‘Yes, We Can’t’ open mic event. Emma Purshouse will be performing poems from her wonderful new collection Close. Also featuring Rick Sanders aka Willis The Poet.

Sunday January 6th, 7pm at The Pretty Bricks, 5 John Street, Walsall, WS2 8AF (free –donations welcome), contact poetsprattlerspandemonialists@gmail.com

‘City Voices’ with Cherry Doyle, Mark Reece, Heather Wastie, David Calcutt & Emma Purshouse, at The Light House, Chubb Buildings, Fryer Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1HT.

Tuesday January 8th, 7.30-9pm.

Tickets £3 on the door. Join us for a star-studded line-up at the Light House.

‘Country Voices’ with Ian Parr, Natalie White and the Bilston Writers (Marion Cockin, Carol Howarth, Ros Woolner & Trevor Raybould at the Meadow Inn, Buildwas Road, Ironbridge, TF8 7BJ.

Saturday January 19th, 2.30-4pm.

Tickets £4 on the door. Join us for an entertaining afternoon by the river.

‘Poetry Afternoon’

With Marion Cockin and Bert Flitcroft. Come along and enjoy poems that will delight and challenge in turns, with an interval for tea and cake! 2.30-4.00pm, the Art Gallery. Tickets £5 (do not include refreshments).

Punjabi Women’s Group

Share poems and stories about family life and history featuring Kuli Kohli, 4.30-5.30, the Art Gallery. Tickets £3.

‘Pamphleteers’

Nellie Cole, John Woodall and Ros Woolner share their fresh, funny & moving pamphlet poetry from Offa’s Press. Light House, 7-8pm, Tickets £5.

‘Paperverse’ with Jeff Phelps and Marion Cockin

An entertaining (2.5 hour) craft/ poetry workshop for people who want to have fun with paper and words. Bantock House, Tractor Shed, 10-12.30. Maximum numbers 10. Tickets £10 /£8 (concs).

‘Recommended Reading’

With Emma Purshouse, Simon Fletcher, Dave Reeves & Jane Seabourne. Offa’s publications The Poetry of Staffordshire, Our Beautiful Scars and The Poetry of the Black Country are recommended reading in West Midlands’ libraries. Join us for a wonderful morning of poetry from the region. Light House, 11.00-12.30. Tickets £5.

‘Going Japanese’

Workshop with David Bingham and Simon Fletcher. Explore the various and exciting forms of Japanese poetry. Try your hand at a haiku, haibun or tanka. Workshop may involve a visit to the house to explore the ‘Japanning’ connection (tbc). No previous experience required. Bantock House, 1.30-4pm. Maximum numbers 15. Tickets £10 / £8 (concs).

‘Black Country Women’

With Marion Cockin, Jane Seabourne & Emma Purshouse who present work about women’s lives in the Black Country featuring poems from Nailmakers’ Daughters, Our Beautiful Scars & Close. Light House, 2.30-4pm. Tickets £5.

‘The Austerity Papers’

With Blakenhall Writers, including Kuli Kohli & Ros Woolner, at the Writers’ Hub, Lych Gate Tavern, 3-4pm (free)

Bilston Writers

Including Marion Cockin & Ros Woolner, at the Writers’ Hub, Lych Gate Tavern, 4-5pm (free)