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Poetry & Spoken Word Events in Bristol

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Bristol's Poetry Scene

At the time of writing there are very few regular poetry events in Bristol. Milk hosts regular nights at Halo on Gloucester Road and The Wardrobe Theatre in Old Market. Hammer & Tongue occasionally bring their poetry slams to town and have used The Grain Barge for past events. Stand Up For Lyricism promotes poetry events in south Bristol at The Rope Walk and Tobacco Factory Theatre.

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What our editors say

“Kayla Martell Feldman (she/they) is a multi-award-winning director and writer for the page, stage, and screen. They co-host the monthly poetry night Process and work with Safe Spoken to improve safeguarding and inclusion in poetry. Kayla is an alum of the Roundhouse Poetry Weekender and the NO BORDERS Artists Project at the Royal Court Theatre, and co-produced the Kirkby Lonsdale Poetry Festival in 2024. Her work has been widely published in North America, the UK, and online, and their second poetry collection Same Story is out now from Verve Poetry Press.”
From: Milk Poetry | Great Minds Don't Think Alike

“Bournemouth Reggae Weekender is an independently run 3-day unique occasion to celebrate the diverse African-Caribbean culture and heritage in Bournemouth through reggae music with a full range of entertainment and traditional activities that support creative arts and performing artists through music, poetry, storytelling, and dance workshops.”
From: Bournemouth Reggae Weekender

“This is a rare and exciting chance to hear Don Mee Choi read in person. Her thought and practice of both are among the most vital, political and experimental examples of poetry and translation at the borders of anglophone radical poetics and the (neo)colonial nation-state. The discussion will also cover Choi's translations of Kim Hyesoon and her essential short essay *Translation is a Mode / Translation is an Anti-Neocolonial Mode* (Ugly Duckling Presse).”
From: Don Mee Choi: *DMZ Colony*, *Hardly War* & Others

“Rob made his television acting debut as a corduroy jacket wearing poet in ITV’s Cold Feet 2018. Since then, he performed in series 2 of The End of The F***ing World (Netflix/Channel 4), and Miracle Workers (TBS). Rob also starred in and co-wrote the short film The Peamaster which was nominated for best short film at the Milan Film Festival. Rob was a finalist for The Arts Foundation Spoken Word Award and a winner of a Three Weeks Editors Award. He is a regular poet at Bang Said the Gun (voted best poetry night in the UK by The Times).”
From: DOUBLE BILL: Huge Davies & Rob Auton

“Join us for an evening of poetry reading and a conversation with Palestinian-American poet, Fady Joudah. Fady will read from his poetry, and talk about writing and being Palestinian in a time of genocide. The conversation will be chaired by Palestinian-Italian writer, Sabrin Hasbun.”
From: A conversation with Fady Joudah