Hi spoken word fans,

At long last, here is some footage from my solo show Richard Tyrone Jones has a Big Heart, in which I tell the story of my unwitting near-death from dilated cardiomyopathy (heart failure) in 2010. Sorry the lighting’s crap. Better footage will be recorded this Spring on the tour, taking in the Edinburgh Fringe, and maybe a festival or venue near you. Get in touch if you would like to play host to the full 55-minute show. richardtyronejones@gmail.com.

In the meantime I’ve a few gigs coming up:

1. I’m not in this one, but I’ll be there TONIGHT helping support a great cause: Free Fringe benefit with Rich Hall, Robin Ince, Stewart Lee, Norman Lovett, John Otway, Lucy Porter, Wil Hodgson and of course Peter Buckley-Hill. Tuesday 17th January, £15. All proceeds to keeping the Edinburgh Free Fringe free. £15/£12.50 - tickets on the door, or:

http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?agency=BLOOMSBURY&organ_val=2771&schedule=list&event_val=1656

2. Parole Parlate, Worcester, Thurs 2nd February, upstairs in Little Venice Restaurant, £3. www.facebook.com/paroleparlate

3. Bilston Big Love Slam, Imperial Banqueting Lounge, Bilston, Wolverhampton, Sat February 11th (I’ll be attempting love poetry) https://www.facebook.com/events/304610609580301/

4. Talking Rhythm at the Amersham Arms, 388 New Cross Road just 2 mins east on the same road. 7.30pm.

Stay tuned for the March gig’s including a special Bingo/Comedy/Poetry ‘Utter!’. Next time you see me I may have a brace.

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Dear RTJ friends, fans & followers,

Season’s Greetings! @rtjpoet here to vajazzle your seasonal between-Christmas and New Year biffin’s bridge with my yearly roundup of 2011’s adventures and a look forward to mine and Utter!s plans in 2012.

Well 2010 was a bit of a twat of a year, what with the heart failure, me old Mum’s Benson’s syndrome, getting evicted by mental housemates and a big flood at the end of the year forcing the Jones family out of our ancestral seat.

But luckily January 2011, spent in a B&B in Wolverhampton, was not wasted as I wrote my debut solo show about my 2010 near-death from heart failure experiences, Richard Tyrone Jones has a Big Heart. Okay, so I also became addicted to Civilisation III but recognised the destructive, depressive, addictive thought patterns and snapped the CD in half.

February

The first read-through of the show in February was a quite-fat one hour and twenty minutes, but still BBC Ouch said it was “raw, at times graphic, and very funny.”

I did extracts of the show throughout the country for the rest of the year, including supporting Salena Godden’s tour with Hammer & Tongue. In that month, we also heard from the Arts Council we’d got funding for another season of ‘Utter!’ and what a season it turned out to be…

Spring

Utter! Agony in March was the first of our shows where the themes had been chosen by the facebook group. Here poets answered audience problems, Dear Diedre-style. You can watch ALL the performances, filmed by Sky’s Joe Rigby, on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/utterspokenword This was followed up by Utter! Coalition, celebrating (ahem) the first anniversary of the Coalition in May, Utter! Nutters with Liz Bentley and more. I was at the Meadowlands festival near Brighton - sadly, Bang Said the Gun’s poetry tent was a shelter of fun in an otherwise cold, badly organised and empty field.

Me at the squat, Summer 2011 image Rimvydas

Summer

Throughout the year I commuted from Wolverhampton into London, and then to West London, to rehearse my show with Anthony Shrubsall, who’d directed Zena Edwards’ hugely well received Security. Another preview got us a rave review in New Scientist: http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/culturelab/2011/06/making-art-of-traumatic-heart-failure.html Massive thanks to Anthony and to everyone whose floors I stayed on, including a spell in the ironically-named Well Furnished squat in Hackney with Cat Brogan, Captain of the Rant and many other talented, artistic and socially-activated people. Sadly I got a massive dose of food poisoning, caused either by unwittingly sharing a glass of water with a cat or by skipped meat (and since then I’ve had Scroobius Pip’s ‘The beat that my heart skipped’ running through my head with the lyrics changed to ‘The meat that my mate skipped’) and opened June’s Peterborough Festival with the Dead Poets while bunged up with co-codamol and trying to keep in the type sixes and sevens in. In all I lost about a stone.

Nevertheless, on July 1st we raised £600+ for the British Heart Foundation and Cardiomyopathy Association with ‘Utter!’ Heartbreak in West London featuring Zena Edwards, Kevin Eldon, Rob Auton, myself and Tim Wells (who also has a dicky ticker). Next time I think we’ll do it in Camden though…

July also saw my first visit to the Buxton Fringe - Fringe to an Opera Festival! It’s a gorgeous town with some good shows on, though it’s difficult to flyer or to make money. However, we did get good reviews - thanks to Anthony and my Tech Director Lee Nelson, and Richard Tyrone Jones has a Big Heart was nominated for best Spoken Word show - we lost out to IanMcMillan, which isn’t so bad!

It was then up to Scotland for a mini-tour but with a few day’s walking (though not up mountains) in the Lake District to see Simon Armitage read in Grasmere, with Helen Mort and A.B. Jackson. Lovely to see them and Helen’s whippets! And who should I bump into in Wordsworth’s Cottage but Mr. Eldon again and his charming missus Helen. Over lunch I learned Kevin’s got some exciting plans so keep an eye on the listings for them in 2012, and good luck with your new arrival guys!

Then a mini-tour of Scotland: Rapunzel Wizard’s Demented Eloquence in Aberdeen. Possibly the greyest city I’ve ever been in but picturesque to see seals basking along the Don and the old town. A rugged (and cold) charm. Then brilliant gigs with Robin Cairns in Glasgow’s Last Sunday at the Rio and a workshop and gig with Harry Giles’ Inky Fingers. The Forest cafe will be sorely missed… unless they manage to buy it back!

http://www.wefund.com/project/help-forest-cafe-buy-bristo-place

August

Back to London for #rtjbigheart at the Camden Fringe. I learned a lesson after the first night when I had a few bloody Maries to celebrate our success then got defibrillated walking up Primrose Hill next day, had to go to hospital and missed the second gig. Alcohol leaches essential electrolytes from the heart making my heart even more wobbly, so I’ve since given it up. (Almost) completely. Apologies to anyone who missed it, but the third and fourth nights went very well - more good reviews…

I’d recommend doing the Camden Fringe for those who live in London as a cheaper alternative to Edinburgh, or as a warm-up. But try to do as many gigs as you can as then the registration fee becomes proportionally cheaper - but be warned, the Camden Head is a VERY hot and uncomfortable venue, unless they succeed in installing the promised air-con.

And on the Saturday afterwards the first ever MisGuided tour of Camden went well despite smaller numbers due to fear of rain. We met Dylan Thomas with a Pakistani accent, visited Sylvia Plath’s house and met a dying Martian on Primrose Hill. UUuuuuuuuuu-llaaaaaaahhhh!

Sadly, ‘Utter!’ Puppets had to be rescheduled, due to some minor rioting or fear thereof, for the end of August. As usual, the Ted and Sylvia Plath story in Puppets divided opinion somewhat…

It’s a mark of how much my drugs regimen has shrunk my heart that I then managed to walk Hadrian’s Wall with friends, a longstanding ambition. (Having almost died has made me much more conscious of ticking off the things on my bucket list, though admittedly some of them have been ticked off due to medical inadvisability, ie skydiving, bungee jumping, driving a monster truck etc). It took me nine days rather than five, however, but I managed to fit in my first ever visit to Newcastle (and a performance at Pink Lane Poetry) plus a visit to Lowther castle in the Lake District.

Then, back up to Edinburgh for the Fringe - well, a week of it, where I talent-scouted, helped at Tim Clare’s Poetry Takeaway and did two performances of Richard Tyrone Jones reads some stuff off bits of paper at the Free Fringe. Frankly the first performance was crap so I completely rewrote it in about three hours for the second one, which was much better. And one single, packed, Utter! raised another £100 for charity. So why didn’t I do #rtjbigheart there this year? Well, I wanted to get the script right this year before raising some money to do it properly next year.

September

So in September I started fundraising in earnest for the show using www.crowdfunder.com - investors get rewards including copies of the book, tickets and bespoke poems. No-one took me up on the £500 option including a writing retreat in Cyprus and a wig made out of my own hair but there’s always the next show. After an initial panic we in fact busted our £2100 target, raising about £2350 after the website took their cut. Thanks so much to all my sponsors!

Also in September, all the winners of the ‘Utter!’ Paid Gig contest of the last two years returned to a packed Monarch pub in Camden to compete for audience votes and £125. All performers were as good as you’d expect proven winners to be but Natasha Moscovici won with a longer, less comic poem about being chatted up by a soldier who’d shortly be back in Afghanistan. Simon Munnery topped us off with clever humour and music from his show Hats off to the 101ers.And thanks to Apples & Snakes I discovered how nice Plymouth is - will be back there on tour with Matt Harvey in 2012!

October

October is usually my busiest month, what with National Poetry Day and Black History Month (I keep getting booked because of being called ‘Tyrone’). Gigs with Little Lamp in Brighton, Captain of the Rant’s Basement Sedition, Hackney, a 50th birthday poetry party, and workshops for schools and online with Young Poets Network. Then the first ever Utter! Luton in Luton with John Hegley and his nephew Paul, a talented guitarist - a massive success with the Hat factory packed out.

November

New poetry on the heart theme at Camden School of Enlightenment (@camdenlight), a trip to Kent, confusing Norwich Writers’ club with Martin Figura & Helen Ivory, Kiss the Sky in Hampstead. On a personal level I was really really pleased to eventually find a place to live in London with www.sanfordhousingcoop.org - security of tenure with an artistic left-leaning community! I celebrated with a writing trip to Cyprus…

December

…where I visited #occupycyprus in the Green Line in Nicosia (much nicer camping weather, started work on all the poems commissioned by my lovely Crowdfunders, and put together drafts of the book of #rtjbigheart and my next one. I’m either going to call it ‘RTJ: Writer of Wrongs’, ‘Crush All Liberals’ or possibly ‘Birthday Chimp Rape’. Let me know which title you think would work best…

In other words, 2011 has ended a much better year for me than 2010, health, home and career-wise, with too many people to thank than is actually possible - you know who you are! But a year much more of preparation and convalescence than next year will be…

SO, WHAT ARE THE PLANS FOR 2012, RICHARD?

I’m glad you asked me that, because I was going to tell you anyway. 2012 is going to be MASSIVE! So much stuff that Utter! will be taking a back seat for me (although the next one, March 8th, will be a poetry/comedy/bingo special at the Montague Arms, New Cross, with myself, Ben Target and Frog Morris). But it will be taking a back seat to….

RTJ has a Big Heart tour

I find out if I’ve got funding from the Wellcome Trust in January, and the Arts Council in April. With it, it’ll include projection from www.patternfightperformance.com - with or without it, the book will be launched in May and I’ll be touring all over the UK doing the show and associated writing workshops for all ages to promote it. So if you’d like me to do so at your venue, GET IN TOUCH with me to talk where, when, and numbers. At the moment I should be hitting Wolverhampton, Luton, Plymouth, Birmingham, the North-East, Aberdeen, Glasgow, the Canterbury Fringe, London, Norwich, Peterborough, Worcester, Manchester and Liverpool - but I’m particularly looking to do some out-of-the way places I’ve never been to before…. like Berlin, Ireland or Swansea.

Education - Shake the Dust

I’m very pleased to be a Shadow poet on Apples & Snakes’ nationwide slam for young people - like an X-Factor for poetry. I’ll be telling youngsters ‘you’re fired’ and training up the rest from February up to the finals when we try to corner the prestigious June Number one slot in the Amazon poetry charts. In addition to this I’m available to book for normal schools work, especially around Book Week and National Poetry Day when I can come to your school/workshop/place of work, inspire you to do some crazily good writing then type it all up for you in e-book form. Get in touch for prices.

Director of Spoken Word, Free Fringe

I’ll be up in Edinburgh throughout August doing my show, and ‘Utter!’ for the last half of the Fringe. Once again I’ll be Director of Spoken Word, programming excellent free spoken word shows at the Banshee Labyrinth and Royal Oak. In 2012 the official brochure should, for the first time, include ‘Spoken Word’ as a separate section. I still have some slots left, especially for those who’d like to do 5-day runs. Look up www.freefringe.org.uk to read through the info, then if you’re interested, email me a proposal.

Oh, and if anyone in Edinburgh is interested in doing a room-swap, in case they wanted to come and stay for the Olympics, say, in August…. get in touch and we could both save hundreds… ;0)

Tour (Mis)guiding

Should be doing a bit of tour guiding of North American students around Europe, especially around April. Means I’ll probably have to go on a tax-deductible ‘research trip’ round Northern Italy in February. Tough life isn’t it? But I’m still up for doing MisGuided tours of your area - a fun mix of cultural facts and lies, the challenge being to guess which is which, guests and poems. New ones written from £600, or less if I’ve already devised them, which I have done for Archway, Brixton, Camden, Crouch End, Hackney, Hoxton (kids), King’s Cross, Newington Green, and Stoke Newington.

So my New Year’s resolutions are a) Do more poetry performance b) Do more poetry workshops and c) Do more poetry. What are yours?

Seasons Greetings & Happy New Year - I’ll probably be at the Ideas Bank with the #occupylondon lot, they’re having a rave… @rtjpoet x

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Richard Tyrone Jones Has a Big Heart

How do you fight back when your own heart tries to kill you?

Richard Tyrone Jones Has a Big Heart is the long-awaited, understandably-delayed debut one-man show from the poet, Director of ‘Utter!’ and “Ringmaster of Spoken Word” (**** - Three Weeks). Learn the lurid details of his near-near death from dilated cardiomyopathy, a convoluted convalescence and how to live with the condition which will almost certainly kill you, through anecdosage, cardiomyopoetry and bisoproLOLs. For anyone who ever had a heart. Or failure. Clear!

“fascinating, sobering, hilarious, and ultimately uplifting.”

- New Scientist

In February 2010, healthy, cycling, non-alcoholic poet Richard Tyrone Jones held his own joke funeral to mark his thirtieth birthday. Shortly after, he was struck down with dilated cardiomyopathy – heart failure. His heart became the weakened, baggy heart of an old man, his lungs bubbling with frothy phleghm and his legs unable to walk more than a few metres. What had caused this triple-decker sandwich of misery? And can being dangerously ill actually improve your life?

“raw, at times graphic, and very funny.” - BBC Ouch!

BUXTON FRINGE DATES: Fri 15^th & Sat 16^th July (5.30pm) and 17^th July (8.30pm), £6/7, Underground Venues, The Square, Buxton, SK17 6BD. Book at www.underthefringe.com or 02081 44 0070 noon-3pm.

CAMDEN FRINGE DATES: Tues August 2nd, Weds 3rd, Thurs 4th & Sun 7th, 6.30pm, Camden Head, Camden High Street NW1 0LU. £7.50. Book at www.camdenfringe.org or 08444 771 000.

EDINBURGH FRINGE HEART CHARITIES BENEFIT: Saturday 27^th August, 21.50pm, Banshee Labyrinth, Niddry Street, finale of the Free Fringe’s spoken word section with Young Dawkins, Chemical Poets & a special mystery guest. Free/donations, in aid of British Heart Foundation and Cardiomyopathy Association (50/50).

For ten years Richard Tyrone Jones has been one of the most popular poets, promoters and hosts on the London & Edinburgh spoken word scene, racking up hundreds of gigs. This, his understandably-overdue debut show, relates his near-near death experience through a series of darkly humorous anecdotes, interspersed with varied, philosophical but accessible spoken word pieces exploring what it means to be alive, in pain, human and imperfect. It is directed by Anthony Shrubsall, the director of Zena Edwards’ highly successful one person show Security, which premiered at BAC and toured nationally and internationally in 2009/10.

Richard has already successfully opened the Peterborough Arts Festival with the show, has received an excellent review in New Scientist and mentions in the Ham & High and New Yorker. He has PR support from the British Heart Foundation and Cardiomyopathy Association, for whom he is organising fundraising gigs, and he has been performing extracts from the show all around the country.

Richard is currently looking for more opportunities to present either extracts from the show, or the full show itself, at venues around the country or abroad including spoken word nights, festivals, arts venues etc in 2011/12. It lasts around 55 minutes but can be expanded or contracted to suit.

Richard is an experienced and CRB-checked workshop leader who has worked with adult writing groups, in education and with vulnerable adults. He has a variety of workshops including those themed around illness and other life problems. Rates available on request.

Further information:

MP3s: http://www.soundcloud.com/richardtyronejones

Website: www.utterspokenword.com

Photos: richardtyronejones@gmail.com

Interviews: 07912 539 098.

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http://www.wegottickets.com/event/120680

See the wonderful Kevin Eldon, help us raise £1,500+ for heart
charities, boogie to Tim Wells’ choons, see Robert Auton, Zena
Edwards, Richard Tyrone Jones and enjoy the sumptuous surroundings of
the Drayton Court HOTEL on Fri July 1st with ‘Utter!’s biggest & best
gig yet, ‘Utter!’ heartbreak! Save £3 - book tickets for just £10 now
at http://www.wegottickets.com/event/120680

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Kevin Eldon aka Paul Hamilton

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XXXXXXXX PRESS RELEASE XXXXXXXXXXX

‘Utter!’ spoken word, in aid of the British Heart Foundation and
Cardiomyopathy Association, presents its biggest comedy & poetry gig
yet: ‘Utter!’ Heartbreak!

“prepare to be left speechless by the tongues of these capable bards”
- ****, ThreeWeeks

Time: Doors 7pm, 7.30pm-10.30pm.
Address: Drayton Court Hotel, 2 The Avenue, London, W13 8PH.
Transport:  West Ealing Overland from Paddington or E11/E1 bus from
Ealing Broadway tube.

PAUL HAMILTON (aka KEVIN ELDON)
The groovy Highgate poet and star of Radio 4’s ‘Poets’ Tree’, creation
of the Actor Kevin Eldon (of Nighty Night, Big Train, Jam, Four Lions,
and many more).
“His material is so original, well observed and meticulously written,
his mastery of it so complete… You simply will not find a funnier
show, anywhere.” ***** - The Daily Telegraph
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U7dokwv4XY

TIM WELLS
Forward prize-nominated, Guardian-featured poet & editor of Rising
magazine makes a rare trip to West London. Also bringing the
Hypertension on the decks with some classic reggae and Northern soul
tunes before and after the show.
www.donutpress.co.uk/index.php?authors&id=9

ROB AUTON
Co-host of ‘Bang Said the Gun’ and winner of winners in ‘Utter!’s 2009
Paid Gig contest final. Star of many many festivals. Surreal,
charming, original and very very funny.
http://robertauton.blogspot.com/

ZENA EDWARDS
Legendary poet, actress and musician, who toured her one woman show
‘Security’ around the UK and Japan, Poetry Café Poet-In-Residence
(2004), Arts Foundation Award for Performance Poetry (Finalist, 2007),
who has performed at the Royal Festival Hall, Def Poetry Jam,
NuYorican Poets Café, London Jazz Festival, Poetry International
(London), URB Hip Hop Festival (Helsinki), Glastonbury and Aldeburgh
Poetry Festivals.
“Edwards is a superb performer, equally at ease as an elderly
Caribbean man, as a would-be teenage MC, Ayleen, or as a lonely
47-year-old Palestinian photographer” - Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

All hosted by RICHARD TYRONE JONES - presenting extracts from his
eagerly awaited debut show RTJ has a Big Heart. Asking the question
‘How do you fight back when your own heart tries to kill you?’ he’s
“raw, at times graphic, and very funny.” - BBC Ouch! and “fascinating,
sobering, hilarious, and ultimately uplifting” (New Scientist).

Tickets £10 prebooked on www.wegottickets.com/event/120680 or £13 on
the door. All proceeds are split between the British Heart Foundation
and the Cardiomyopathy Association to help save lives.

Time: Doors 7pm, 7.30pm-10.30pm.
Address: Drayton Court Hotel, 2 The Avenue, London, W13 8PH.
Transport:  West Ealing Overland from Paddington or E11/E1 bus from
Ealing Broadway tube.

Please spread the word, and bring your friends!

A big thank you to Fullers for letting us borrow their wonderful
venue, where rooms now are available to stay in the hotel above!

www.fullers.co.uk/rte.asp?id=374&itemid=85&task=View

www.bhf.org.uk
www.cardiomyopathy.org
www.utterspokenword.com

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Dear ‘Utter!’ers: three infobits crucial to your entertainment!

1. Our cameraman Joe Rigby, who’s done videos for many comedy luminaries, recorded ALL the poets at the wonderful ‘Utter!’ Agony on March 1st. Here’s the promo: tag yourselves, share on your walls, enjoy (and maybe even hire him?)
http://www.youtube.com/user/utterspokenword

2. Next week’s Coalition-themed events! Monday 2nd May - ‘Utter!’ Coalition BONUS writing group is 6.30pm Sheephaven bay pub with me, RICHARD TYRONE JONES: cut-ups, etc.
http://bit.ly/uttercoalitionwgrp

and then, next day:
Tuesday 3rd May - ‘Utter!’ Coalition with Dead Poets & other poets who shouldn’t really work together but somehow do. Dead Poets, Lucy Leagrave & Tamsin Kendrick, Prude & Arrogant, plus Paid Gig contest with AV system: Chip Grim, Dan Simpson, Christopher Kraken! Green Note, Camden Parkway NW1.
£7 after 7.30pm start time, or £5 before or prebooked on www.wegottickets.com/event/110120
http://bit.ly/uttercoalition

3. Get your diaries out! Here’s the rest of the confirmed dates for ‘Utter!’ spoken word this year, but first, a recommended gig:

Apples & Snakes at the Soho Theatre: 27 April · 8pm
21 Dean Street, London with Kate Tempest, Lady Rhymes, serio-comic storyman ZK the Poet and gritty newcomer G.R.E.Ed.S. If you like your poetry a bit more hip-hoppy, highly recommended.
www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=189369571101029

Saturday writing workshops: 11am-1pm, Wood Green library:
7th May & 21 May - facilitator tbc
Wednesday May 25th - Richard Tyrone Jones runs a workshop for Crouch End Word for Word writing group, 1pm-3pm, Community Room, Mezzanine level, Crouch end library
4 June - facilitator tbc

Tues 7th June - Utter! Nutters with Liz Bentley, Ashley Reaks, Rosy Carrick. Paid Gig contest: Sid Ozalid, Anthony Fairweather, Helen Burke. Host RTJ. Green Note, Camden Parkway. £7 after 7.30pm, £5 before or prebooked on www.wegottickets.com/event/117222
Facebook: http://bit.ly/utternutters

Thurs 9th June - Speakeasy with the Dead Poets at The Key Theatre, Peterborough - RTJ Has a Big Heart’s going to be the start of Peterborough’s Arts Festival and it’s going to be FREE!

Saturday 11th June - ‘Utter!’ MisGuided tour of Crouch End, 2pm, Outside Hornsey Town Hall, with trip to another dimension, the true story of Islington’s war with Haringey, local artistes and open mic & pub afterwards. £7 after 2pm start time, £5 before or prebooked on wegottickets.com/
Facebook: http://bit.ly/uttermiscrouch

Friday 1st July: ‘Utter!’ Heartbreak in aid of British Heart Foundation and Cardiomyopathy Association, Drayton Park Hotel, West Ealing. Zena Edwards, Harry Baker, Tim Wells & other top names TBC. Hosted by Richard Tyrone Jones, around £12.50/£15

BUXTON FRINGE
Buxton Fringe Run of ‘Richard Tyrone Jones Has a Big Heart’ - Underground Venues - Barrel Room. 15-16 Jul 5:30pm to 6:30pm, 17 Jul 8:30pm to 9:30pm £7 (Child and Conc £6)
Bookings via www.undergroundvenues.co.uk. Bookings (noon-3pm) & info: 02081 440 070. Other prices/discounts available.

‘UTTER!’ during CAMDEN FRINGE
August Tues 2nd, Weds 3rd, Thurs 4th & Sun 7th, 6.30pm - Camden Fringe Run of ‘Richard Tyrone Jones Has a Big Heart’, Camden Head, Camden High Street. Tickets will be on sale soon, £7.50

Sat August 6th - ‘Utter!’ MisGuided tour of Camden, 2pm, meeting place TBA. ALL NEW! Plath, Dylan Thomas, War of the Worlds & ending in open mic http://bit.ly/uttermiscamden

Tues Aug 9th - Utter! Puppets, Green Note, Camden Parkway. Jon Stone, Edgar Allen Poe, the Ted & Sylvia Story (in puppets) by RTJ. NW1 http://bit.ly/utterpuppets

EDINBURGH FRINGE
Fri 26th & Sat 27th August 2011, 18.20, Banshee Labyrinth, Niddry Street. Richard Tyrone Jones reads some stuff off bits of paper. RONSEAL. PBH Free Fringe, so free/donations.
Facebook: http://bit.ly/rtjreads

Sat 27th August 2011, 21.50. Banshee Labyrinth, Niddry Street. ‘Utter!’ Edinburgh 2011. Richard Tyrone Jones introduces some of our favourite Edinburgh Acts as the grand finale to Spoken Word at the PBH Free Fringe! PBH Free Fringe, so free/donations. All profits to British Heart Foundation / Cardiomyopathy Association.
Facebook: http://bit.ly/uttered11

…and the PAID GIG contest FINAL will be in September, just looking for a bigger boat…!

Thanks very much for reading and will see you at some or all of these. Exciting being alive, isn’t it?

All the best, Richard Tyrone Jones, RTJ xxxxxx

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‘Utter!’ Pointlessness: April 5th, 2011, Green Note, Camden with MATT HARVEY & many more…
Green Note, 106 Camden Parkway NW1 7AN
£5 prebooked or before 7.30pm start time, £7 after.
Nearest tube: Camden Town
Nearest overland: Camden Road / Euston / Kings Cross

We’ve had some pretty daft themes for ‘Utter!’ over the years, but this is the daftest yet.
‘Utter!’ Pointlessness: acts from so far away their fee will hardly cover their travel costs!
Supported by Arts Council England

MATT HARVEY (DEVON), spectacular poet and host of Radio 4’s ‘Wondermentalist cabaret’, all the way from Totnes, reading from books ‘The Hole in the sum of my parts’ and ‘Where Earwigs Dare’.
“pure, unaffected humility, undiminished by a conspicuous talent.” - FEST magazine. www.mattharvey.co.uk

YOUNG DAWKINS (USA / EDINBURGH), winner of ‘Utter!’s Got talent 2010, Vice-Principal of Edinburgh University and Beat poet who has played Jazzmouth festival, with his book ‘The Lilac Thief’.
“his poetry showcases how good beat can be.” - The Skinny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X4Wecf4W-I&feature=related

PAULA VARJACK (USA / BERLIN), evil genius behind Berlin and London’s hugely popular Antislam series, with rock n roll tales of globe-trotting, sexuality-hopping, punk poet life.
www.paulavarjack.com

RAPUNZEL WIZARD (ABERDEEN), explosively energetic Aberdonian anarchist allotmenteer. 96% human, 4% woolly mammoth, veteran of the Glastonbury, Edinburgh Fringe and Oxford Literary Festivals and poetical representative of Brighton’s City of Culture Bid: a ranting poet with a very good sense of humour. After all, he came up with this stupid theme idea, thus dooming himself to a 26-hour megabus round trip!

WINNER of last month’s PAID GIG CONTEST, ANNA MAY with country & westernesque poems - observations on love, life & loss, not intellectual nor refined but highly emotive, gutsy, tongue in cheek & direct, evoking both tears & laughter.

PLUS the legendary PAID GIG CONTEST: 4 artists do 5 minutes each and you, the audience, votes to decide who wins a full paid gig.
ANNA CHEN, ROBIN VAUGHAN WILLIAMS, ALAN WOLFSON…

plus the best writer from the BONUS ‘Utter!’ writing group taking place the night before, Monday April 4th at the Sheephaven Bay Pub, Camden. http://bit.ly/utterptlesswgroup Remember, it’s FREE to new visitors (otherwise just £2/4) so see you there!

Both events hosted by RICHARD TYRONE JONES, ‘Ringmaster of spoken word’ - Three Weeks, and ‘excellent poet and host’ - Daljit Nagra.

Earlybird saverprice £5 before 7.30pm or prebooked on http://www.wegottickets.com/event/109109 , £7 after 7.30pm.

This event: http://bit.ly/utterptless
www.utterspokenword.com

–
Richard Tyrone Jones
Poet, host, Director of ‘Utter!’ spoken word
www.utterspokenword.com

http://twitter.com/rtjpoet

RTJ Facebook group:
http://bit.ly/richardtyronejones

UTTER! Facebook group:
http://bit.ly/utter

07912 539 098

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PRESS RELEASE: ‘Utter!’ Agony! - Poets solve your problems, Dear
Deidre-style, Tues 1st March 2011, 7.30pm, Green Note, Camden

‘Utter!’ Agony! - Poets solve your problems, Dear Deidre-style!
Supported by Arts Council England

Date: Tuesday 1st March 2011
Time: 7pm doors, 7.30pm start
Price: £5 earlybird before 7.30pm or prebooked on
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/108543
£7 after 7.30pm
Address: Green Note, Camden Parkway NW1 7AN
Transport: Camden Town tube, Camden Road/Euston/Kings Cross overland

Special guest poets solve the problems #you# submitted, Dear Deidre-style,
featuring:

Special guest host Agony Aunt Sophia Blackwell,
‘Strident, beautiful, crusading…a vamp radiating passion.’ - A.F. Harrold

The Forward prize nominee & Editor of ‘Rising’ magazine Tim Wells,

‘Utter!’ Sexuality’s Paid Gig contest winner Kate Byard,

‘Utter!’ Prime Numbers Paid Gig contest winner & rapper Harry Baker,

James McKay with his new book Quiet Circus,

Kirsten Irving, co-head of Fuselit press,

Raymond Antrobus, co-host of popular night ‘Chill Pill’,

Danni Antagonist of Milton Keynes’ ‘Poetry Kapow!’

and Richard Tyrone Jones, ‘Utter!’ Director and the ‘ringmaster of
spoken word’ - Three Weeks

PAID GIG CONTEST: Nathan Thompson, 2 more TBC, plus one writer from
our BONUS special writing group with Sophia Blackwell the day before
on the 28th at the Sheephaven bay pub:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=127871213949434

Plus YOU can take part! RSVP yes on the facebook event
http://bit.ly/utteragony, then recount your personal, professional or
poetic problems in the comments & have a hand-picked agony aunt or
uncle write you a poetic reply! http://bit.ly/utteragony

PS If you want to send in an anonymous problem please either post below under a fake name, email
richardtyronejones@gmail.com or post it to ‘Utter!’, 10 Rebecca Gardens, WV4 5PR.

£5 before 7.30pm or pre-booked on http://www.wegottickets.com/event/108543
£7 after 7.30pm, so don’t be late!

Supported by Arts Council England (& by Camden Council)

For photos, further information etc, please contact:

–
Richard Tyrone Jones
Poet, host, Director of ‘Utter!’ spoken word
richardtyronejones@gmail.com

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PRESS RELEASE: ‘Utter!’ Sickness including the (scratch) of a debut one-man show, ‘Richard Tyrone Jones Has a Big Heart’, Feb 1st 2011.

Here’s the Press Release for ‘Utter!’ spoken word’s first gig of 2011, ‘Utter!’ Sickness, which features UK slam champion Niall Spooner-Harvey, ‘Utter!’ Paid Gig contest winner Fay and the debut of my one-man show, ‘Richard Tyrone Jones Has a Big Heart’.

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‘Utter!’ Sickness. (Spoken word/poetry/comedy)
7.30pm-1030pm, Tuesday February 1st 2011, £5.
Green Note, 106 Camden Parkway, Camden NW1 7AN
Tube: Camden town. Overland: Camden Road/Euston/King’s Cross

Featuring: The long-awaited debut scratch-but-partly-learnt one man show from the ‘ringmaster of spoken word’ (ThreeWeeks)… RICHARD TYRONE JONES HAS A BIG HEART. A show about not realising you’re slowly dying, then realising you’re slowly dying, and then not dying any more (at least, not yet)… but realising that’s only the beginning of the complications!

Plus the wonderful NIALL SPOONER-HARVEY, UK Slam champion, with poems from his book ‘Only Not Walking’, about being disabled, then trying really hard not to be disabled and not being disabled any more… but realising that’s only the beginning of the complications!

And Fay Roberts, winner of the last ‘Utter!’ Paid Gig contest. Not sure what she’s going to do yet but she’s usually hauntingly brilliant!

All ably hosted (for the first bit anyway) by serial slam-winner MARK NIEL of Milton Keynes’ fabulous Tongue in Chic.

£5, unless you’re on the guest list.

‘prepare to be left speechless by the tongues of these capable bards’ (ThreeWeeks magazine).

PRESS RELEASE FOR RTJ HAS A BIG HEART:

Richard Tyrone Jones Has a Big Heart is the long-awaited debut one-man show from the poet, Director of ‘Utter!’ and “Ringmaster of Spoken Word” (Three Weeks). Learn the lurid details of almost-almost dying of dilated cardiomyopathy, a slow recovery and how to live with the condition which will almost certainly kill you, through anecdotery, cardiomyopoetry and bisoproLOLs. For anyone who has a heart. Or failure. Clear!

—

In February 2010, healthy, cycling, non-alcoholic poet Richard Tyrone Jones held his own joke funeral to celebrate his thirtieth birthday. Shortly after, he was suddenly struck down with dilated cardiomyopathy – heart failure. His heart became the weakened, baggy heart of an old man, his lungs bubbling with frothy phleghm and his legs unable to walk more than a few metres. What had caused this triple-decker sandwich of misery?

For ten years Richard Tyrone Jones has been one of the most popular poets, promoters and hosts on the London & Edinburgh spoken word scene. This, his understandably-overdue debut show, relates his near-near death experience through a series of lurid and darkly humorous anecdotes, interspersed with rhythmic, philosophical but accessible spoken word pieces exploring what it means to be alive, in pain, human and imperfect. Plus some truly awful jokes.

Richard is currently looking for more opportunities to present either extracts from the show, or the full show itself, at venues around the country or abroad including spoken word nights, festivals, arts venues etc in 2011/12. It will last around 55 minutes, designed to be performed either with a projector and PA or without.

MP3s and photos available on request.

www.utterspokenword.com

Cheers and hope very much to see you there on February 1st!

.

Hello!

‘Utter!’ Spoken Word is back from the Edinburgh Fringe, where we entertained 803 people over 22 unique nights. If you’d like to hear how much fun we had, and maybe find out a bit more about the PBH Free Fringe, check out my report at http://freefringeforum.org/viewtopic.php?f=65&t=911&sid=369ea081103704f26a392f051e25c91d and the photos below.

All that leaves to tie up loose ends then is the small matter of our THE ONLY Edinburgh preview show to not only take place
AFTER THE EDINBURGH FRINGE HAS FINISHED, but also featuring NONE OF THE ACTS WHO WERE ON IN EDINBURGH!!!! Green Note, 106 Camden Parkway, London NW1 7AN - Sept 14th, 7.30pm, Facebook http://bit.ly/utteredprev

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Ltd edition hand-drawn flyer, very '90s.

I guess that means the lovely 4 stars and quote we got from Three Weeks - “prepare to be left speechless by the tongues of these capable bards” can’t be used to promote this event. Oops! I just did. It’ll be nice to be back to our old home, fantastic and intimate venue the …Green Note in Camden, with:

Special guest host GEORGE CHOPPING, previous ‘Utter!’ Paid Gig contest final 2008 WINNER and host of gigs in Oxford and further abroad with poems and haiku on shit towns and illness, amongst other things. Engaging, sarcastic, funny and looks a bit like Doctor Who, but his material has less plot holes.

ABI PALMER, previous Paid Gig contest winner with raps about Philosophers, sexiness and invisible disabilities

PAUL LYALLS, host of one of London’s longest-running and best-loved nights ‘Express Excess’ and host of BBC TV’s ‘Big Slam Poetry House’, reading from his witty debut collection ‘Catching the cascade’.
‘A gifted poet…his work is witty, well constructed and well delivered.’ - The Stage

MARK NIEL, charismatic head honcho of Milton Keynes’s popular spoken word show and writing group TONGUE IN CHIC, editor of their anthology Tales from Mirror City and serial slam-winner. A mild-mannered Clark Kent who transforms on stage into a slightly portly poetic superman.

DOUGIE HASTINGS, winner of the paid gig contest at the Whitechapel gallery and purveyor of funny and poetic filth.

Plus, late addition to the bill - UK Farrago International Slam winner and co-host of Chill Pill RAYMOND ANTROBUS! www.myspace.com/raymondantrobus

Paid Gig contest:
YOU, the audience, vote to decide who wins a… you guessed it, PAID GIG! and a slot in the final with a chance to win £100+. 5mins each from:

SOPHIE BUCHAN reads the poetry of esteemed dead German nihilist poet Thomas von Ritter, or maybe she’ll just read her own nihilist poetry
Steve Hobbs - part of the Milton Keynes poetry cartel and also inventor of the ipad.
FAY ROBERTS of different Milton Keynes poetry collective POETRY KAPOW! www.faithhope.co.uk/poetry/performance/
GARY FROM LEEDS - Wide-eyed Yorkshire romantic showcasing material from his Camden Fringe show ‘Inside the M25: A User’s Guide’

If you’d like to compete in a future gig in 2011 send youtube link/mp3/5 minutes of material to richardtyronejones@gmail.com

And of course one lucky member audience will win an Utter! BAG OF BOOKS! (Some of which are really quite good, others of which take the piss a bit really)

PLUS of course our talented artist-in-residence KAT AUSTEN will be there to record the happenings for the Facebook group.

PRICE: £5 - arrive before 7.30pm to get a seat! (Email richardtyronejones@gmail.com to reserve if disabled/ill)

THIS event: http://bit.ly/utteredprev

Danni Antagonist entertains the Royal Mile

More 'Utter!' on the Royal Mile...

Tim Clare at 'Utter!' Luton, playing his lute family instrument