Last week, I had the amazing opportunity of performing at Glastonbury Festival down in England, the largest music festival in the world! I was invited to perform in the Poetry and Words tent, joining fabulous poets from across the UK and the world. It was such an honor to perform alongside the likes of World Slam Champions Harry Baker and Joaquin Zihuatanejo, as well as with my talented friends and fellow Loud Poets: European Slam Champ MiKo Berry and 2013 UK Slam Champ Sara Hirsch. I would highly recommend having a listen to all of these poets, as well as everybody on the Glastonbury Poetry and Words line-up, which you can find out more about on the Poetry and Words page.

The festival itself was an exuberant and dizzying mix of colors, lights and sounds. I saw Kate Tempest perform live, which was awesome, and I discovered a new band that I can’t stop listening to: Coco and the Butterfields. They play folk/hip hop music (violins AND beatboxing! Where can you go wrong?).

My wellies are muddy, my ears are ringing with music and my heart is full of spoken word poetry. Now the cows of Worthy Farm can return to their home. To see the tribute poems that we poets created for the displaced cows, including one by yours truly, check ‘em out here.

Thanks so much for inviting me, Poetry and Words!

Loud Poets – Back in the GSR

Friday June 19, 2015 7:30 pm, Broadcast (427 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow)

ENTRY: 4 pounds

I’ll be joining this amazing spoken word poetry collective this evening for a night of music and verse!

‘Loud Poets are once again rocking hearts, minds, and souls at Broadcast so come along for the best in spoken word entertainment by some of the greatest poets you’ll have the good fortune to meet!’

Check out their Facebook event for details.

Poetry at Inn Deep – OLD AND NEW

Tuesday June 9, 2015 7:30 pm, Inn Deep (445 Great Western Road, Glasgow)

FREE ENTRY

I’ll be joining a great group of Glasgow-based poets (including Robin Cairns and Colin McGuire) for an evening of ‘old’ and ‘new’. Poets will be sharing out work that’s super old, like never sees the light of day OR brand new, never before heard! I’ll be in the latter category, performing a brand new poem tonight about everyone’s favorite (or least favorite?) subject: L-O-V-E.

See their Facebook event for more details and the full line-up.

RAUM Magazine Launch Issue #1 – Ephemera

Thursday June 11, 2015 8- 11 pm, The Poetry Club (100 Eastvale Place, Glasgow)

FREE ENTRY

I’m delighted to announce that I’ll be published in the first issue of the upcoming poetry magazine: RAUM. RAUM is a new international poetry magazine which aims to publish new and established writers. They’ve invited contributors to come and share some work. There will be music, drinks and a generally good time. Come out and celebrate Issue #1 of RAUM!

Check out their Facebook page and the event for more info.

Excited to announce that the second edition of my poetry chapbook, Grown Up Poetry Needs to Leave Me Alone, is now ready and available on Etsy from Knockingdoor Press! ($15/£9) 

The book is the result of a collaboration with the artist/writer/extraordinarily talented human being: Lydia Cruz. For her senior thesis project, Lydia created a book of my poems, in which the type would in some way reflect aspects of performance including tone, delivery speed and emphasis.

Lydia’s design has not only captured the style of these poems, but she has made them come alive in a whole new way. I could not be happier with the finished product!

You can get your copy here! Also, Scotland-based friends, if you want to save a few quid on shipping charges, I’ve got a few copies on hand here in the UK. Just email me (carlybrownwriter@gmail.com) to reserve your copy!

Excited to announce I’ll be performing some spoken word poems at Stag and Dagger Festival on Sunday May 3^rd. Stag and Dagger is a music festival that brings a host of amazing live music acts to Glasgow. This year’s line-up includes Django Django, The Thurston Moore Band, Honeyblood, Jim Valentine and more.

I’ll be performing at the CCA Cinema from 15:00 – 18:00 for the LOUD POETS SPOKEN WORD SHOWCASE. I’ll be joined by some of Glasgow’s most dynamic spoken word poets from Katie Ailes to Bram Gieben (current Scottish National Champion of Slam Poetry).

The event is FREE (no wristband required) and should be a great opportunity to see lots of diverse and talented poets in one place!

EVENT DETAILS

Sunday May 3rd, 15:00-18:00 at the CCA Cinema, Glasgow

For more info., check out the Facebook event page

Hi everyone! This month, I’m proud to announce that one of my poems will be featured at the Black Opal Arts exhibition. Black Opal Arts is a platform for writers and artists to explore the darker side of their craft.

Tonight, April 12^th, Black Opal Arts presents NOCTIS, a night of celebration for all things horror. There will be artwork to admire, stories to hear and cake to eat. I’ll be reading out my poem there, so if you’re looking for a spooky evening in Glasgow, come along to NOCTIS!

Event Details 

Black Opal Arts presents NOCTIS 

Sunday April 12, 2015

7:30 pm 

The Old Hairdressers, 20-28 Renfield Lane, Glasgow

For more details, check out the Facebook event.

And then next week…I’ll be travelling down to Leicester, England, where I’ve been invited to be a guest poet at ‘Find the Right Words’, a night of performance poetry and rap. I’ll be performing with the fantastic and hilarious wordsmith Harry Baker, former World Champion of Slam Poetry. There’s an open mic as well. If you’re in the area, definitely come join us!

Event Details 

Find the Right Words

Wednesday April 15, 2015

8:45 pm

Upstairs at the Western, Western Road, Leicester

Tickets: 7 pounds at the door, 6 for concessions

Check out this website for further info. 

I’ve also got some super exciting announcements about other upcoming events this summer so stay tuned for more…

Hello hello! I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be featured in two exciting, upcoming shows in Glasgow. First up: Rally and Broad‘s ‘The Apology Shop’. For those who haven’t seen any Rally and Broad shows before, it’s a cabaret (Music! Poetry! You name it!) hosted by the fabulous Jenny Lindsey and Rachel McCrum. I’m sharing the bill with some incredible poets and performers including…Liz Lochhead, the National Poet of Scotland!

Event Details

Rally and Broad: The Apology Shop

Sunday January 25^th

2:30 pm

Stereo Cafe Bar, 20-28 Renfield Lane, Glasgow

Check out their Facebook page here for more details and to book tickets!

Next up: Loud Poets Glasgow! Loud Poets ‘is a spoken word revolution’, an exciting new and acclaimed poetry collective that started over in Edinburgh and now…they’re heading for Glasgow! This is: ‘slam-style, make some noise, fist-thumping, pint-drinking, side-tickling and heart-wrenching poetry!’ I’ve performed with these guys before and they’re epic.

I’ll be joining a line-up of incredible slammers so come along for the launch! Grab your tickets in advance because they’re already selling like hotcakes.

Event Details

Loud Poets Glasgow #1: The Launch

Thursday, February 5th

7:30 pm

The Old Hairdresser’s, 20-28 Renfield Lane, Glasgow

Tickets: 4 pounds at the door

Head on over to their Facebook page here to check out the line-up and book tickets!

StAnza is Scotland’s International Poetry Festival and it takes place every March in St Andrews, bringing amazing poets from all over the world to our little town. This year’s line-up includes Simon Armitage, Anne Stevenson,  Sinéad Morrissey and many more! There are installations, discussions, workshops and shows…it’s a great celebration of poetry.

This year, Gillian Gamble and I are honored to be taking part. Our book, I Love St Andrews, will be on display as digital art during the festival! The exhibition will be on in The Byre Theatre foyer (the festival hub) and displayed between 10 AM and 10 PM, in rotation with other pieces of digital art, throughout the entire festival.

You can also come along to our Meet the Artist event on Saturday March 7th from 12-1 and chat with Gillian and me about the book. Both events are totally free!

StAnza takes place March 4-8, 2015. Hope to see you there.