North by North West Poetry Tour - January & February 2017

York / Manchester / Edge Hill / Leeds / Sheffield / Liverpool : The North West Poetry Tour was an extraordinary celebration of the amazing, experimental, dynamic resurgence in literary and avant-garde poetry which has so marked the north and northwest poetry scene over the last decade. Over sixty poets collaborating in pairs, producing brand new collaborative works for performance, were commissioned for six events in cities across the region. Those six nights in January and February 2017 saw packed audiences, with 500 people in attendance all told. Free to attend and memorable to all who witnessed them, these events and the project in general is considered a marked highpoint in the exploration of a new poetics in the north of England in the 21st century. Curated by Tom Jenks of ZimZalla and SJ Fowler of the Enemies Project, and supported by Arts Council England.

January Friday 13th - York : City Screen

The opening event of the NorthxNorthWest Tour, the project visited the basement of the City Screen cinema in York with 14 poets sharing 7 brand new collaborations for the night. The event brought together poets from the city, across Yorkshire and from nearby cities like Newcastle, Middlesborough, Sunderland and Edinburgh.

The event featured - JT Welsch & Kim Campanello / Tom Jenks & Nathan Walker / Chris McCabe & Patricia Farrell / Abi Curtis & Julie Egdell / Dave Spittle & Harry Man / Bill Herbert & Colin Herd / Melony Bethala & David Steans

January Saturday 14th - Manchester : International Anthony Burgess Foundation

The second event of the tour featured a remarkable 26 poets in 13 pairs, all sharing new collaborations to an audience of over one hundred. A real range of poetry was on show, from the high avant garde to sound poetry to conceptual and found text, to more lyrical and formal verse. https://www.anthonyburgess.org/ 

The event featured Richard Barrett & Tim Allen / Helmut Lemke & Tony Trehy / SJ Fowler & Tom Jenks / Chris McCabe & Amy Cutler / Patricia Farrell & Nathan Walker / Alec Newman & Rachel Sills / Ben Knight & Ben Morris / Bryony Bates & Gareth Twose / Sarah-Claire Conlon & Fat Roland / David Gaffney & Adrian Slatcher / Lauren Bolger & Joey Frances / Luke Allan & Valgerður Þóroddsdóttir / Jazmine Linklater & Jessica Tillings

January Thursday 19th - Edge Hill Arts Centre

Robert Sheppard & Joanne Ashcroft / Luke Thurogood & Brendan Quinn / Martin Palmer & Laura Tickle / Jessica Tillings & Jazmine Linklater / Adam Hampton & Matt Fallaize / James Byrne & Cathy Butterworth / Mark Greenwood & Johnathan Hartley / Tom Jenks & Tim Allen / Chris McCabe & Patricia Farrell / Amy Cutler & Nathan Walker

February Thursday 9th - Leeds : Wharf Chambers Co-operative Club

Featuring Ian McMillan & Robert Sheppard / Chris McCabe & Nathan Walker / SJ Fowler & Patricia Farrell / Tom Jenks & Sarah Clare Conlon / Lauren de sa naylor & Andrew Clwyd / Leanne Bridgewater & Lucy Harvest Clarke / Nasser Hussain & Lucy Burnett / Joseph Clarke & Andrew Wells / Christopher Stephenson & Matthew Welton / Tom Weir & Matthew Hedley Stoppard / Stephen Emmerson & James Davies / Linda Black & Andrew Wilson Lambeth

February Friday 10th - Sheffield : Bank St. Arts

Featuring Geraldine Monk & Alan Halsey / SJ Fowler & Chris McCabe / Tom Jenks & Patricia Farrell / Nathan Walker & Amy Cutler / Dan Eltringham & Leire Barrera-Medrano / Sian Williams & Matti Spence / Agnes Lehoczky & Terry O'Connor / Sharon Kivland & Emma Bolland / Harriet Tarlo & Adam Piette / Rachel Smith & Madeleine Walton / Andrew Jeffrey & Veronica Fibisan

February Saturday 11th - Liverpool : Everyman Playhouse

Featuring Sandeep Parmar & James Byrne / Chris McCabe & Tom Jenks / SJ Fowler & Nathan Walker / Patricia Farrell & Joanne Ashcroft / Raif Mansell & Yessica Klein / Chloe Spicer & Harry Man / Seán Hewitt & Helen Tookey / Andrew Taylor & Dave Spittle / Devon Forrester-Jones & Raphaella Davies / Ailbhe Darcy & JT Welsch / Christopher Stephenson & Natasha Borton / Eleanor Rees & Steve Boyland

An article on the North by North West Poetry Tour by Sarah-Clare Conlon in the Creative Tourist https://www.creativetourist.com/event/the-north-west-poetry-tour/