far reaches of the South Hams, South Coast poet & managing editor of Oversteps Books, Alwyn Marriage, performs with Oversteps poets, Susan Taylor & Simon Williams from Dartmoor and A C Clarke from Glasgow.

Oversteps Books publishes poetry collections by some of the best contemporary poets from all over the United Kingdom and further afield

Part of the St Martin’s Exhibition, promoted by Laughing Horse Free Festival Fringe.

 

Storytelling cafe at THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

THURSDAY AUGUST 20th

at The Scottish Storytelling Centre,  John Knox House, High Street

Relaxed company, fine wine, talented performers, intriguing tales: perfect ingredients for cabaret-style evenings of entertaining live storytelling. An open event featuring wonderful stories from Scotland, as well as the far shores of Africa, songs, juggling... and a spot from Susan with one of her narrative Dartmoor poems.

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