Word Central

Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word.

Presented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries.

Hosted by Tony Curry with special guest Kieren King.

Book your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 11th November via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk. N.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer, it is essential that you stay within this timeframe.

Performance slots are allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list.

Our special guest Kieren King is a Salfordian spoken word artist, a four-time UK National Slam finalist, and a Great Northern Poetry Slam champion. He was a host of Bang Said the Gun: Manchester, and the creative mind behind the acclaimed spoken word nights Slamchester, Evidently, and the Word War slams. He has featured on BBC Radio 4, performed for Musicians Without Borders and Amnesty International, and at the Kendal Calling, Edinburgh Fringe, and Glastonbury festivals. Kieren has also been a special guest at former NME journalist and Haçienda DJ Dave Haslam’s Not Quite Light Weekender, and been commissioned by Guy Garvey of Elbow to curate a spoken word event for Meltdown at the Southbank Centre, by Sky to write and perform a poem to launch their channel Blaze, and by Salford Red Devils Rugby League FC to celebrate their appearance in the Super League Grand Final. His new poetry collection, Spit & Sawdust, was published in September by Flapjack Press.

Event host Tony Curry is a performance poet, playwright and workshop facilitator. Raised in Crawley by English and South African parents, he has lived and worked in Manchester for three decades, running literature-in-the-community projects with a specific leaning towards mental health and wellbeing. His play, The Teddy Bear, was staged at Manchester’s Contact Theatre, whilst his solo spoken word shows include Brit Boy, Complicit Relations, Moving and The Odyssey, performed at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. Tony has recently toured his solo show Tall Tales for All Men, adapted from his collection Tall Tales for Tall Men Who Fall Well Short (Flapjack Press, 2012), at the Brighton Fringe and Chorlton Arts festivals.