So, who is coming to Meadowlands Festival ? All these lovely people are…
John Hegley, Tim Key, Tim Clare, Hollie McNish, Byron Vincent, Salena Godden, Kat Francois, Kriss Foster, Daniel Cockrill, Sean Cody Mahoney, Jess Green, Jack Dean, Amy McAllister, L.A Salami, Maria Ferguson, Paul Cree, Amy Acre, A F Harrold, Terry Garoghan, Richard Marsh, Katie Bonna, Emma Jones, Rosie Wilby, Stuart Hudson, Dan Simpson, Jack Rooke, Liz Bentley, Paul Lyalls, Tshaka Campbell, The Antipoet, Peter Hayhoe, Vanessa Kisuule, Toby De Angeli, Nichol Keene, Keith Jarrett, Cecilia Knapp, Adam Kammerling, Martin Galton, Laurie Bolger, Harry Baker, Joe Bromehead, Chris Lynam ….
I think that is what they call a line up!

Zoop…. BANG SAID THE GUN – the nation’s favourite
Go here for more Meadowlands Info + Tickets

The Scream

after lunch
Eddie Munch
was casually sucking on a sweet
when ‘CRUNCH!’
“oooh” Eddie screamed
and he dreamed to share this experience.
hence
the sky blowing red
and Ed
whilst lying in bed
his tooth aching
and in the morning awaking
to pastel a picture
a mixture
of curls
twirls
colour and swirls
a portrait of himself yelling
“oooh my tooth”
revealing the common belief
that you should look after your teeth
and gums.
but the world got the wrong end of the stick
on completion of this picture
believing it to be about Eddies sickening paranoia
and fears
just from the way he’s holding his ears

screaming
longing for a dentist
for where it was originally intended
for Eddie wanted his teeth mended.
so Ed
who was sensitive and gentle
mildly mental
had extreme dental trouble
and no manly stubble
realised as he struggled on through the pain
that he was indeed
in need
of some help and companionship
to stop him from going insane.

so
he phoned his friend Vincent
Vincent Van Gogh
who cut his own ear off!
someone you could rely on to give sound advice.

and as Ed explained his predicament
and how nobody understood
Vincent who was gob smacked by what he heard through his good ear
said “what you on about Ed
it’s about your paranoia and fears
by the way you’re holding your head and ears
let’s go to the pub and talk over some.”

so they talked
and Vincent chatted
and Ed accepted
that like Vincent
he too would never be fully understood
so he carried on drinking
and asked Vincent if he’d like another
“no thanks” Vincent replied
“I’ve got one ear!”

Bang Said The Gun – The nation’s favourite!

Roger McGough is coming to BANG on Thursday 14th June… Zoop Zoop!
Cartoon by the brilliant Tony Husband

Newly elected President of the Poetry Society, Roger McGough has been honoured with a CBE for services to literature and the Freedom of the City of Liverpool for good behaviour. Lily The Pink, the Aintree Iron, Scaffold, GRIMMS, The Mersey Sound with Adrian Henri & Brian Patten and presenter of the long-running Poetry Please. A new book of poems As Far As I Know is out in August.

‘The patron saint of poetry,’ Carol Ann Duffy.

‘His poetry is like a supermodel who can complete a Sudoku puzzle moments before swishing down the catwalk — easy on the eye and smart as a whip.’ Birmingham Daily Post

Get ready for a great night gunslingers!

The Very Grimm Brothers also feature on this mega night. Here are just a few reviews to wet your appetite.

‘Gilbert & George, almost Morecambe & Wise’ Smoke & Mirrors Cabaret

‘middle-class rap’ William Coleman

‘The Very Grimm Brothers Adrian Mealing and John Denton were far from grim with their comic and varied set combining fairytale, anecdotes, comedy, poetry, music and singing. Ranging from political, good cop, bad cop, through peeping toms, music, festivals and moles (I kid you not!) it’s too difficult to pick just one favourite. We laughed and we laughed and we clapped and we clapped. ‘Nuff said!’ Sarah James

Remember June 14th is one for the diarys gunslingers.

In the last 3 years BANG have put on around 150 gigs, each one having its own unique feel, and sometimes something really magical happens. For example, when Elvis McGonagall blew the roof off the Roebuck with a storming set, or when Tim Clare smashed it whilst performing his Powerful Women from History Rap. At BANG we have been spoilt, every week the best of spoken word graces the stage. I wouldn’t say I have become nonchalant (the very opposite actually) but it would take something out of this world to make me say “that was one of the best things I have ever seen or heard!”
Last Night that happened. I think I witnessed the best and most perfectly formed set I have ever seen. Every line delivered, every word spoken, every pause anticipated, creating the most original, sharp and clear pictures in my head – funny, disturbing, brilliant – some crafted, others just thrown out there off the cuff, images that would have taken the best writers of our generation days to hone. Byron just picked them out from seemingly nowhere and dropped them into the crowd…“ here’s one, here’s another one, and another one… here’s one more perfectly formed image for you to ponder!!” I would try to paraphrase some of Byron’s lines for you now, but I wouldn’t do them justice, so I’m going to leave it to the master.

Now, I don’t want to big Byron Vincent up too much, because as he said himself, without his self loathing and depreciation he has nothing, and I wouldn’t want to strip him of that, but hey, Byron Vincent… BANG SAID THE GUN salutes you from the top of a very big Poetry Mountain… You fucking rocked it mate and created an avalanched in my belly and brain!!! Amazing!!!

BANG SAID THE GUN – the nations favourite poetry gig.
Photo – Wasi Daniju

Hosts: Dave Viney, Dominic Berry, Rod Tame, Benny Jo Zahl, Kieren King

Venue: The Old Nags Head, Jacksons Row, off Deansgate, Manchester M2 5WD

Start: 8pm, £5 on the door, £3 N.U.S., £3 with flyer.

APRIL
Thursday 26th – OUR 1ST NIGHT!!!!! BEN MELLOR +JACKIE HAGAN + CHARLOTTE HENSON

MAY
Thursday 3rd – PICO THE SPONGE’S PUPPETUAL MOTION

Thursday 10th – EMMA PURSHOUSE

Thursday 17 – INUA ELLAMS

Thursday 24th – AVAES MOHAMMAD

Thursday 31 – JULIAN DANIELS

JUNE
Thursday 7th MARK ‘MR T’ THOMPSON + STEPH PIKE

Salena Godden’s latest collection ‘Under The Pier’ was published by hip-indie imprint Nasty Little Press in 2011. Most recently her work has appeared in Shortfire Press, Illustrated Ape Magazine, Trespass Magazine, Paraphilia, Rising, Teller Magazine, The Mechanics Institute Review published by Birkbeck University, Picador’s Punk Fiction and Parthian Books Raconteur. Her poetry featured in the three latest anthologies from Tangerine Press titled Dwang. Salena Godden hosts and produces The Book Club Boutique – Soho’s hippest literary salon – soliciting their own unique brand of Books, Booze and Boogie-Woogie.

Salena is the lyricist and lead singer of The Book Club Boutique Band and also underground ska-break duo SaltPeter. The latest SaltPeter album ‘Hunger’s The Best Sauce’ featured in The Critical List in The Independent as one of the most outstanding albums of 2007. She features regularly on BBC’s ‘The Verb’ and ‘Bespoken Word’ and is among the poets in residence on Radio 4’s ‘Saturday Live’. This summer her narrative play ‘A Valentine At Waterloo’ was aired and podcast as part of the BBC’s ‘Verse Illustrated’ series, it was Ian McMillan’s pick of the week.

In October 2011 Salena was commissioned for the Sixty-Six Books project, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the publication of The King James Bible. Her response The Chronicle was performed by actor Joshua McGuire (star of BBC drama ‘The Hour’ & Hamlet) at The Bush Theatre and Westminster Abbey. This work was published in Sixty-Six Books by Oberon. Finally, Salena facilitates workshops for First Story – a charity created by author William Fiennes – that aims to foster and nurture literacy and creative writing in secondary schools.