I really excited to be performing at a fabulous poetry gig in Sudbury, on Sunday 8th October. which is completely free! I've set myself a challenge of performing only new poems, so I's love your support. The line-up is fantastic, and has been created with so much love from a passionate poet and artist, James Domestic. Please come along and support. Read all about the artists below, and I hope to see you there:

Mary Dickins (London)

Mary’s debut collection, Happiness FM, has been included in the NHS Top 10 Uplifting Resources by The Reading Agency and Health Education England. She has been featured in The Guardian newspaper, and recently published her fantastic new collection Late Shift at The Pickle Factory through Burning Eye Books. Her poems are tender, sad, joyful, surreal and ridiculous and always characterised by the distinctive blend of wordplay, humour, poignancy and politics that her readership have come to expect.

Mary in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/.../a-new-start-after-60-i...

Late Shift at The Pickle Factory: https://burningeyebooks.wordpress.com/.../new-title-late.../

Jackie Montague (Ipswich)

Jackie’s monologues and epic poems are bursting with biting honesty, some rage, lashings of wit, warmth, and bawdy banter. She has performed and written at three Spill Festivals (Ipswich) for BBC New Comedy (Radio Norfolk and Suffolk).

James Domestic (Sudbury)

If you know James it will most likely be through one of his many punk bands/musical projects, of which there are many (most notably, The Domestics). Or possibly you’ll have seen him DJing reggae, funk, soul or whatever else takes his fancy. In more recent times he’s been putting a lot of energy into writing and performing poetry, and has had one co-collection (‘Cruor’ with Dave Cullern) published in 2022, and one full collection ‘Domesticated Vol.1’ published this year through Earth Island Books. James has garnered comparisons with John Cooper Clarke, Spike Milligan, Ivor Cutler, and Benjamin Zephaniah.

James in The Suffolk Free Press: https://www.suffolknews.co.uk/.../punk-poetry-and.../

Domesticated Vol. 1: https://www.earthislandbooks.com/.../domesticated-by...

Ricci Read (Colchester)

Ricci recently published his debut poetry collection, Earth Man, and is co-organiser – along with Billie Vasquez-Walters - of the regular ‘Poetry at Patch’ events at the Patch restaurant in Trinity Street, Colchester.

His poetry is raw, powerful, and drawn from human experiences of love and loss, hope and despair, and dreams and art. He describes the Earth Man collection as “an emotional artistic journey through free verse passionate poems into the weird mind of the Homosapien species”.

Earth Man: https://riccireadart.bandcamp.com/merch/earth-man

Amy Wragg (Ipswich)

Amy is well known in Ipswich and elsewhere for her ‘Get on the Soapbox’ events, through which she has helped to highlight how much talent there is in East Anglia, and she’s worked with artists such as Scroobius Pip, Kate Tempest, Luke Wright, Attila The Stockbroker, and Bessie Turner, amongst others.

Amy’s poetry is honest and warm, doesn’t shy away from real life issues, and is delivered with style and good humour.

Get On The Soapbox: http://www.getonthesoapbox.co.uk/About

Sam Marsh (Bury St Edmunds)

Some of you may know Sam from his past bands – hardcore punks, Volunteers (who released a split 7” single with The Domestics – see above!), indie rockers, The Machismo’s, or Nirvana-supporting grungers (and John Peel favourites) Jacob’s Mouse.

Now a Buddhist, but still very much a punk at heart, Sam has recently had his debut book, Wisdom of the Punk Buddha, published by Earth Island Books. It’s an unusual concept which provides an entry-level outline of Buddhist philosophy interspersed with some of his thoughtful, often irreverent, humorous poems. As he says himself “I am a punk and a Buddhist, and I'm not conflicted at all“.

Wisdom of the Punk Buddha: https://www.earthislandbooks.com/.../wisdom-of-the-punk...