Curated and hosted by poet Kim Moore, our online contemporary poetry series is part poetry reading, part open mic – and the guest poet and open mic theme change every time! We will be listening to what poets have to say about our turbulent times, and how poetry can cross borders to challenge, delight and inspire us.

This February’s guest is the brilliant Fiona Benson, reading from her collection Midden Witch. Her poems are visceral and incantatory examining witchcraft and herbalism and giving voice to the healers and outcasts from history. These themes also resonate in the work of our guiding spirit William Wordsworth, who also explored the spiritual survival of the rural outcast.

Open mic

The open mic theme for this event is spells, magic and witchcraft.  Participants are encouraged to bring poems that interpret this theme broadly, whether they are modern incantations, local legends or everyday charms.

~Open mic slots are limited and must be booked in advance.  Each open mic poem should be no longer than two minutes. Email Kim Moore at wordsworthreadingseries@outlook.com for a slot. Slots do book up quickly, so don’t leave it to the last minute!~ [The open mic is now FULL]

How to book and attend

When attendees book a ticket they will receive a confirmation email which includes the Zoom registration link for this event: please use this link to sign up.

This event is a Zoom webinar and the audience will not appear on screen. If you have bought a ticket and signed up to the open mic your audio and video will be enabled during the open mic.

Five free places are available for those experiencing financial hardship that would otherwise not be able to attend. You can select this option during online checkout. If you have booked a free place and find that you can’t attend, please let us know so that we can make this available to someone else.

Automatic live captions will be provided.