Merthyr Express column

8th April ‘10
Open Mike Night
Next week’s Open Mike Night welcomes this year’s winner of the prestigeous TS Elliot prize; Philip Gross, born in 1952 in Delabole, Cornwall. Son of an Estonian wartime refugee and the village schoolmaster/s daughter. Has written poetry for adults and children, novels for young people, plays for radio and stage, short stories and opera libretti. He has also won an Eric Gregory Award and numerous other prizes, and his 1998 collection The Wasting Game (Bloodaxe, 1998) was shortlisted for the Whitbread prize. A teacher of creative writing since 1984, he joined the University of Glamorgan in 2004 as Professor in Creative Writing. The Open Mike Night with Philip Gross starts at 7.30pm, on Thursday, 15th April at the Imperial Hotel. For further details, please contact 01685 725382 or email arts@merthyr.gov.uk

Arts Forum
The Merthyr Tydfil Arts, Culture and Media Forum holds its first new look event/meeting next Thursday at 6pm in the Myfanwy Theatre, Merthyr Tydfil College. The event will include a number of local performances, together with information, talks and a summary of the Arts in the area over the past year. The event is free entry but please register your attendance by leaving a message at either 01685 725382 or arts@merthyr.gov.uk. An outline of the event is also available online at www.artscelf.blogspot.com

Battle of The Bands
The Gathering is a valleys wide battle of the bands event for under 18s, with the final to be held in Bridgend. The Merthyr Tydfil Heat is on 14th April, 7pm - 10.30pm, at The Myfanwy Theatre, Merthyr Tydfil College. Tickets are £3 and for under 18s only. Box Office: 01981 240711. For further information contact lee.davies@3gs.org.uk.

Artwork & Poetry Wanted
Artwork and poetry wanted for the next Merthyr Tydfil calendar. MTCBC Arts and Libraries are on the lookout for local poetry and pictures from people of all backgrounds; male or female, young or old to contribute to the 2011 Merthyr Tydfil calendar/booklet: “Merthyr Tudful – Pictures and Poetry / Lluniau a Lleisiau”. The calendar/booklet will include a collection of images (paintings, drawings, artwork etc.) and poetry with links to Merthyr Tydfil (people, places, ideas etc.). Local content is vital and language content needs to be appropriate for all ages. Submitted images should be good quality digital “jpeg” images on CD or original copies size A3 or smaller. Digital images would be preferred as MTCBC cannot be held responsible for any work lost or damaged. Submitted poetry should be in digital Windows “Word” or “Notepad” formats on CD or emailed to arts@merthyr.gov.uk. Please remember to include your name, contact details and age range. Deadline for all entries is Tuesday 1st June 2010. Entries should be sent or handed into Carolyn Jacob at Merthyr Tydfil Central Library. For further information please contact Gus Payne on 01685 725382 or arts@merthyr.gov.uk.