Last Wednesday Open Mic, January 29, 2014

Ross Hattaway

Our first open mic of the new year and proceedings were opened by Ross Hattaway with ‘Churched’, ‘Maybe’, ‘Paua Tanka’, and as his gift ‘Flowers that press in on you within the silence in the thicket’by Bernadette Hall (Life and Customs, Victoria University Press, 2013). followed by Anne Tannam in a tribute to her late mother and Roger Hudson reading from the second novel in his series on crime detection in ancient Greece.  Next up was Ruairi Conneely reading ‘Sweet Nadine’ which was published in the first edition of The Pickled Body followed by ‘Barbarian aspect.

Anamaria Crowe Serrano

Steve Conway

Anne Tannam

After a short break it was the turn of Steve Conway on the 6th anniversary of open mic and Lasy Wednesday-ness reading about reading at an open mic – and Ms Murphy – and that damned law and its malice and an open fly.  Next up was Alma Brayden, about her dream man – sort of.  Her next poem was digging at Carrickmines ‘resonance’; and then ‘stones’ about a belief that those who die all get a white stone with their name – from a wall in Connemara.  She ended with a poem about a woman who was born blind and regained her sight – with a painters view of her guide dog. And finally from a photo of Nelson Mandela looking into his  cell ‘robin island revisited’ and ending with an homage – ish to Irish people and our weather – ‘weather people’. After Alma it was the turn of Anamaria Crowe Serrano.  Anamaria going with something older – about her Spanish grandfather,  written shortly after he died. Followed by some transations from Italian – ‘The Foot’. (Daniella romundi), followed by a translated poem about memory and loss and everything changed and the same. She ended with a translation from a Mexican poet Elsa  Cruz – Tattoos. After Anamaria it was the turn of Liz McSkeane reading from her current collection – starting with ‘Arguing with Arithmetic’, followed by Moscow’  and yearning for something you’ve never had and an Amsterdam poem, and a flock of cranes (feathered) and ending with ‘So Long Calypso’.

David Murphy

Phil Lynch

After a short break it was the turn of Phil Lynch- reading a new short poem in honour of his youngest granddaughter – from Flower into Flame, followed by a revamped version of ‘on the rocks’.  He followed with a latest edit of Changing Light about the coming of electric light to his childhood home.  Then ‘The Generation Game’ about families,  generations, and possibly death . . . He ended with ‘Smoke without Fire’ reminiscing about the fire you wanted to light but never got around to it. And next it was the turn of sci-fi writer David Murphy wearing his poetry hat with Hobart about emigration; and then two poems about the camino (el Camino real) poem 1 called ‘The Royal Way’, and then Finistere also about the Camino  he ended with N25 – the road from Tralee to Rosslare which will be published in the SHop later in the year.

Martin A Egan

And bringing us to a close is Martin Egan reading from his new book Sea-Journey and other stuff.  Starting with a song  ‘weird sleep’, followed by a the second part of a poem about living a solitary life in flat in Rathmines – cold and with lots plugs and lots of tea! And ending with ‘I was jealous of the Sea,  from the buke.

ONE INCH PUNCH BY ORAN RYAN

One Inch Punch By Oran Ryan will fascinate, horrify and enthrall you

A book like nothing you have read before.  

We are sold out of the paperbacks – more coming soon!

 (You can pre – order here.)

E-books available.

   

 Title – One Inch Punch

 Author – Oran Ryan

 Genre – fiction

 ISBN : 9780957151086

 Brief synopsis – An intellectually gifted child, Gordon Brock, is brutally bullied and takes revenge on his tormentor. Gordon meets his tormentor decades after the abuse and torture ends and seemingly Gordon, now a successful author and former psychotherapist is writing his own life story. The novel focuses on the long-term effects of the bullying throughout the protagonists life.

“Dublin novelist Oran Ryan’s latest novel One Inch Punch was discussed by Senator David Norris in a recent Seanad Debate on bullying. On 14 November 2012, describing Oran as a talented novelist, Senator Norris went on to say that One Inch Punch is “a very subtle book, revolving entirely around the devastating impact of bullying on a child in a school for gifted children.” Senator Norris launched One Inch Punch on 15 November 2012, describing the books as “engaging”, “terribly funny . . . clever and quirky” and “heartbreaking in places”. He also likened some passages to the work of Flann O’Brien.”

Quote from Vanessa Fox O Loughlin article at writing.ie

 Page count 300

 Release date – 14 11 2012

Pre Order the Papaerback  10 EUROS (P&P) INCL

 

Buy the Ebook   5 EUROS 

   

Oran Ryan is a novelist, poet and playwright from Dublin. His poetry, short stories and literary criticism have appeared in magazines worldwide. His novels The Death of Finn and Ten Short Novels by Arthur Kruger were published in 2006. One Inch Punch is his third novel.

   

SOME POEMS BY HELEN DEMPSEY

Elusive Quality

Mr Warbucks

approached the streets of New York

He would stop at nothing

even chasing cars, afavouriteof his.

But now he was in grade one company

Prince EvanandPrince Erik also ran and he expected to take all the beating from them on his off days. However he, Mr Warbucks was an action master and even though he looked to have plenty of weight he took big stepswith minimal fuss.

The market should be monitored closely with no margin for error thought Mr Warbucks who was wary of Prince Evan and Prince Erik in their bid for victory.

“its all hush hush” whispered Mr Warbucks close to Uncle Tom Cobley , a useful looking sort

Mr Nobody didn’t know whatuthink he could just follow the plan but was tired of this endless intrigue.

Mr Warbucks laid down the biggest challenge to the 2 princes which he won in the dark, no questions answered.

Mr Nobody was the sole witness to the Tijuana Dancer and the Lilywhitedancer with Prince Evan and Prince Erik while Dr Deejay played Vilvaldi. It was sheer genius.

“Go on ya boyo” said Mr Nobody as he jumped for fun. With the deal done for a fixed fee, he and Uncle Tom Cobleyfinished the second redvinto at Healy’s Bar.

But it would take a very good one to foil Mr Warbucks who oozed class.

Whatsabillion he said, delighted with the profit margin.

He’ll be remembered, Mr Warbucks that is, not as a psycho but for his sublimitychasing Elusive quality.

Being made in Taipan, this Offaly Allstar, could kick for touch.

Prince Evan, Prince Erik and Mr Nobody (who finished up with Gentle Alice) were novices in comparison.

“Catch me!” he challenged Prince Evan and Prince Ericon the way out. He had scored in styletaking on another potentially smart rival in each of the princes and won.

©Helen Dempsey March 2011

 

 

You Choose How to Use*

You choose how to use

     wrist twist water;

     fossil-sourced light;

     fume free engines;

     coloured bin sites.

You choose to misuse

    barbed-tongued phrases;

    toil-terms ties;

    select election rights;

    missives byte size.

You choose to abuse

    earth proffered yields;

    extinction brinked herds;

    supremacy sated schemes;

    heart-truth words.

    You choose.

*LEMSIP® advertising campaign 2011 for capsules v drink

 

“There’s Vaseline® Upstairs!”

“There’s Vaseline upstairs,”

she said down the phone,

as though she was alone,

we heard the anxious tone,

she didn’t see uneasy stares.

She caught us unawares,

as each, in private veins

of thought, eschewed our train

companions; each ait restrained,

packaged in our worldly cares.

She stirred us from our stupor,

shoulders rocked mirthfully,

eyes crinkled playfully,

imaginations notched inquisitively

by her smoothly calming rapport.

The gelling of an empathetic scene,

unruly hair, cracked lips,

water-proofing radiator drips,

creaking doors, toddler trips,

the many balming acts of Vaseline.

Observing frazzled features of the one

who manoeuvres and directs the family,

an oracle who solves calamities,

restores tiffs or blips to serenity,

decision-maker who can get things done.

Infuriatingly, we stood apart,

I saw the fleeting glimpse of her pain,

guilty for forsaking her domain,

the struggle of two duties was a strain,

each mile chugging further from her heart.

Satisfied, she resumed her stance,

realized her audience and blushed,

an explanation proffered in a rush

to those close by, who returned to such

private pursuits without another glance.

©Helen Dempsey May 2011

Exercise for 7 Towers where we were to find a sign, use the complete phrase in the first line and write a poem or prose after it.

 

 

 

Stranger than Fiction 4/2011

The Third Stranger than Fiction Writing Challenge for on-line (Stranger than Fiction Writing Challenge)and all three open mics (Last Wednesday Series in Dublin and Brooklyn; Chapter and Verse in London; )when we challenge writers at our open mics and also to take part in a virtual open mic here to creat a poem or a piece of short fiction or prose based on something found in ‘real life’!   The first challenge took place only at the open mic in Dublin, but the enthusiasm was infectious!

 

This month’s challenge is something overheard.  This can be overheard in a conversation you were not involved in or have been said in a speech or course you attended. It cannot have been said directly to you, but you must have been actually present in person at the overhearing (so something from TV or radio won’t count). In the case of a poem, the overheard phrase must occur in full at least once in the poem. In the case of prose the overheard phrase in its entirety must be the title of the piece and must also appear as a sentence in the piece.Below are the first two answers to the Challenge:

 

Martin Egan:

Philosophic Conversation By Martin A. Egan 25th of April 2010 23.35[1]

 

Sarah Lundberg

 

Overheard Possibilities

 

 

The Frozen Mic 4/2011

Busy night at the Last Wednesday Series Reading and Open mics this month.  Yours truly did the MC at The Twisted Pepper in Dublin in Declan’s absence, so, having no sense of humour about myself, there will be no slagging of the MC this month.  Suffice to say everything went perfectly, not slip ups, mistakes, slips of the tongue or anything!  As I say, perfect!

The Twisted Pepper

Anyhoo, to minimise the difficulty of the situation, and to avoid having to think and talk at the same time, I came up with a foolproof method of choosing the order of readers.  Got everyone to write their names on a piece of papers (paper and ink generously supplied by Bob Shakeshaft!) and put it into a hat – and yes we had a hat, Ruairi went out and bought one specially! Seemed to work quite well,  and kept the writers/readers on edge – which is good for the creative juices, all that angst!

First out of the hat was Oran Ryan (to be clear, Oran was not in the hat, his name was) and he opened the proceedings with a new work in progress about revenge on a banker – a subject close to everyone’s heart, I am sure.  After Oran, it was the turn of Claudia Walder, a visitor to both Ireland and the Last Wednesday Series.  Claudia read a poem – ‘Self Portrait by Numbers’.   After Claudia, we had another debut, with Shauna Gilligan making her first visit to the open mic reading an extract from her work – about cuddly statues and tonsillitis!  (you’ll just have to come along next time to know more!)  After Shauna Sandra Harris  was up – making a return to the open mic after a brief absence.  Sandra read two short prose pieces – a satire about rape trials and a scary view of an open mic (though freedom of expression and no censorship . . .  can lines be drawn.   Perhaps I should issue an essay topic!).  After Sandra it was the turn of Ciaran, who made me realise a problem with the putting of the name into  a hat – I forgot to say full name and, as it was also Ciaran’s first time at a Last Wednesday gig, I’ve just got the Ciaran.  Anyway, Ciaran entertained us with two poems – ‘Just a thought’ and ‘Mind Clouds Lifted’.  After Ciaran, it was the turn of yet a another new voice  Martin Meyler who read poems ‘A Child in Spring’, ‘Morning in the Eye and Ear’, and ‘Grace’.  After Martin Phil Lynch read a descriptive piece about a visit to Donegal, and Delta O’Hara then made a return after a long absence, and braving a cold and laryngitis, provided a musical interlude.

Declan, who was absent!

After a short break, Eileen Keane took to the mic and, forsaking her novel due to post-editing blues, read part of a short story, leaving us all again on tenterhooks, wondering what was going to happen next.  After Eileen it was the turn of Padraig O Morain making not his first visit to Last Wednesday, but his first reading visit.  Padraig read a cut up type of poem, from a letter home form a war zone – a poem that had been published in The Strand Magazine, after only 40 years of trying.  He also read ‘English Class’ and introduced the listeners to the work ‘deliquesce’, as once he had introduced the English Class.  Next up it was the turn of Steve Conway who treated us to a preview passage from that ‘difficult second book’ about love and loss, and paths of life, and how modern day health and safety rules have removed some of the pitfalls – quite literally!  Steve followed this new work with a very old work – a poem he found recently in a diary from when he left school. After Steve Bob Shakeshaft – he of the paper and ink – read a poem dedicated to his grandson, followed by a series of poems related to the Neary Scandal – including ‘Why’ and ‘Safe Nest to Tomb’.  He finished up with a gift from Skerries poet Enda Coyle-Greene. After Bob, Helen Dempsey came to the mic and read an ode to those who have traveled, and those who have not, read ‘Grand Prix’ about group dynamics.  Helen also rose to the Stranger than Fiction Challenge to read a poem based on something overheard, and she read ‘There’s Vaseline Upstairs’!

After Helen Roisin made her Last Wednesday debut with ‘Mother’, followed by a poem about a girl she was with in primary school – ‘The Bad Seed’ and a poem for her nephew, ‘Never, Never Land’. Next up was Christodolous Makris who read three works in progress – ‘The Art of Air Travel’, ‘The Executioner’s Confession’ (with anepigraph – ‘The working men have no country’ from The Communist Manifesto) and ‘Bookends’.  After Christodolous, it was the turn of Cah 44 (aka Cliff Horseman) who thrilled the room with his performance work.  And his publisher at Wurm in Apfel Kit Fryatt brought the night to a close with her dramatic work about where the missing people go.

Meanwhile, across the pond, when things got under way in Rocky

Lisa McLaughlin at Rocky Sullivans

Sullivan’s, in Red Hook in Brooklyn, with MC Lisa McLaughlin, North Carolina poet Doog Wood added his voice to that of the 7 other readers, and professed the night a success all round, with very good readers!

And then on the Last Sunday (29^th May), Chapters and Verse went to London at the Hammersmith Ram and was MC’d by our wonderful guest MC, the aforementioned Kit Fryatt.  A quiet night as it was a UK bank holiday weekend, but a successful and enjoyable sharing of work nonetheless, as demonstrated by the posts on Kit’s Facebook page and YouTube

Stranger than Fiction 3/2011

 The second Stranger than Fiction Writing Challenge  when we challenge writers at our open mics (Last Wednesday Series, Twisted pepper, Dublin; Last Wednesday Series, Rocky Sullivans, Brooklyn; Chapters and Verse Goes to London, Hammersmith Ram, London) and also to take part in a virtual open mic to create a poem or a piece of short fiction or prose based on something found in ‘real life’! This month’s challenge is a found poem or a found phrase.  The found poem must be taken from a formal or official letter, a sign, a newspaper article…. It does not need to be the complete poem – other stanza can be added, but it must be acomplete stanza in the poem, and the found bit must be uninterrupted as it was found. In the case of prose the found phrase in its entirety must be the title of the piece and must also appear as a sentence in the piece.

Below, in alphabetial order are the submissions to the Challenge

Helen Dempsey:

You Choose How to Use

Ross Hattaway:

Ataturk Speaks

Anne Tannam:

Feach Gach Treo

Frozen Mic 3/2011

From the open mic for 27^th April 2011, in the Box at the Twisted Pepper, 54 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1 – Last Wednesday Series, Reading Inside the Box!! 

Declan opened up reminding everyone we were still celebrating our 5^th birthday as a company!  After a selection of stories and embarrassments all round, we set off.

Bob Shakeshaft started up relying on his memory – the train having usurped the hard copies (well he left them on the train, but it sounds better this way.)  He started from memory with a poem about what poetry means to him, followed by ‘Dying Embers’ and following htis with ‘Death in Vein’, all from memory!   The second reader on this quiet Easter reading was Anne Tannam.  Anne started with her Stranger than Fiction Writing Challenge with a poem – ‘Feach Gach Treo’  , with a poem made completely from phrases on signs and official letters. She followed this with ‘Post Excavations Analysis’.  Her next poem was ‘All the Good Words’ and she finished up with ‘Compare yourself to No-one’.  Anne, like Bob read without a safety net!  After Anne, it was the turn of Susan Wilde, making her Last Wednesday debut.  Susan read work from her thesis, poems from travelling around Ireland, ‘Inishboffin’, ‘Galway Hooker’; her next poem was about growing up in Wyoming, where there was little around but space, and she and her siblings had free run everywhere.  ‘River Valley Homesteaders’.  He final poem was a continuation of this experience called ‘More Stories’  After Susan, it was the turn of Helen Dempsey, who also rose to the Stranger than Fiction Challenge – using the Lemsip advertising slogan as her found phrase!  Her next poem was ‘Judgement Day’, her final poem was inspired by something that Declan said last month!! (his prediction that the world was going to end on the 4^th of May, so this will be the last open mic) the poem – ‘The Last Open Mic’!  Next, Andrej Kapor made a welcome return to the open mic after a long absence – allegedly studying!  He started off with a poem that he found in the pocket of a jacket he hadn’t worn in ages – about a girl he was in love with when he was fifteen!  A brief plug for his band, Noize Complex, which is a mix of spoken word and music.  He read a new poem from this new band life – about being a romantic in a city that doesn’t quite cater for it. Another new poem took Andrej back to the page – reading from three or four bits of paper he found under the bed – doesn’t remember writing them down, but they are in his handwriting – written before ‘ the 9am uniform call’ I guess!  His final poem, for which he expressed his rebel side by sitting on the table(!!) is also a cross over piece he performs with the band. 

 After a short break Ross Hattaway took to the mic, reading in memory of ANZAC day – New Zealanders being fighters – and, of course, beer drinkers!  Ross explored the theme of New Zealanders’ experience of wars through different voices, including his own.  His first poem was ‘Crossing the Saddle’, from The Gentle Art of Rotting, about  the experience of the soldier returning home; he followed this up with a poem from Baxter, ‘Elegy for an Unknown Soldier’, next Bruce Danes, ‘What Lies Among Us’;  then back to his own voice ‘Songs for the Battle of Normandy’ and he finished with ‘For the Fallen’ by Binion – the worst poem he had ever read!! (according to Ross’ introduction)  After Ross, Raphael Joaquin  from Philipines, now living in Blanchardstown made not only his debut at the open mic, but it was his first reading ever!  His first poem was ‘Prayer for Japan’ about the terrible earthquake there; his next poem was about the St Patrick’s Festival ‘St Patrick’s Craic’;  he then read ‘Wings that Soar’ about bird wings; then ‘In the Midst of my Shadow’, he ended with ‘In a Hurry’ – where everybody seems to be a participant in a Walkathon!  After Raphael it was Cliona Ni Mhuiri also at her debut reading – her first poem was ‘Titanic’, sort of about that film; then she read ‘The Whirlwind’.   After Cliona it was the turn of Eamonn Lynskey, picking up on Raphael’s theme of the disaster in Japan, Eamonn read ‘Ksuturi Jidai’ from And Suddenly the Sun Again about another time Tokoyo was a devastated city. And then he said it was time to move on to something really crap!  He read a poem ‘We the Parents’ that he says he had worked on a lot since the last time he read it, and believes he had disimproved it greatly – in his OWN SPARE TIME!  After Eamonn brought the house down – blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah – it was the turn of Alan Garvey, making, I think, his last Wednesday debut.  He started with a little incantation, to perform the role previously performed by the safety barrier created by a cigarette, full of billowing smoke, a tobacco composition; His next piece was a poem about sex – which is apparently notoriously hard to write about – but which he thinks is best done by going a little OTT (the poetry I think, rather than the sex!); his next poem was about encountering a ghost at something that looks like a miniature Arc de Triomphe – the entrance to an old gated estate (Brown Clayton)– Alan’s true experience (the ghost of a man who was the gate keeper who suffered from shell shock.  The poem is called  ‘Great War Ghost’.   After Alan it was the turn of Brian Carroll, also making his Last Wednesday debut, coming fresh from the open mic in Newbridge, coincidentally in keeping with the military theme, based on his experience in Lebanon – No Letters on Post 628.

And so it was, until the next time, unless, of course, Declan and Helen are correct, and the world does end before the next open mic!

The Frozen Mic Issue 2/2011

So for this month’s Last Wednesday Series Dublin, we all focussed on thinking inside the box – well reading inside the box anyway, as we held our event in the subterranean ‘box’ – which we have re-named the Peppercave – in the Twisted Pepper Venue in Abbey Street in Dublin. With its rough surface black-painted walls, curved walls backing the spotlit stage area and the regular rumbling of the overhead Luas, there was a brilliant otherworld atmosphere in the venue, a real sense of doing something, and of doing something different.

First up in this new space was Eamonn Lynskey as, as befitted a move to new quarters, he began with an homage to Betjeman, and surburban wallpaper and a commentary on architecture – and changing uses thereof with in ‘In memory of Edward Tennison DD . . .’ from And Suddenly the Sun Again. He followed this up with a rendition of Betjeman’s ‘Slough’, comments on which . . . After Eamonn Eileen Keane read an extract from her recently completed first novel – reading it aloud for the first time, a tasty sampler – but return next month for ht eext instalment!! After Eileen, George Sweetman took to the mic, with an ode to the Enterprise – the train that is, not the starship, although, trains can pass through many different worlds on their trips too. After George, in was Evan Costigan making his debut at the Last Wednesdaytelling us things about Japanese women, underwear and firemen, the corncrake and a very strange airport bus journey.

After a short break, it was the turn of Steve Conway with a new just completed piece all about open mics and wardrobe malfunctions. We’ll leave this to your imagination – as Steve nearly didn’t. After Steve, it was the turn of Helen Dempsey who got an a for effort in or Stranger than Fiction challenge (more below), as she wrote her poem, but was not happy with it so would not read it! Still – the first of the open mic attendees to rise to the challenge!! What she did read was a series of Haiku, a poem about violets and a poem inspired by a Strokestown Festival venue – in the kitchen of a grand house, with ‘story plates’ decorating the walls. After Helen,Anamaria Crowe Serrano made a welcome return to the Last Wednesday, after a long absence, reading a poem about disorder, a poem that wrote itself after seeing a work of art a poem about poems and a poetical memoir about the Osborne Bull in Spain. After Anamaria, it was the turn of Oran Ryan who had the room enthralled by his story of a bank customer’s revenge – until, that is a printer malfunction scuppered the economic recovery. Hopefully his re-reading of this next month will be less taxing.

After another short break it was the turn of Roger Hudson who read a long poem a bout a holiday experience – ‘Red Sea Idyll’, followed by a poem set against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis. After Roger, Tony Gilmore made his return to the stage after a long absence, watching cars, listening to comedy and the radio. And after Tony it was the turn of Ross Hattaway read a new work – with a possible unhappy ending – ‘Dog and Child’, reprised his Cellar Tanka and Towards a Civil Peace. Ross also rose to the Stranger than Fiction Challenge (see more below) although he cheated – making his poem from names of horses, rather than words in a specific story – still a valiant effort, so we’ll let him into the race! Ross’ gift was ‘Living First Class in a Third World Country’ from his friend and former reading partner Mike Eager. Atfer Ross it was Anne Tannam’s turn at the mic. Anne read ‘I stand outside’ from her recently published collection Take This Life as well as two new works – ‘Parallel Universe’ and ‘I hate to break it to you but . . . ‘ to all who are currently attempting to predict what our summer will be like this year.

After the break, it was the turnoff Bob Shakehshaft who read ‘Old Rope’, ‘Rebecca’ – about the birth of his grandchild, ‘Broken’ written after witnessing an almost tragic accident, a newly written Pantun poem. Bob’s gift was a translation from the Russian poetNikolai Zabalotsky – ‘The White Night’. After Bob, Jim Rooneyopened his reading with a short poem from a Pat Ingoldsby book his son brough home – ‘A Very Beautiful Moment’. He also read works about the First World War, about Sam Willowcroft, in memory of his aunt Jenny who died last year, after reading his gift – ‘Freedom by Frances Brown of the Ardgillan Writers Group – he finished up with smiling poets (and some smiling novelists too) after his poem ‘the Smiling Amoeba’ After Jim, Phil Lynchfinished the evening with a poem about live after the revolutionary fervour dies, a Childhood Dream, love and Phil also rose to the Stranger than Fiction Challenge with his final poem of the evening.

Stranger than Fiction 2/2011

So, the Stranger than Fiction Challenge then!  This month’s challenge was to choose a horseracing story from the sports pages of your local newspaper, or the horseracing pages in general (depending on your paper I guess!) and to either

1. Write a poem using only words from the story or page (as appropriate)
OR
2. Using the headline from one of the stories as a title, write a piece of short fiction. The headline must also be included as a sentence in the story in a way that makes sense!

The Challenge was for the Chapters and Verse Open mic in Hammersmith Ram in London (www.hammersmithram.co.uk), the Last Wednesday Series in Twisted Pepper Dublin (www.bodytonicmusic.com) , the Last Wednesday Series in Rocky Sullivan’s in Red Hook in Brooklyn (www.rockysullivans.com) and online (till the end of the month) athttps://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=199383660084322&ref=ts

Work of those that rise to the challenge will be posted here, in alphabetical order or writer by surname.

Ross Hattaway is a New Zealand born, Dublin based poet.  His first collection The Gentle Art of Rotting was published in 2006 and his second one Pretending to be Dead will be published in 2011:

A Hundred Thousand Welcomes By Ross Hattaway

Sarah Lundberg is from Dublin and is the publisher and editor at Seven Towers Agency.

Punctuating Reality By Sarah Lundberg

Phil Lynch is a Dublin performance poet who has been performing on the scene here since the1970s – with a little gap when he lived abroad.

Big bucks and Grand Crus by Phil Lynch

The Stranger than Fiction Challenge for the April open mics , or starting at the end of April for the on-liners is to find a poem or story – or at least part of a poem or story/prose.

Poem:

Your found poem must be taken from a sign, an advertisement, a news story, a work file or an official letter.  At least one full stanza of your poem must be the found poem.  You may add further stanza if you wish.

Story/Prose:

The found phrase must also be taken from a sign, an advertisement, a news story, a work file or an official letter.  The found phrase must be the title of your story/prose and must occur in the story at least once in a manner that makes sense.

As always the pieces can be read at the Chapters and Verse goes to London Reading and open mic, the Last Wednesday Series Dublin Reading and Open Mic, The Last Wednesday Series Dublin Reading and Open Mic, or posted online at the Stranger than  Fiction Writing Challenge virtual open mic.

Stranger than Fiction Issue 1/2011

This is the first issue of Stranger than Fiction. All work in this publication will be drawn from work read as part of the Stranger than Fiction Challenge issued at the Last Wednesday Series Reading and Open Mic in the Twisted pepper in Dublin, (www.bodytonicmusic.com/twistedpepper) Last Wednesday Series Reading and Open Mic in Rocky Sullivan’s in Red Hook in Brooklyn (www.rockysullivans.com) , the Chapters and Verse Goes to London reading and open mic on the Last Sunday of Each month in the Hammersmith Ram in London (www.hammersmithram.co.you) and the Chapters and Verse Cyber Showcase which will link include and reach people who can’t make it to the open mic.

The Stranger than Fiction Challenge will take something from fact, and challenge the writers to write a poem or a story on it. This could be a specific in a newspaper or magazine, a hot topic of the day, a street sign or an advertisement. The challenge will be given at the open mic event, and the reader will have until the next monthly event to write a poem or some flash fiction on the topic.
We will aim to produce the work exactly as read, and, while opinions expressed will not necessarily reflect those of Seven Towers Agency, or any of the attendees or participants in the events, they will reflect our commitment to freedom of speech and expression, whoch is a fundamental component of all open mics.

This issue features the challenge given in the January Open Mic – which was to write something on the topic of ‘Unions’.

Click below to access the contributions, published in alphabetical order, by the of the writer in PDF Format.

POLITICAL WASTELAND by Roger Hudson

and

Strike by Phil Lynch

The Challenge issued in February for the march Open Mic was to take story relating to horseracing and to write a poem using only the words in that story, or to take a headline from a horseracing story and use that as the basis of a piece of short fiction, including the headline in the body of the story also, in a manner that makes sense. So watch this space in April 2011 for the results of this challenge.