Warwick Words – Festival of Literature and Spoken Word
4 – 7 October 2007

Poetry Tea Rooms: Rhymes & Verse On the Menu
If you like your tea and cake served up with a dollop of fabulous poetry, then look no further than the Thomas Oken Tea Rooms in Warwick on Thursday 4th and Friday 5th October (11am – 4pm).

As a finishing touch to her year as Warwick Poet Laureate, Helen Yendall has invited local poets to showcase their talents in the 500-year old tea shop for the Warwick Words Festival and over 30 of them have risen to the challenge.

“I was delighted with the response,” Helen says. “There’s a wealth of talent in our region and many of the performing poets are published writers or Poet Laureates themselves. I like the idea of taking poetry out into unusual places and I’m sure it’s going to be great fun - for the poets and customers alike! This event is open to all and if any of the Tea Room visitors would like to read out one of their own poems, they’ll be more than welcome.”

Poets who will be performing upstairs in the Thomas Oken Tea Rooms include members of The Leam Writers, Warwick Words Writers’ Group and Inktank, plus Giovanni ‘Spoz’ Esposito (Birmingham Poet Laureate 2006 -7), Sean Kelly and BBC Radio Coventry & Warwickshire’s own Poet Laureate, Jo Roberts.

For more information on the poets or to request a timeslot to read your own poem, please contact: Helen Yendall – Warwick Poet Laureate helenyendall@yahoo.co.uk

Emma Purshouse will be reading at 2pm on Friday 5th October 2007 in the tea rooms!