CWU Poets Step Up

Members of the CWU Poetry Club took things up a notch on Sunday when they performed open mic slots for the Yes We Cant poetry evening.

The event, hosted on Zoom by the renowned Poets, Prattlers and Pendemonialists, featured headline performances from Maliaka Kegode and Sarah L Dixon. In between the headliners, CWU members Pamela Thomas, Esther Robertson, Lylia Ferguson and Paul Dovey performed a selection of their poems to an appreciative audience.

“It was great to welcome members of the CWU poetry club to our regular online night Yes We Cant,” said Steve Pottinger, who runs the events, alongside Emma Purshouse and Dave Pitt, “After working with the CWU on a series of workshops, it was immensely pleasing to hear them read their work, and see how confident they were in delivering their poems to an online audience of over forty people. Would they have believed they’d do that when they started the course in September?”

Pamela agreed, “The Yes We Cant event was the first time I’d read any of my poems out-with the safety of our Thursday night poetry club. It was nerve racking, but it was such a friendly and welcoming meeting I felt at ease. It was a great night and I loved to listening to all the open mic’s, and the headline acts were fantastic.”

Lylia was similarly enthusiastic, “I had a great time and met loads of new people. I’ve even got a couple of new followers on Twitter!”

“It was good for us to tackle a new challenge,” said Paul, who organises the CWU Poetry Club on Zoom every Thursday, “It is interesting to see how everyone has developed their own style and voice. It’s great to be able to support each other. I really look forward to our Thursday evenings. It can be a real tonic, especially during the lockdown.”

The CWU Poetry Club meets on Zoom at 5pm every Thursday. New members are always welcome. If you are interested please contact pdovey@cwu.org

The poetry workshop from the Poets, Prattlers & Pandemonialists is available online.