Merthyr Express column

27 Nov 08
Open Mic Literature
The next open mic night, with poetry and short story extracts, welcomes Graham Hartill on Thursday, 11th December at the Imperial Hotel at 7.30pm. Open Mic Night are open to all to come and read or just listen to others. The evenings are also free entry. Graham Hartill is a poet, workshop facilitator and lecturer. He was born in 1952 in the English Midlands, Graham has lived in Wales most of his life since 1971. He studied at the Universities of Wales and Massachusetts, and has since given countless workshops and classes in the UK, USA and China. Co–founder of LAPIDUS, the UK–wide association for the promotion of creative writing in therapeutic context, Graham was also a Scottish Arts Council Writing Fellow 1990-92 and an Arts Council of Wales Writer’s Bursary recipient 1993, 1999 and 2006. For further details: 01685 725382 / arts@merthyr.gov.uk. Open Mic Nights are funded by MTCBC & Academi

River of Light
Light and song will be brought to Merthyr Tydfil town centre this December 3rd, with a River of Light and Christmas Carols. This year a number of organisations including the junior schools of Town and Park Ward will come together for a procession through town with hundreds of handmade lanterns, finishing at Zoar Chapel for a Gamanfa Ganu (Festival of Song). Everyone is invited to join the procession but due to numbers, entrance to the Gamanfa Ganu is through ticket only. For further information please contact Menter Iaith Merthyr Tudful on 01685 722176 or Town & Park Communities First on 01685 353943

Chris Needs
Myfanwy Theatre in Merthyr Tydfil Colege welcomes popular broadcaster Chris Needs together with ith special guests Part Two, on 8th and 9th December 2008, at 7.pm Box Office 01685 726000. Price: £10 / £8

New Art Mag
Wales’ newest art magazine is now available. WelshArtNow features art that has a Welsh connection. The aim of the magazine is to increase awareness and understanding of Welsh art and get more people talking about it. WAN will feature a diverse range of art, you might not like some of it or even recognize it as being art, but by engaging with the magazine you may feel more confident to express and form an opinion one way or the other. WAN will also serve as a platform for new art. Artists will be challenged to produce new art specific to a magazine format. A readable art magazine delivered with a bit of kick; intended for all and engaging with the here and now. Issue 1 focuses on drawing with a four page article about Merthyr artist Michael G Payne, plus contributions from Brian Jones, Heike Roms, Katheryn Dodd, Zaeger Jones and Neale Howells among others. WAN would like to hear from anyone interested in contributing ideas/art/writing/science/or other for future issues. Issue 2 is going green and will be talking about art/ecology/green issues. Send a brief email description to - editor@welshartnow.co.uk. For further information visit www.welshartnow.co.uk or contact WAN, 61 Preston Avenue, Newport, NP20 4JD