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Jane DardsPoetry to be read and poetry to be performed |
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News18th April 2013. Jane will be hosting the next of the Mid Wales Poetry Open Mic Evenings at MWAC (Mid Wales Arts Centre) in Caersws, Powys. This quarterly open mic poetry event is held in the relaxed atmoshpere of the gallery, for all those who enjoy poetry. • Bring a favourite poem to read Guest poet: Gareth Davies Gareth says: "My present work includes presentations, performance poetry and story
on a wide range of themes from cats to cooking to Celtic myth. I love to work with
audiences who do not yet like poetry, combining music, humour, appreciation and pathos,
drawing inspiration from a variety of artists, writers and poets old and new. Admission £3. All welcome. Licensed bar. Cafe-style seating. Free parking. 23rd February 2013. Jane read with the Marches Book Arts Group in the Public Hall, Bishop's Castle, as part of the Bishop's Castle Arts Festival. Other readers included Chris Kinsey, Bryan Podmore and Miriam Obrey. Jane was pleased to receive a "highly commended" for her poem Upwards in the Provocations poetry competition (part of the festival), and read the poem at the enjoyable prizegiving evening. 7th February 2013. Online shop! Leaf and Landscape: A selection of nature poems by Jane Dards, is now available to purchase online here. 6th February 2013. Jane read/performed some of her poetry at Llanidloes High School, at one of the ongoing series of Llanidloes Music and Arts evenings. The "headline act" were Maldwyn Strings, together with Michael Brennan (bass). Jane had a 10-minute slot in each half, and her poems were well-received. A most enjoyable evening. 5th January 2013. Jane read her poem "The Camel's Tale: A poem for Epiphany" at the 12th Night celebrations in Llandinam (rather belatedly, as the poem was originally written for the event in 2010 that was cancelled because of bad weather, and again in 2011...). The evening started in St Llonio's Church, and then moved to the Village Hall for Wassailing before going on to more dance, song and good cheer. Sept-Dec 2012 Jane took a time out from poetry to work on a contract as a technical author. (Pays the bills...) 7th October 2012. Jane hosted a variation on the usual Mid Wales Poetry Open Mic event at MWAC (Mid Wales Arts Centre) in Caersws, Powys.There was a Poetry and Music afternoon in the Sculpture Hall, in aid of CUP (Conservation of Upland Powys). 16th August 2012. Jane hosted the third in a series of regular Mid Wales Poetry Open Mic Evenings at MWAC (Mid Wales Arts Centre) in Caersws, Powys. A wide variety of poems were read by the attendees, and a good time was had by all. Guests were Jazzetry: Neil McKeown, voice, and Barry Edwards, guitar. They presented original poetry written by Neil, along with some by Keats and Yeats, in an improvised style. They have been performing in the Oswestry area for the past couple of years, and enjoyed coming to Mid Wales Arts Centre. Barry is a jazz musician who has performed extensively in the UK, Spain and Poland. Neil has performed regularly in Oswestry, and at the June MWAC Open Mic Night. June 2012. Sadly, The Spectator has decided to restrict access to the competition pages of their website to subscribers to their online site. So the links to Jane's poems that have been published in The Spectator will no longer work unless you are a subscriber. 21st June 2012. Jane hosted the second in a series of regular Mid Wales Poetry Open Mic Evenings at MWAC (Mid Wales Arts Centre) in Caersws, Powys. The guest poet, John Bennett, was visiting from Australia, where he is widely published and has performed at various literary festivals. He read from his latest book, "A Pocket Diary" (Flying Island Books, 2012), plus some Welsh poems from a previous book. The evening was well-attended, with some new faces, and everybody seemed to enjoy themselves.
13th April 2012. Jane competed in the Wenlock Poetry Festival Poetry Slam, hosted by Spoz, in Much Wenlock. The standard was very high. Sadly, Jane fluffed her lines: she is not sure whether to put this down to it being Friday 13th, her recent illness (and subsequent last-minute poetry-writing), or just plain senility. Hopefully not the last! 29th March 2012. Jane hosted the first in a series of regular Mid Wales Poetry Open Mic Evenings at MWAC (Mid Wales Arts Centre) in Caersws, Powys. Yes, having complained about the lack of an informal regular open mic evening anywhere in mid Wales, Jane finally got herself together and organised one herself. With thanks to the Zest! team in Chester for setting such a good example, to Meg Gurney (who runs Torfaen Open Mic) for all her useful tips, to Cathy Knapp for providing the venue, and to Chris Kinsey for her advice and for agreeing to be our first guest poet. The guest poet was Chris Kinsey. Since winning an Arts Council of Wales bursary for new writing in 2000, Chris has been a freelance writer, tutor, and rescuer of greyhounds. She has three collections of poetry: Kung Fu Lullabies and Cure for a crooked smile with Ragged Raven Press, and Swarf with Smokestack Books. Her stage play, Feathering the Dark, was shown at Aberystwyth Arts Centre and her short play, I and I, at Venue Cymru. She writes a regular Nature Diary for Cambria and occasionally for Natur Cymru. Chris has read at the Ledbury and Hay festivals, and her work has been featured on BBC Radio 4 and Radio Wales. She was BBC Wildlife Poet of the Year in 2008, and is currently Writer-in-Residence at Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown. The evening was a great success, with over 20 people attending. There was a nice buzzy atmosphere and everybody responded well to the readings. Feedback included "Lovely evening - thoroughly enjoyed all the poetry", "Such a lovely evening with many wonderful words", "Excellent start", "Great!" and "I'll join in next time!". Suggestions for frequency were mostly for bimonthly, with some preferring quarterly, so the next one will be held on Thursday 21st June 2012. 13th March 2012. The Poets Howl Open Mic in Oswestry, part of Oswestry Festival of the Word, was great fun, with a mix of poetry and jazz interludes. The Ironworks.is a fabulous venue! 24th February 2012. Jane enjoyed reading with the Gallery Poets at the Oriel Davies Gallery in Newtown, Powys. The well-attended evening was hosted by Chris Kinsey, and the poems included a wide range of styles and subject matter, from the Carribean to Schrödinger's Cat. 27th-29th January 2012. Jane attended the "Advanced Writing" weekend course at Ty Newydd, the National Writers' Centre for Wales. It was a stimulating course in a wonderful setting. The course tutors were Zoë Skoulding and Ian Gregson. 12th December 2011. Jane was pleased to win a prize as one of the four winners of Zest!'s four-line poem competition, on the subject of "Games". Here's her poem:
December 2011. Read Jane's poem "When we are very old" in the December 2011 issue of the quarterly light verse webzine "LightenUp Online". 29th November 2011. An entertaining evening at the grand final of the John Tripp Award for Spoken Poetry in the Depot Studio, Swansea Grand Theatre. Jane was one of the 15 finalists competing in the Literature Wales event, which aims to find "the best live poet in Wales". The winner of both the main prize and the audience prize was the accomplished poet Rhian Edwards, with a fantastic poem called "Girl Meats Boy". 29th October 2011. The Dance for Life Unlimited: A Cornucopia of Powys Performing Arts (the finale of Powys Arts Month) was a thoroughly enjoyable event. The Albert Hall Theatre in Llandrindod Wells was a delightful venue - what a super little theatre, with all its Victorian charm and lush decor! The music and dancing was a treat - varied and vibrant. Jane performed some poetry, and one member of the audience said that Jane had changed her life. What can one say? 25th October 2011. It was a fun evening in Llandudno's Venue Cymru at the northern heat of the John Tripp Award for Spoken Poetry. The poets performed a wide variety of work, and Jane was one of the four winners who went on to compete (together with the finalists from the other three heats) at the grand final in Swansea on 29th November. 15th September 2011. A great time was had by all at the launch of Chris Kinsey's latest book, Swarf, at the Oriel Davies Gallery in Newtown, Powys . It was a varied evening, with readings by Andy Croft and Jane Dards (left), RV Bailey, Chris Kinsey, and Kaite O'Reilly (right) going down well with a large audience. Swarf is available from Smokestack Books. September 2011. Jane sent a bit of doggerel in support of BBC4 to the Radio Times, which was published in the "Feedback" section of the issue for 17-23 September 2011. You can read it here. September 2011. You've seen the movie, now read the book! (sort of...) You may have watched the video of Jane performing "Forgetful? Me?" on the Videos page or on YouTube. Now you can read the text in the September 2011 edition of the quartely light verse webzine LightenUp Online. August 2011. Read Jane's poem, "Tube lines", in the competition pages of The Spectator for Sat 27th August 2011 here. 25th August 2011. Jane had a great time at Mid Wales Arts Centre with the Dance For Life Summer School. The young people had a day of dance, art and poetry, with audio CDs of the performances produced by Sophie King with her mobile recording studio. Jane was very impressed by how talented all these young people are! May & June 2011. You can still read Jane's sonnet "Prince Charming's Tale" in the June 2011 edition of LightenUp Online here, and her poem in The Spectator for Sat 7th May 2011 here.
For bookings, please email Jane at jane@janedards.co.uk. |
Upcoming events in 2013Jane will be: Hosting the next in a series of quarterly Mid Wales Poetry Open Mic Evenings at MWAC (Mid Wales Arts Centre) in Caersws, Powys on Thursday 18th April. Guest poet Gareth Davies (see left).
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8th June 2012. Jane performed some poems at The
Show Must Go On at Llanidloes Community Centre, in an evening of Magical
Music, Terrifying Tricks and Delightful Dancers, organised by Amber Deacon. A variety show
full of local talent of all ages, giving everyone a chance to shine, with all proceeds to
The Teenage Cancer Trust.
