Spoken Word / Poetry

Colpitts Poetry is fifty, and to mark the occasion we’re staging a novel and exciting relaunch event at Durham Miners Hall. This will take the form of a ‘retrospective’ and fundraiser, in which a number of our committee members past and present will read poems by a sample of the 440-plus readers who have performed […]

Two stunning stage presences from the North East! Julie Egdell is an acclaimed poet and performer from Whitley Bay, renowned for her fierce lyric intelligence, emotional candour and hypnotic stage presence. Her multimedia spoken-word show and book (Smokestack 2017) Alice in Winterland re-imagines Alice through the lens of an unruly old Soviet cartoon character, shifting between her […]

Celebrate St Patrick’s Day with Colpitts Poetry Diane Cockburn + Open Mic for you! Join Colpitts for a celebration of poetry from Ireland! Diane Cockburn is a Northern Irish poet based in Durham and a member of Vane Women, the Darlington collective and press. Born in Magherafelt and raised in Belfast, she draws on myth […]

Legendary poet, playwright and performer Bob Beagrie is based in Middlesbrough. He has published numerous poetry collections, including Romanceros, Kō, Eftwyrd and The Last Almanac, and is famed for his gripping, dynamic performances, frequently accompanied by music. His latest book, The Hand of Glory: A Biography, follows the bizarre adventures of an executed criminal’s pickled […]