Stand-Up Poetry At Hay - 26 May

Hey 'talers - if any of you are planning on attending this year's Hay Festival, here's details of a gig featuring abctales' very own Joe Dunthorne (Spack), Tim Clare (Rokkitnite) and Joel Stickley (Joel). Be lovely to see you there.

Luke Wright, Poet Laureate & Friends
Hay Fringe Festival
British Legion, Hay-on-Wye
26 May / 8pm

"Highlight of the spoken word scene. The Sunday Times

Ever since he announced that he's stepping down, he's become something of a lame duck ' so why not end it now?

With Andrew Motion retiring as Poet Laureate in 2009, stand-up poet and Poetry Boyband star Luke Wright is after his job, in a desperate bid for credibility and a sofa to crash on at the palace.

Luke Wright, Poet Laureate & Friends, sees the launch of Wright's slightly arrogant quest for the laureateship, as he and a motley gang of performer friends crash the Hay Festival in the hope of greasing a few palms and stacking the deck in his favour. A sneak peek of his forthcoming Edinburgh Fringe show, Luke Wright, Poet Laureate, heads an evening of eclectic literary cabaret from some of the UK's brightest rising stars, including fellow Aisle16 member Joel Stickley, and reluctant minor celebrity of last year's festival, author Tim Clare.

At 24, Luke Wright is the UK's youngest professional poet and the founder of poetry collective Aisle16, whose last show Poetry Boyband was Time Out Critic's Choice of the Year 2005 and received 5 star reviews at Edinburgh in 2005. He is resident poet and curator of poetry at Whitechapel Gallery. "All the counter cultural clout of the original beat poets. Metro

Joel Stickley is part of the Aisle16 collective. He won the Glastonbury slam in 2003. He's been on Radio 3, BBC7, BBC Scotland, ITV and BBC Choice, which doesn't exist any more but did at the time. "His use of language, his ability to twist the narrative and to turn the obscure into the profound is outstanding." The Stage
Tim Clare presented the Channel 4 series How To Get A Book Deal from the Hay Festival in 2005, where he promoted his first novel, Joshu Replied. He has been a guest on Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show, has written for the Guardian, and is a regular performer of stand-up poetry.

Joe Dunthorne is a recent graduate of the Prose MA at the University of East Anglia and this year's winner of the Curtis Brown Prize.

Tom Sutton is a member of Aisle 16 and epistolary scourge of any business stupid enough to enter into a correspondence with him. "Somewhat arrogant. ' McDonalds

Luke Wright, Poet Laureate & Friends will be at the British Legion, Hay-on-Wye, on Friday 26th May (doors 8pm). More information can be found at www.hayfringe.co.uk.