Hi everyone!

After a long break Poets’ Letter and London Poetry Festival communication is back at your inbox!

I hope this finds all of you who are spread across the UK,  Ireland, Europe, America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and beyond.

I. 4th London Poetry Festival 2008: August 8-11

Just a quick update about The 4th London Poetry Festival 2008 taking place in August 8, 9, 10 and 11 (Friday to Monday) with evening events at Waterloo St John’s Church, Waterloo Road, London SE1.

4th London Poetry Festival 2008
August 8, 9, 10 & 11 (Friday-Monday) Evenings
Waterloo St John’s Church
Waterloo Road
London SE1

Tickets: £6 Cons £4 (Available Online)
Contact: contact@londonpoetryfestival.com
Website: http://www.londonpoetryfestival.com

People may begin gathering from six but the Festival will start at about 7:30 p.m and finish by 10:30 p.m. That's the time for all the four evenings.

As its signature presentation The 4th London Poetry Festival will present this year's Five Poets in Residence in all the four of the evening events. The Residence Poets are: Anjan Saha (Hammersmith, London), Claire Askew (University of Edinburgh), Helen Long (Tunbridge Wells), Nnorom Azuonye (Thamesmead, London) and Sharon Harriot (Wimbledon, London). You may read their works on Poets’ Letter or on the Festival website.

Please spread the word as the Festival needs as much support as it can get in terms of promoting the events. People who are on Facebook can join London Poetry Festival Group.

We need some volunteers to help us run the festival's four evening events (from (6-10:30 p.m). If you can spare the time and effort please send us an email.

The Festival is run on a not for profit basis so it is here because of the support and energy everyone involves offers it for free, for the love of word.

Tickets are kept at a very low level: £6 full price and cons £4.  Members of the Facebook Groups The London Circle, The National English Poetry and London Poetry Festival and Poetry Society, Society of Authors are entitled to concessionary tickets.

There are four slots for music: one every evening. If there are any musicians/singers/bands among you or someone you know please let them know of this.

The London Poetry Festival grew out of Poets’ Letter Magazine Poetry Performance and Live Music Series that started in March 2005 at the Poetry Cafe, Covent Garden, one year later than the founding of Poets’ Letter. Our Performance Series grew into its third year and still growing in strength. We had the first Festival at The Poetry Cafe in August 2005 where many of our panel of poets took part as well as a lot of other poets published in the Magazine and Poets’ Letter Poetry Anthology of New Voices. We had a great memorable event.

We thought this could become a regular Annual Poetry Festival in London, a celebration of Contemporary English Poetry. And there was the second Festival in 2006 at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) which was a resounding success. The festival in 2007, the third, celebrated in a four-day poetic feast: August 10, 11, 12 and 13th, Friday to Monday. 2nd London Poetry Festival was featured in British Satellite News Channel in 2006.

Five Poets in Residence at the Festival 2008 are: Anjan Saha, Claire Askew, Helen Long, Nnorom Azuonye and Sharon Harriott.

3rd Festival Residencies were offered to: Briony Dennis, Inua Ellams, Juli Jeana, Tom Chivers and Tricia Peak.

From the second Festival we developed Festival Poets in Residence Programme as part of London Poetry Festival's commitments to new, young and emerging poetic voices and offered five poets the Residencies who became the Signature presentation of the Festival. The Residencies of the 2nd Festival went to these talented poets: Alan Buckley, Dr Girija Emma Jane Shettar, Luke Wright, Malgorzata Kitowski and Philip Ruthen.

London Poetry Festival has never received, nor does it receive now, any funding from any public bodies or grant making foundations and is purely funded by Poets’ Letter and the hard works, supports and contributions of the astonishing band of people: editors, poets, writers, singers, musicians, song writers, artists, PR professionals, journalists, dancers, librarians, youth workers, teachers, parents and simply people who are into living in a community that is bigger than themselves.

Sponsorship proposals are highly welcome and be treated as a great support.

London Poetry Festival is here and will continue to be here in its efforts to ensure that we make a lot of poetry and music out of our living to say, show, sing and celebrate the fact that we are human beings and are alive and thriving in the rainbow-humanity. This is an open invite to everyone to join us in the celebration.

2. Poets’ Letter Magazine Online.

You may have noticed the spelling of Poet’s Letter has changed from Poet’s Letter and become Poets’ Letter for over the last five years it has become as such and will continue to be the voices of young and emerging poets. Poets’ Letter is still being published as an online monthly magazine and will continue to be published so long I am alive since this has become my Pompey, my poetry, my living (not making money for I never set out, consciously choosing not to, make money and waste my life and living in it): Poets’ Letter is my raison d'être.

July issue has the following:

Three of the five Poets in Residence at the 4th London Poetry Festival 2008 (August 8-11) Claire Askew, Helen Long and Sharon Harriott has been featured in the issue.

Featured Poets of the Month: Tricia Peak, Catherine Brogan and Jason Irwin

Name of the Poet: Isabel Galleymore

The Royal London Hospital and Whitechapel Am Radio Children and Young People's Creative Writing Competition 2008 Winners' Poems: Charilotte Bentley, Arif Chaudhury and Jasmine Brown

Poetry More: Benjamin Stainton and Carol Lynn Grellas

Purely Poetry: Aster Samuel

Listen to Audio Poetry: Poet Cast

And all other regular features: Furthermore, Events: Utter, Aoife at Ledbury, Sundial Scottish Arts Council Book Award and more

3. I’m afraid, a little of the Editor’s News

Because of the break in communication I thought I would just quickly update all of you as to what is happening to the editor! Someone bought my old website! So I have now a new one: http://www.munayemmayenin.co.uk

This year so far I have published: Prometheus and Orpheus (Sonnets), Illumine My Ithaca (poetry), Indira's Heart (Prozzitry Collection), Immonsima, (romantic poetic fiction), Ink-Spring Ithaca Iguana (poetry), A Traveller's Guide to Pollypsychophinadalium (poetry), Neverbridge Stone Roses (poetry) and Poetry of Ruins and Rains (poetry).

I wish all of you, singly, individually, personally a happy and wonderful summer as I know most of you, by name, (as Poets’ Letter has never been a brand or business, and never will be, but a living of me as a poet, as an author, as a thinker and as a human being and thus this is not a mechanically produced communication).

A happy summer for all of you. Be Humanics and do look at life as if it is your heart outside running, spreading, rising and living your breaths, beats and bones. Live the tiny brilliance that it is: this life.

The only home is the Eyes of the Universe, the only country is her infinite spread and bloom on motion's perpetual ocean-garden, the only nation is the wings of humanity, the only music is the weaving and waving spectrum of lights and darkness and the only, only, only song is love that paints and releases liberty and its abounding Prometheus in each and every one of us. We must live in each breathe, we must bloom in each instance, we must live light only treasuring, nurturing and carrying the eye-catches and the sensedine wealth of diamonds, sapphires, topazes and emeralds of different kinds and magnitude and live and breathe a liberate: a liberty breathing and blooming in love and in touch with the greater wider in wonder. We must forever live in invernation: open wide in wonder!


Thank you

Munayem Mayenin
Editor
http://www.poetsletter.com
http://www.londonpoetryfestival.com
http://www.munayemmayenin.co.uk

Poet's Letter
London Poetry Festival (3rd Festival 2007: August 10-13)
London

http://www.poetsletter.com

http://www.londonpoetryfestival.com