Inside.Out Open Mic For Writers

Next date: Wednesday April 14 with fabulous music guests! (Alert levels willing)

Bring Your Writing - poems, flash fiction, short story, novel excerpts, performance poetry etc - to share or come as audience to hear what's brand new. To read, just sign up on the open mic list as you arrive. Newcomers and regulars equally welcomed. (I you are running late or want to secure an early spot, text or msg the emcee).

Music:
Sonia Wilson & Nigel Gavin
Sonia Wilson (@soniawilsonmusique) is a living, breathing human Womad Festival. Born and raised in Paris, UK-educated and now based in Auckland, the Franco-American singer, songwriter and musician had a dizzying musical apprenticeship. A member of both gospel and acapella choirs from a young age, Sonia infuses into her music a wide variety of languages, colours and cultures: her music has taken her from the streets of Paris, across the Kenyan savannah, through remote Himalayan villages, and then ’home’ to New Zealand. She currently plays with the Gitbox Rebellion 8-guitar ensemble, is a singer and instrumentalist in various groups, and is a founding member of the Seattle-based Tiny Orchestral Moments. When she’s not performing, Sonia teaches, offering classes in individual and group ukulele, guitar and voice.⁠

Nigel Gavin is an NZ-based musician-composer and guitar player in a league of his own. In addition to being a highly regarded solo artist and session musician, Nigel has been a member of bands such as The Nairobi Trio, The League of Crafty Guitarists, the Jews Brothers, and Jonathan Besser's Bravura, as well as collaborator with many top musicians and performers. He has a vast musical vocabulary which ranges from acoustic blues and folk to jazz, rock, fusion, surf pop, complex ambient grooves and various world music genres, in particular klezmer. He has toured extensively and performed at numerous music and art festivals in New Zealand, America, Australia and Europe. An active mentor to young artists, Nigel founded and mentored the New Zealand guitar collective concept bands Gitbox and Gitbox Rebellion.

Kia ora Sonia and Nigel for being available to share waiata and korero with us.

OC Hypatia
Inside Out happens at our new venue OC Hypatia Precinct, 246 Khyber Pass Rd on the corner of Khyber Pass Rd and Huntly Ave, Newmarket. Walk straight in to room G01, on ground level to our community space. Outside of office hours, i.e. after 5 00pm, park in spots marked ‘Ockham’ in the Wilson parking lot alongside. You may safely park for free in the Ockham spaces after 5 00pm regardless of the signage. There is often parking available on Huntly Ave too, and Grafton train station is close by.

Food and Drink
Our venue is not a bar or cafe where you buy food and drinks: it's a community space for gatherings, on the ground floor of an apartment block. We’re well set up with free coffee/ tea/ savoury and sweet snacks. Feel free to bring your own meal or a bottle of wine etc with you.

Thank Yous:

Inside.Out thanks the fine people at the NZ Society of Authors (PEN NZ Inc) Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa Auckland Branch, for their support of this open mic literary & music event in Tamaki Makaurau.

Nga mihi nui to Ockham Collective for warmly welcoming Inside Out into their space and for ongoing tangible support of arts in the community.

There are 5-word challenges, randomly-awarded book prizes, free choc bars and fliers about events and writing opportunities. Meet other writers too.

The schedule is open mic spoken word from 7:00 pm approx, musician guest 8:00 pm to 8:30 pm, then open mic to end of night, at 9 30pm approx. Please bring koha for our city's hard-working musician/s! With your emcee Anita Arlov. ph/txt 021 100 40 77. See you there!