Published at 12:58, Monday, 08 February 2010

THE first event of the year in a popular series of social poetry gatherings is due to take place this month.

A Poem and a Pint evening will be held at Lanternhouse in The Ellers, Ulverston, on February 13 at 7.30pm.

It is part of Ulverston’s Word Market Festival.

The guest poet will be Michael Symmons Roberts, originally of Preston.

His poetry has won the Whitbread Poetry Award and been shortlisted for the Griffin International Poetry Prize, the Forward Prize, and twice for the TS Eliot Prize.

His continuing collaboration with composer James MacMillan has led to two BBC Proms choral commissions, song cycles, music theatre works and an opera for the Welsh National Opera, The Sacrifice, which won the RPS Award for opera and has just been released on CD.

His broadcast work includes A Fearful Symmetry for Radio 4, which won the Sandford St Martin Prize, and Last Words, commissioned by Radio 4 to mark the first anniversary of 9/11.

He has published two novels and teaches at the Writing School of Manchester Metropolitan University.

In the music slot, Alan Franks is to return.

He has performed at Poem and Pint events before, both as a musician and a poet.

He also recently performed as part of A Lark Among the Crows at Bardsea.

Mr Franks is an award-winning author, musician and journalist with many plays, records and poems to his name.

With the singer Patty Vetta, he has made hundreds of appearances at clubs, festivals and on radio.

Mr Franks is also currently collaborating as a lyricist with the saxophonist and composer Tim Whitehead, artist-in-residence at Tate Britain, and his new collection of short novels, Going Over, is published by the Muswell Press.

There will be extra poetry from the members of the Poem and a Pint committee and the MC will be Ross Baxter.

Those going along should note there is no bar at the venue so they must take their own drinks. Admission on the door is £6 with concessions £4.

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