Since November 2021 I have been hosting Contextual, an hour-long virtual poetry reading event hosted on Zoom. There have been thirty-eight Contextual evenings since then. These have been international events at which many people have read, primarily from the UK and the US, but also from Scandinavia and numerous other European countries. It has become a ‘safe space’ for poets to share their work.
I am now planning to supplement Contextual with a new event, Platform. Whilst the structure of Platform will be similar to Contextual, the difference arises in that the new event (also virtual and Zoom-based) will consist of sessions dedicated to just one or two voices — and will be open to short prose as well as poetry.
It can be difficult for a writer to find an opportunity of any meaningful duration within which to share their work. Open mics almost always only allow the sharing of one piece of work, usually whatever fits within five minutes. This cannot possibly leads to an adequate representation of a writer’s work — and we have seen from our ‘headline’ readers at many of the Contextual events that having a longer slot can benefit both writer and reader. Listeners get a more rounded view.
Thus Platform — a new ‘platform’ (hence the name!) — which aims to offer writers a little more ‘space’.
As with Contextual, I anticipate there will be considerable demand for Platform slots, and in allocating these I will always show a preference to those who are regular attendees to our meetings and/or those who have new books recently published. Surely that’s only fair.
For the first Platform in November (Thursday 26th, 19:30 UK-time), I am offering myself up as guinea pig. I rarely read at Contextual, so maybe kicking-off Platform is a small reward for nearly five years’ effort! Currently I plan to read from “A Lightness of Being“, a series of Ekphrastic poems based on photographs taken in Lincoln Cathedral; this is a format which worked well with my collection “Grimsby Docks“. (Zoom links for Platform 1 can be requested below; for details on Contextual: 39 click HERE.)
I plan to host Contextual and Platform on alternate months, the last Thursday of each month at 19:30 UK-time. After November’s Platform, in the new year Contextual will resume on Thursday 28th January, and Platform on Thursday 25th February. Don’t forget to add all the dates to your calendar!
To request an invitation to attend the Platform event please complete the form below.
To ensure you keep up-to-date with future Coverstory books’ events and opportunities please follow at www.coverstorybooks.com; you can also follow my own work – for free! – at www.iangouge.substack.com.
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