Dawn Gorman believes poetry should be everywhere - puts it on beermats, uses it to
work with people with memory loss, facilitates writing workshops, organises poetry
events and runs international poetry competitions. She is widely published, and has
performed in New York, Paris, London - and lots of smaller places in between.

“Poetry isn't a profession, it's a way of life. It's an empty basket;
you put your life into it and make something out of that.” Mary Oliver

Sam Loveless

Guest Poet: Sam Loveless

Sam Loveless is an up-and-coming poet living in Swindon and working in Chippenham. He is an events organiser and compere for Poetry Swindon.

Alan Summers

Guest Poet: Alan Summers

Alan Summers is a Japan Times award-winning writer, a Pushcart Prize nominated poet, and is featured in Europe meets Japan by NHK World TV of Japan. He runs With Words, which organises haiku-based projects, as well as online courses often based around haiku and related genres. He is the former General Secretary of the British Haiku Society, and is published in anthologies such as Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years (W W Norton 2013). Yomiuri Shimbun (14 million readers in Japan) said that Alan is a "Widely known haiku poet...as dry as vintage champagne". Alan's latest book, Writing Poetry: The Haiku Way is due out in September 2016.

28th June 2016, Yelde Hall, Market Place, Chippenham SN15 3HL

"A blinding event! Enjoyed every single second and that's not always possible to say." Alan Summers.

OK, Alan was one of our guest poets, so there's an element of bias in that summary, but our ChippFest satellite edition of Words & Ears was such a relaxed, friendly and funny night, I have to agree with him completely. And after a couple of wildly busy Words & Ears in recent months, it was good to snuggle into some more intimate gatherings this week, both here, at the brilliant Cocklebury Club on Tuesday, and last night at our Swan Hotel 'home'. In Chippenham, as ChippFest organiser Brian said: "much fun was had exploring sex and death and Brexit" - which indeed it was - and there were lots of good discussions about poetic practice, and excellent open mic contributions, too. Of special note for me were Alan's haiku cycle Ticking Moon, which references 'the war that has continued since 1914'; and Alan's fellow guest poet, Sam Loveless's excellent and moving In My Absence, about what someone should do should he 'go'. This was Sam's first time as a headliner, and he clearly shares with Alan a natural ability to entertain. His work is original and direct, and his delivery is superb - take note, event organisers.