Blog
the word is out
Welcome to our blog
Our new blog area, The Word is Out will feature contributions from attendees of our Spoken Word Open-Mic events as well as from local and International writers and contributors who have words to share.
Plus we’ll be sharing more of what we aim to achieve with Words Out Loud and all the latest news from our events, workshops and activities.
FEATURED POSTS
Stonepillow Winter Appeal 2023 – There’s This Place
Stonepillow Winter Appeal 2023 - There's This Place Words Out Loud were asked to write a poem for the Stonepillow Winter Appeal and this year they wanted to highlight the positive impact that their hubs have on the homeless and rough sleepers. Mike Jenkins wrote a...
Ken Jones Reads in Ventura California
Ken and Deni Jones recently returned to Ventura, California where they had been living for 8 years before coming back to Chichester in 2020. High on their list of friends and relatives to visit was the Open Mic at the E P Foster library hosted by Phil Taggart (with...
From our contributors
Stonepillow Winter Appeal 2023 – There’s This Place
Stonepillow Winter Appeal 2023 - There's This Place Words Out Loud were asked to write a poem for the Stonepillow Winter Appeal and this year they wanted to highlight the positive impact that their hubs have on the homeless and rough sleepers. Mike Jenkins wrote a...
Artist Development Programme – Investing in the Arts
Artists Development Programme: Investing in the Artists of the Future Chichester Festival Theatre is launching an Artists Development programme for emerging artists. The programme is open for theatre makers from multiple disciplines, each theatre maker will be offered...
A Room Full of Soul
Shane Hudson 5th July, 2023The backroomof a coffee shop...? No... A room full of soul,rivalling many a church. Words out loud. No stage, no mic.A couple of hours set aside from our busy lives. I found myself a curious spectator...Once,I believed events like this were...
The Polish Poets at Words Out Loud
The Polish Poets at Words Out Loud On Zoom Date of Live Meeting: Wed 19th Oct 2022 Featured Readers: The Polish Poets + Open-Mic on Zoom and in Chichester Oct 2022 On 19th October we hosted Special Guest Poets from Poland. We were delighted to present poems by...
Call for Submissions – The Well of Lost Voices
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS Words Out Loud present: ‘The Well of Lost Voices’ We are seeking written submissions for potential inclusion in a scripted, live performance piece to take place at a venue in Chichester.Date and Venue to be Confirmed. Minimum Age to participate:...
Ken Jones Reads in Ventura California
Ken and Deni Jones recently returned to Ventura, California where they had been living for 8 years before coming back to Chichester in 2020. High on their list of friends and relatives to visit was the Open Mic at the E P Foster library hosted by Phil Taggart (with...
Words of Art – One Painting Speaks to Another
Sarah Williams - Workshop Participant Any initial doubts I had about signing up for this workshop, (mainly doubts about my own ability!), were soon dispelled once I joined the friendly group at the Pallant House Gallery brought together by Words Out Loud on that...
Levy tells how she found her voice in written word
It seems that the volume of your words is not only found in what you can hear, as this article from the Sunday Telegraph of January 16th 2022 shows in the case of Deborah Levy. Booker Prize-nominated author Deborah Levy has told how she was inspired to write by a...
Secret Haven
The poetry sessions have motivated me to write poetry in order to be able to read something to the rest of the group. Being one of the winners in the competition earlier in the year gave me more confidence in my own work. I am also more motivated to read other...
Night Light – Mike Jenkins
Incapable of holding on a moment longer
night falls around us
deadening dark carpet of
still sudden thrum.
Here
we are together:
sparks in the stark of night
hearts ablaze
as one.
Trees in Winter – Hillary K Sinclair
The trees are undressing now
Thin black skeletal branches trellising the sky
Silently listening under the stars
They await their resurrection in the spring.
Bowing to the rich resplendent Earth,
From which they grow.
Words Out Loud from the Sea
To those of us living in and around Chichester, living by the sea influences us in ways we are unaware of until readings by the sea brought it home to us. On Tuesday 12th October, Words Out Loud hosted an evening of Words from the Sea at the Anchor Bleu at Bosham...
Words Out Loud is encouraging, inspirational and rather wonderful
I love being part of Words Out Loud and our Wednesday evening zoom meetings really gave me something to look forward to during lockdown. I am not a natural performer and have always been very nervous of public speaking, so this was a fantastic, safe and supportive...
Ginny – A Short Story by Piers Rowlandson
Ginny - A Short Story by Piers Rowlandson A regular at our Open-Mic events, Piers offers readers of the blog a free PDF version of his short story, Ginny. Read the opening lines of the story here on the blog and if you'd like to read further, feel free to view and/or...
Poets – Tina Cockett
Tina Cockett is a regular at our events and shared this evocative, provocative and atmospheric poem at Words Out Loud in the Park at Priory Park, Chichester. In this poem, Tina asks: What are poets? And like all good questions, the answers she discovers reveal deeper...
Poetic Souls Across the Pond – Bonnie Goldenberg
I am so grateful to Ken Jones, who was our wonderful host in California at both of our local libraries in Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park for several years, for not cutting us off but continuing to include us after he returned to his home in Chichester, U.K. It has...
The Alchemy of Creative Expression – Nigel Millett
Nigel Millett shares how writing poetry helped him process feelings and gain a fresh perspective. If something is wrong in your life, let’s make it write... put down those feelings on paper before it bites.Bites into your heart, then moves into your head, so write it,...
The Poetry Course – Sue Shattock
A regular at our Open-Mic events and one of our previous Featured Readers, Sue Shattock shares this charming and poignant video of a poem she wrote after attending a poetry course.© Copyright 2021 Sue Shattock - All Rights Reserved
Words Out Loud Reading in Priory Park a Sunny Success
Words Out Loud Reading in Priory Park a Sunny Success On Sunday 26th September, Words Out Loud held a reading in the sunshine at Priory Park. Enjoying one of the last sunny days were nearly 20 visitors who came to read and listen to a wide range of readings. This was...
Celebrating the Spoken Word – Mike Jenkins
What we are, what we do and who it is for. Words Out Loud is a Charitable Trust - we want to promote and foster the benefits of the spoken word in local communities through live in person events and live/recorded online events/performances. Forming Social...
A Celebration of Poetry on National Poetry Day in Chichester – Thursday 7th October 2021, 7.30pm
The Novium, Tower Street, Chichester, PO19 1QH Open-Mic Event Thursday 7th October 2021, 7.30pm Celebrate National Poetry Day by joining South Downs poets Stephanie Norgate and Barry Smith for the launch of their new poetry collections – The Conversation (Bloodaxe)...
At Home with Mr. and Mrs. Twinkie – Elaine Alacron
Elaine joins us regularly from the US for our Zoom Open-Mic on the 3rd Wednesday of every month. In this amusing and ordinarily tragic poem, Elaine paints a picture of a couple ageing together, where the every day mishaps of a practiced routine begin to falter. At...
Canyon Chronicle – Covid-19 Diary, Sept 2021 – Jean Colonomos
Jean Colonomos is a regular at our Online Zoom Open Mic and shares with us her wonderful and eclectic snapshots of thoughts, reflections, experiences and perspectives from 25 contributors to her magazine, The Canyon Chronicles, which has been independently speaking...
Poems- Tina MacNaughton
Tina MacNaughton shares with us a few of her poems, encouraging us to look a little deeper at our individual and collective experiences. Tina writes regularly for the community in Wokingham, Today and The Portsmouth Evening News in an attempt to spread the enjoyment...
A Case for No – Sue Shattock
To say YES to everything creates an onward movement, a momentum which is indeed very helpful in the creation of a full and satisfying life. But surely the key to life is knowing when to say NO. To restrict that momentum and choosing NO so that there is time and space...
Contribute
We’re currently accepting submissions for our blog, The Word is Out.
Please email us at
and let us know what you’d like to share. We’re keen to hear your pespectives, stories, poems, and creative expressions – so get writing, start speaking and let the word out!