King Ink

Rowan McCabe (July 2023)

All right? Our headliner this month was the Door-to-Door poet himself, Rowan McCabe. He treated us to poems about deer in license plate shops, Azuma trains, and all the usual unusual stuff.
From our open mic poets, we have The Timekeeper by King Ink debutant Amy Grainger, The Lines by Stephen McGowan (BA), and Hooliganism by another debutant, Olya Bowers. And from Rowan we have two poems: Surface and My Least Favourite Things.
As always, thanks to Pop Recs and all of our contributors, and an extra thanks to all the poets we met this month. See you at the next one!
King Ink is hosted by Helen Wilko and produced by James Whitman. This season is supported by Your Art funding from the Cultural Spring.

Emma Conally-Barklem (June 2023)

All right? Our headliner this month was the wonderful Emma Conally-Barklem. Her poems cover a range of topics, and include the word "mithered", so you know she's a good 'un.
From our irregulars, we have Yes, I Am Me by Karima Lynn, The Alphabet Poem by Gary the Hat, Firsts by Anne Loadman, and Letter to my Parents by Innocent and an untitled poem by Nicole Stevenson. From Emma we have three poems: Best Thing Past Their Best, Bad Linen and A Meteor Landed On Baildon Moor.
As always, thanks to Pop Recs and all of our contributors. See you at Pop Recs on the second Thursday of the month!
King Ink is hosted by Helen Wilko and produced by James Whitman. This season is supported by Your Art funding from the Cultural Spring.

Kirsten Luckins (May 2023)

All right? We've got otter based shenanigans for you this month, courtesy of our fabulous headliner, Kirsten Luckins!
From our irregulars, we have Doing Bird by Malcolm Barnes, Managing the English Department Budget in a Secondary School in the North East of England in 2023 by Helen Wilko, Sing a New Song for 1955 by Chris Hodgson, and The Forgotten Place by José Maria Covas Lima. Then we have two poems from Kirsten: Dear Sophie (10th July) and Farmer Attacked by Furbag.
As always, thanks to Pop Recs and all of our contributors. See you at Pop Recs on the second Thursday of the month!
King Ink is hosted by Helen Wilko and produced by James Whitman. This season is supported by Your Art funding from the Cultural Spring.

AJ McKenna (April 2023)

All right? We're slightly behind schedule this month, but it's worth the wait.
In this episode, we have three poems from our irregulars: Grandkids by Gary the Hat, Adventures in Wordle by Gillie Harrison, and Striker by Kevin Robson. And we have two poems from AJ McKenna's blistering headline set: Hot Fat Utopia Timeline and Not Just a Fancy Word For Nowhere.
As always, thanks to all of our contributors. May's King Ink has come and gone, but we'll be back in Pop Recs on the second Thursday of June.
King Ink is hosted by Helen Wilko and produced by James Whitman. This season is supported by Your Art funding from the Cultural Spring.

St Patrick’s Day Craic-tacular (March 2023)

All right? We hope you enjoyed your St Patrick's Day as much as we did at King Ink. Many of our poets brought a wee piece of Ireland with them this month, and as usual, the craic was mighty.
In this episode, we have six poems for you: Choose Tory by Mandy Maxwell, an untitled piece by Steve Urwin, Black Diamonds by Risaria Langley, The Price of Bus Fares by Mel McAvoy, Abandoned by Hester Dowling, and a heartfelt tribute to King Ink's founder, Patrick Shannon, by Barrie West.
As always, thanks to all of our contributors. Next month, we're back to our regular second Thursday of the month slot.
King Ink is hosted by Helen Wilko and produced by James Whitman. This season is supported by Your Art funding from the Cultural Spring.

J Archer Avary (February 2023)

All right? We have a home-grown headliner for you this month (via Albuquerque): former TV weatherman (and current darling of the Metro), J Archer Avary!
We've an almighty ten poems in this episode: Little Boy by Phil Wardle, Meet You on the Picket Line by Gillie Harrison, Summary Justice by Kevin Robson, an untitled poem by Lian Maltas, Smart Phone by Gary the Hat, Kelly Dances in the Kitchen by Helen Wilko, plus Cactus Daddy, Prime Seat in the Beer Garden, Poem Written the Night Before a New Job and Tales of Near Death by J Archer Avary.
As always, thanks to all of our contributors, and keep your eyes on the socials for the date of next month's event.
King Ink is hosted by Helen Wilko and produced by James Whitman. This season is supported by Your Art funding from the Cultural Spring.

Alistair Robinson (January 2023)

Happy New Year! We had another packed Pop Recs for our first King Ink of 2023, and a mint headline set by Alistair Robinson.
We've included six poems in this episode: An Education by Helen Wilko, I Dream of Chocolate by Aaron Wright, Pearl by Liz Dean, Class by Stephen McGowan, plus The Tyneside Type and Hurry by Alistair Robinson.
As always, thanks to all of our contributors, and to everyone who helped us kick off the year in style.
King Ink is hosted by Helen Wilko and produced by James Whitman. This season is supported by Your Art funding from the Cultural Spring.

Pauline Plummer and Mel McAvoy (December 2022)

For our festive King Ink, we signed off the year with a bang. We had two fabulous headliners, Pauline Plummer and Mel McAvoy, fifteen open mic poets, and a packed house!
We've included five poems in this episode: The Devil's Shoes in the Back Home Shop by Pauline Plummer, Is a Dream by Philip Wardle, Death of Civilised Society Averted by a Bus Wave by Iain Rowan, Leveling Down by Sharon Milley, and Read Poems as Prayers by Mel McEvoy.
Thanks to all of our contributors, and everyone who braved the winter chill to make our last event of the year so special. Seeya in 2023!
King Ink is hosted by Helen Wilko and produced by James Whitman. This season is supported by Your Art funding from the Cultural Spring.

A Blunderbuss of Perverse Verse (November 2022)

In this episode of King Ink, we have Remembrance Day satire by James Whitman, introspective poetry from Hannah McGregor, a poem from a war inspired sequence by Steve May, something for the Mackem wokes from Lian Maltas, a childhood reminiscence by Pauline May (with music from her son, Sam), some cheeky chimney sweep craic from Malcolm Barnes, and an absolute blunderbuss of perverse verse by AJ McKenna.
King Ink is hosted by Helen Wilko and produced by James Whitman. This season is supported by Your Art funding from the Cultural Spring.

What Would John Cooper Clark Do? (October 2022)

For our maiden episode of King Ink, we have a poem from the late Patrick Shannon, some poetic instruction from Stephen McGowan, contemplative prose by Steve Urwin, a Lakes-inspired poem by Helen Wilkinson, advice for young poets from Chris Hodgson, pandemic poetry by J. Archer Avary, a poem with bite by Sharon Milley and onanistic oration by Gary the Hat.
King Ink is hosted by Helen Wilko and produced by James Whitman. This season is supported by Your Art funding from the Cultural Spring.