When we first set up Yes We Cant, our monthly poetry night, it was upstairs in the Pretty Bricks pub (a lovely real ale pub in Walsall, well worth a visit if you’re over that way). Then Covid happened, and – like every other live poetry event in the country – we moved online. For the past four years, Yes We Cant has been a pay-as-you-feel event on Zoom, held on the first Sunday of the month, but last Sunday’s was the final one in this format.
For the past year or more we’ve been looking for a suitable venue where we can hold an in-person event which we livestream to anyone joining in from home. Finding one is proving extraordinarily difficult, though we’re hopeful we may have something lined up (more news on that front as and when we have it). What is clear, though, is that a purely online event is far less attractive than it was, say, eighteen months ago. Numbers attending have dropped and dropped, which makes it increasingly difficult to pay our headliners and ‘Alf Enders – and while PPP have never paid ourselves anything for running Yes We Cant since we first set it up in 2017, we aren’t in a position to dip into our own pockets to keep it going, either.
Against that background, making last night the final online edition of Yes We Cant was a no-brainer. But what a way for it to bow out! In a departure from the norm, we had co-headliners in the form of Gill & Mark Connors, reading from their shared anthology ‘The Where We Were’ (Yaffle Press) and the back-and-forth from one to the other, each picking up on a theme the other had touched on in their previous poem… well, that would have made for an excellent night on its own. Luckily for us – and everyone else who was there – the contributions from our ten open-mic poets took the night to another level entirely, and were each outstanding in their own right.
Thanks to Gill, Mark, our open mic poets, and our audience for a great night of poetry. Thanks, too, to everyone who’s ever supported Yes We Cant. Without you, it simply wouldn’t happen. Keep your eyes peeled for the next, exciting step in its evolution!
We’ve been involved with Wolves Lit Fest since it first started, and it’s been joyous to watch it establish itself and go from strength to strength. As this year’s festival slips away into the rear view mirror, here’s our thoughts on it. This is going to be a long post, so make yourself a cuppa and settle in…
The 2025 festival built on the success of previous years, bringing loads of visitors here to enjoy our city, and giving those of us who live in Wolverhampton something they can be massively proud of. There was a perfect blend of events – big names to bring in the crowds, and plenty of opportunities for local creatives to get up behind the mic and share their work with the public, too. That’s massively important as far as we’re concerned – and we’ll talk more about that later. For now, here’s a review of all the stuff we enjoyed and curated over the last weekend…
Friday
Each year, well in advance of the festival, we recommend a headline poet we think would be a great addition to it. Then we leave them and the festival organisers to hammer out an agreement, and hope they can make it happen. This year, we’d suggested Hollie McNish – who is absolutely brilliant – and we were delighted that her Friday night show in the city’s Art Gallery sold out way before the festival weekend. There are few poets who can hold an audience of over 140 in the palm of their hand, but Hollie is definitely one. We laughed far more than poetry audiences normally do, and the queue for signed copies of Hollie’s book ‘Lobster’ stretched all the way back up the gallery stairs at the end of the night.
Saturday.
We’ve run a Fringe Room at Wolves Lit Fest for several years now. It started in the upstairs room of the Lych Gate, moved to the Purity Bar after the pandemic, and has now found its home in the Tilston at the city’s Arena Theatre. In the tradition of Fringe, the shows are free for the audience to come and watch, but they have to pay to leave. More accurately, they lob into the hat whatever they think the show was worth, with all the money going direct to the performer. We always put on five shows, each of them roughly fifty minutes long. It’s a full-on day, but it is absolutely worth it, and the audience numbers speak for themselves – the room was packed! Huge thanks to our performers Susan Murray, Naomi Paul, Robin Ince, Date Night (Autumn & Hannah), and Lee Nelson.
Those of you who were there will know that Robin asked for the money in his hat to go to a local charity. We have now donated all £225 to Base 25, who work with young people across Wolverhampton. Thank you, Robin.
At some point in the afternoon, Steve sloped off to MC the event for the poetry competition winners – and shortlisted poets – in the Arena’s main room (you can see videos of the winning poems here, if you haven’t already) Our thanks to all the poets who came along to this, and a special mention to Wolverhampton poet John Woodall, who read his 2nd prize poem and hotfooted it down to the Molineux to watch Wolves-Villla. The actions of a man who loves misery, we all thought. And how wonderfully wrong we were proved to be!*
With the Fringe Room wrapped up we just had time to head to a noodle bar for a bite to eat, and then it was time for Stars of Slam. One event; five brilliant poetry slam winners. This was an evening of poetry to savour – no headliner, just five excellent poets sharing equal billing – with a rapt audience thoroughly entertained from the first moment to the last. If you get the chance to see Ben Davis, Brenda Read-Brown, Prince Acquah, Morgan Birch, or Bradley Taylor wherever you live, we recommend you grab it with both hands.
We went home absolutely buzzing.
Sunday
This is always a quieter day for us (hallelujah!) but a really important one. We curate the Writers’ Hub at the city’s art gallery. It’s a really important part of the festival programme, giving dozens of local writers the opportunity to share their work in public. For some of them, it’s the first time they’ll have got up behind (or is it in front of?) a mic, and it’s always wonderful to see how doing that changes their perception of what they can do with their work and what’s possible for them. This year, ten different writers’ groups from across the city and beyond gathered together to share their work. That’s maybe ninety local writers actively participating in the city’s arts scene, from first timers like Tettenhall Writers (hope we see you again!) to veterans like Bridgnorth and Coachhouse Writers.
And then, in the blink of an eye, it was Sunday evening, and time to retire to the pub for the traditional –and much-needed – debrief. We’ve spent years perfecting that, too.
Now, for reading this far, a little bonus: over the past few months Emma’s been busy working with a choir in Shrewsbury (the Mere Singers) writing a poem on a subject they wanted, after which a composer turned it into a choral piece for the choir to sing. The poem and song were finally released today, and you can watch and listen to them here. Enjoy. These are utterly magnificent.
And finally….
*We’re not saying that the positive effect of Lit Fest is exactly why Wolves beat Villa 2-0 on Saturday evening, we’re just saying that any reasonable person would recognise the part the Lit Fest played.
Every now and then, Wolverhampton excels itself. In 1927, it was the first town in the country to install a set of automatic traffic lights (as any fule kno). But twenty years earlier, it had also caused something of a sensation in the world of art, when the town’s Art Gallery offered a solo exhibition to the painter Evelyn De Morgan. This was the first time a modern gallery had ever dedicated an exhibition to the work of a single female artist (honourable mention here to the gallery’s curator, JJ Brownsword, who had been so impressed by Evelyn’s paintings that he contacted her directly to ask her to lend her works to Wolverhampton – the rest, as they say, is history).
The city’s Art Gallery is currently re-creating this groundbreaking show. And it’s a belter. If you’ve an hour to two to spare at any point between now and March 9th next year, when the ‘Painted Dreams’ exhibition closes, you really should pay it a visit. We popped in today, and we were blown away. We can’t recommend it highly enough.
Which leads us seamlessly on to news of the poetry workshop we’ll be running – in conjunction with Wolverhampton Literature Festival – on Sunday December 1st. This will be a unique opportunity, with a very limited number of places, to create poems responding to Evelyn’s paintings, and we expect tickets to be snapped up fast. Get yours here.
Having seen the exhibition, we’re more excited than ever to be leading this one-off, never-to-be-repeated event, celebrating Wolverhampton’s foresight in giving Evelyn the solo exhibition she so richly deserved all those years ago.
Tomorrow, we’re at BlackBerry Fair in Whitchurch. This is one of our favourite events of the year – we spend all day sitting on a sofa at the side of the high street, writing bespoke poems for folk who’ve come along to enjoy and take part in the festival. Over the years, we’ve written dozens: for grandparents and grandchildren, pet dogs and pirates. We can’t say how much we love this – although that love has been tested in years when the weather’s been a bit grim. We get to chat with so many fascinating people, and we never know what we’re going to be asked to write about next. It may not be every poet’s cup of tea, but it’s definitely ours! If you’re there, pop by and say hallo.
On Sunday afternoon we’re back in the West Midlands, at Caldmore Community Gardens in Walsall, running an open mic to celebrate nature (and National Poetry Day). Gracey Bee is our MC, it’s free to attend, it’ll be fun and friendly, and there may well be samosas. If you’ve a poem you want to read, or just want to come along and listen, you’ll be very welcome.
And once that’s finished, we hotfoot it over to Zoom for October’s Yes We Cant. Our headliner this month is Jonathan Humble, the man behind Dirigible Balloon, and our ‘Alf Ender is Ash Bainbridge. All the open mic spots have been filled already, but there’s still time to join our audience. Get in touch if you fancy curling up on your sofa with some great poetry to round off your weekend.
Yes We Cant, for those of you who don’t know – and yes, it’s cant without the apostrophe, cant as in natter or blather or chat – is our long-running poetry night. Held on the first Sunday of the month, originally in the Pretty Bricks pub in Walsall, then moving online during the pandemic. It’s stayed online since then, partly because we built up a loyal audience of folk who wouldn’t necessarily be able to make it to a physical event, and partly because we haven’t yet found a venue which meets all our needs about accessibility, cost, and the facility for us to host a hybrid poetry night which can be attended by folk in both the real and the virtual world.
At each Yes We Cant we have ten open-mic poets (a strict four minutes each), an ‘Alf Ender (a poet who’s recently had a collection of their work published) and a headline poet (who’s, er, the headliner). And over the years we’ve put on some of the very biggest and best names in UK poetry while creating a friendly, welcoming, pay-as-you-feel space for poets and audience alike.
All this preamble is by way of letting you know that the next Yes We Cant is on Sunday October 6th, on Zoom, at 7.30pm. Our headliner is Jonathan Humble, the force behind Dirigible Balloon; our ‘Alf Ender is Ash Bainbridge; there are ten open mic spots waiting to be claimed. As always, first dibs on those go to folk who’ve never read with us before, or haven’t read at Yes We Cant for a while. Get in touch if you’d like to read, or if you simply want to join our audience.
And there’ll be a half-time video of something obscure and wonderful, courtesy of our very own Dave Pitt. What’s not to like, folks? What’s not to like?
Many years ago, when the world was still young [2018: ed] we found ourselves looking for an easily accessible listing of West Midlands poetry events, with all the necessary details for folk who might be interested in going along to them, and found… nothing. So we decided to do something about it, and – being cheeky wee scraps – we created our very own Mappa Mundi, listing all the events and venues we could. We still believe that in doing so, we corrected the appalling oversight in the original Hereford map, which – for all its qualities – is next to useless for poets.
Then Covid happened, live poetry took something of a back seat, and the need for our Mappa Mundi fell away. We put it in the back of a dusty cyber-drawer, and forgot about it. Almost. Finding ourselves with a little time on our hands this summer, we unrolled it, laid it out on a table, and set about updating it. It turns out that some of the poetry nights from our 2018 map are still flourishing. Others have disappeared. And there are a fair few new kids on the block, too, as the regional poetry scene evolves and changes, ebbs and flows.
You’ll find all of them here https://pandemonialists.co.uk/mappa-mundi/ There’s the wonderful image designed by artist Catherine Pascall Moore, which tips its hat at the Hereford Mappa, while all the poetry and spoken word events are on a slightly more modern and tech-friendly Google map. We’ve included nights which lie just outside the West Mids county too, because why not? Who wouldn’t fancy a trip to Worcester, or Ironbridge, or Hinckley to listen to poetry once in a while? And if you run a regular event we don’t know of, get in touch and we’ll add it to the listing.
The poets list on the map? We know that’s not up to date. And we’ll get round to revamping that at some point. But for now, use this list of events to get out there, listen to poetry, share your own, meet people, and keep this regional, grassroots arts scene thriving.
Last night, we celebrated seven years of Yes We Cant. That’s seven years of putting on top-notch poetry events – originally in a Walsall pub and now online – which is no mean feat, and we felt we should mark the occasion with something a little bit special. So we did.
Our headliner was the incredible Liz Berry – who did a set made up of requests from our audience on the night, which was just phenomenal. ‘Alf Ender Tim Brookes explained how he’s relatively new to the world of poetry, and then showed us why he’s taking it by storm. Our open mic poets ranged from people performing live for the first time, through to poets with reams of experience. All of them were great. Oh, and NOFB Pitt drank mead. Well, it was a birthday. What else you going to do?
Thanks to everyone who came along, and to all the people who’ve supported us and our night over the last seven years. Let’s make the next seven better still.
You might think that after running Yes We Cant for some considerable time – originally in the Pretty Bricks pub in Walsall, moving online when the pandemic happened, and still there now – we’d be a little jaded. That we’ve seen it all. That it’s next to impossible to find quality poets to join us on the first Sunday of each month and share their work.
Dear reader, you’d be wrong. Each month, we’re stunned by the quality of the open mic poets, and awed by the craft of our features. And last night was no exception. Our ‘Alf Ender was Carol J Forrester, and if you’ve not heard her read yet, we recommend you do. Her work is beautifully layered and crafted. The quality of the open mics? We’re glad you asked. They were astounding. And our headliner, Nafeesa Hamid, knocked it right out of the park.
Nafeesa first headlined for us back in July 2019, when we were still in the Pretty Bricks and her book ‘Besharam’ had been published by Verve Poetry Press just a few months earlier. It was truly wonderful to see how she’s grown as a performer and a writer over the years – her set was utterly compelling.
Next month, we’ll be celebrating our seventh anniversary. Seven years of putting on a monthly event which brings the best of contemporary poetry to our part of the world. We can scarcely believe we’ve done it, and you’d better believe we have something really special planned. Sunday June 2nd. Put it in your diary. We’ll see you there.
Over the past six months, as well as running our poetry events, we’ve been beavering away on a project to commemorate the Tavern in the Town, which was a legendary rock pub in the heart of Wolverhampton through the 1970s and the 1980s. The project has been made possible by a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund (thank you, National Lottery players!) and we’re extremely grateful to them for that.
The Tavern was at the heart of the city’s rock subculture until it finally closed in 1987, when it became Moriarty’s. This was not – by any stretch of the imagination – a popular move, and Moriarty’s shut its doors for good at the beginning of 1991. During the Tavern years, however, the pub was often rammed, and walking in through the pub door which opened onto Queen Square – and which was the only part of the pub visible to passers-by – took you into a different world where denim and leather ruled supreme.
We’re passionate about our city and its rich history, and wanted to make sure this slice of Wolverhampton’s past was recorded, not forgotten. So we’ve been busy researching the history of the pub, collecting photos from back in the day, and interviewing and photographing people who drank in the Tavern and who remember it fondly.
We’re now at the business end of our project, when the results of our work become clear. Earlier this week, two thousand copies of our free newspaper – titled Tavern in the Town and packed with images and edited interviews – arrived from the printers. Over the next week or two we’ll be distributing them to pubs, libraries, shops, and cafes across Wolverhampton.
We’ve also arranged an exhibition at the Mander Centre Community Hub from 19-21 April, where we’ll be displaying portrait photographs and selected texts on the walls, and playing audio clips through a small PA. Copies of the free newspaper will also be available here.We’ve also arranged an exhibition at the Mander Centre Community Hub from 19-21 April, where we’ll be displaying portrait photographs and selected texts on the walls, and playing audio clips through a small PA. Copies of the free newspaper will also be available here.
Thirdly, we’ve created a website taverninthetown.co.uk Over the next two weeks we’ll be adding pages and populating them with stories, interviews, photographs, and memories of the Tavern days. You’ll also find a Spotify playlist of tunes which folk remembered from afternoons and evenings happily spent in the Tavern. There’s over seven hours of music there. Seven hours! If there’s a tune you remember which isn’t in the list, email [email protected] and let us know, and we’ll add it. If you’ve photos of the Tavern from back in the day, send them too.
Once this project has closed, the website will remain live for five years, until Spring 2029. All the information we’ve gathered over the course of this project will go to the Wolverhampton City Archives so it is available in perpetuity. Our sincere thanks to all the people who took part in this project. We hope we’ve done your memories justice.
Last night we took Yes We Cant back to Walsall, and held our first ever hybrid event at the wonderful Asgard Games in the town centre. It’s a perfect venue: large, airy, clean, comfortable, welcoming. And it has a bar. What’s not to like?
Our goal was to recreate the warmth, atmosphere, and enjoyment of Yes We Cant as it used to be at the Pretty Bricks, while also ensuring that we brought our Zoom audience with us – we’ve spent three years sharing our events with them, and they’ve taught us a lot about the importance of accessibility and how we need to facilitate it. We’d finally found a venue, now we just had to make it work.
We kept it simple. Booked a great headline poet, a compelling ‘Alf Ender, filled the open mic spots, and threw open the physical and virtual doors to anyone who wanted to come. And reader, they came. Dave MCed, Steve looked after the webcam, and Emma chatted with the Zoom attendees. S Reeson (thank you!) rolled up her sleeves and got stuck in, too. Everything ran like a dream. The open mic poets? Brilliant. Our ‘Alf Ender, Tina Cole? Fantastic. Headliner Ben Davis? Hilarious.
And the feedback? It couldn’t be better.
“You did a brilliant job tonight. I’ve been to 3 previous hybrids and they were unsuccessful due to poor sound and a feeling of isolation in the zoom room. Yours was perfect.”
“Dear PPP, the first hybrid YWC was a triumph. Great sound and video quality, felt like I had a front row seat. All the performers knocked it out the park. Thank you all again for making your event genuinely inclusive. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to the next one.”
We’re over the moon, Brian. Over the chuffing moon.
