#Event #review
Commonword/Cultureword brought Open Mic Poetry to OLDHAM for the third time, on Thursday, 25th July, 2024.
This time, it was held at Hack Oldham, 38-44 Yorkshire Street, Oldham OL1 1SE which is very central and easily accessible. The venue has been refurbished and the downstairs room is ideal for spoken word poetry.
There were quite a few writers there reading novel extracts and promoting their novels which was a bit unexpected , but the audience was receptive and friendly as always with the Oldham Open Mic. There was someone, you know who you are, who was promoting his services, a bit naughty, as this is not what the evening was about, thanks to Pete Kalu for keeping you on track!
Among the wonderful poets, the lovely Geli Berg intrigued us with a poem that starts with the line:
"I killed a relative today!"
Geli is of Peruvian and English heritage and is a talented poet, singer/ songwriter, and DJ ( World Dance Music) and runs the monthly 'Stories Around the Fire' upstairs at the Fox & Pine on the third Thursday of the month 6 - 8 pm. Starting this Friday, you can book a place on her 'Creative Writers' Secret Hangout". Find it on Eventbrite as only 12 spaces are available.
On the subject of female poets, the style-icon of the evening, Manchester Cinderella , Janine, gave one of her heart-rending performances much appreciated by the audience.
A big shout out for Naomi who sang her own song and accompanied herself on her guitar. By the end of the song I found myself singing the chorus! Well done, Naomi.
It was great to catch-up with the lovely and talented, Carol Talbot, Jo Harthan and the irrepresible Dan Forrester, whose debut novel, Havoc, a comedic fantasy novel, launches on the 14th November, 2024 at Oldham Library.
There was Lux, who had been challenged to wrte something to read and did just that! Well done. A shout out to a fellow poet, Alistair, whose poetry I enjoyed.
All in all it was a great evening. A big thank you to Ilze, Peteris and Gabriels, my friends and neighbours who came to support me and to Helen, from Geli's story group. As a poet it is always nice to have support in the audience!
No Open Mic in August, but it is on again in September, watch this space. Finally a big thank you to Sarah and Christian our Hack Oldham hosts who were absolutely fabulous at looking after us. Also Pete Kalu and the very helpful Ella from Commonword/Cultureword.
See you in September, and poets, let's not be outnumbered by the novelists!
©✍️CarolynCrossley,2024
VIXEN of VERSE 
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