🔥 Announcing our 2026 Writing Retreats! 🔥
Raise the Bar’s writing retreats are an opportunity to refresh, meet other creatives, create new work, enjoy world-class tutoring and learn key career skills to take your practice to the next level.
✅ Aimed at poets in South West England (other writers can still apply and join the waiting list)
✅ Courses specifically for all levels, emerging+ and post-emerging poets
✅ Affordable prices, with bursary spaces (and travel bursaries) available
✅ Full vegan catering included (+ accommodation for weekend retreats)
✅ Priority spaces held for writers of marginalised identities
✅ Beautiful countryside locations of @barley_wood and @thecommunityfarm
✅ Premium venue @curzonclevedon for our newly introduced Performance Retreat
✅ Friendly, family atmosphere, with full ongoing support of the RTB team
⚠️ Applications CLOSE at 9pm on Sunday 31st May. Link in bio.
Our retreats and artist development activities are supported from @aceagrams .
🌟 Raise the Bar: UK Poetry All-Stars! 🌟
We’re back at Bristol Beacon — and this time we’re going BIG. Raise the Bar returns for an unmissable celebration of the very best in contemporary spoken word.
✨ Harry Baker (@harrybakerpoet ) — World Poetry Slam Champion, maths graduate and storyteller whose work has moved millions online and sold out the Royal Albert Hall. His brand new collection Tender is out now.
✨ Hollie McNish (@holliepoetry ) — Ted Hughes Award winner, Sunday Times bestselling author and one of the most beloved live performers in the UK. Her readings are genuinely not to be missed.#
✨ Plus more poets to be announced…
🎧 Ngaio (@ngaioamusic ) on the decks. Hosted by Danny Carlo Pandolfi (@danny__carlo )
After a record-breaking 2024 edition that brought over a thousand people through the doors, expect razor-sharp wordplay, heartfelt storytelling and electrifying live performance — bigger and louder than ever.
📅 Sunday 27 September 2026
📍 Beacon Hall, Bristol Beacon, Trenchard Street, Bristol BS1 5AR
⏰ 7pm–9:30pm (doors 6:30pm)
🎟 Pay What You Can tickets via link in bio (from £16.80)
#RaiseTheBar #BristolPoetry #UKPoetry
🔥 Our next Open Mic in Bristol is here! 🔥
Join us on Tuesday 19th May for another dynamic night of live poetry, featuring two brilliant voices:
✨ Kate Noakes (@kate.noakes ) — acclaimed poet with ten books to her name, reading from her brand new collection Sublime Lungs
✨ Tia-Zakura (@tiazakura ) — Cardiff-based spoken word artist known for her rhythmic “flowetry”, recently runner-up at the UK’s biggest poetry slam at the Roundhouse
🎤 The mic is open to poets, storytellers, lyricists, rappers and wordsmiths of all kinds — whether it’s your first time or your hundredth. Come share your work, or settle in with a drink and experience some of the city’s finest voices.
📅 Tuesday 19 May 2026 📍 @theorchardcoffeeco — 20 Clouds Hill Rd, Bristol BS5 7LA ⏰ Doors 7:00pm | Show 7:30–9:30pm (incl. interval) 🎟 PWYC £6 / £8 / £10 (£5 concessions) — tickets via link in bio
💡 Open mic sign-ups open Sunday 26 April at 10am 10 performers selected in advance, 4 drawn on the night 👉 Sign up via link in bio
✅ Wheelchair accessible ✅ Reserved open mic spaces for underrepresented voices ✅ Zero tolerance for hate or discrimination
#RaiseTheBar #BristolPoetry #OpenMic
Final call for applications 🔥
The amazing Danny Carlo Pandolfi, Director of Raise the Bar, sharing everything you need to know about our 2026 Writing Retreats, across writing, performance, and artist development for poets at all stages.
Here’s the full programme:
📝 Full-Day Performance Retreat (All Levels)
With facilitators Muneera Pilgrim (@muneera_pilgrim ) and Chris Redmond (@chrisredmondmakesstuff )
Saturday 20 June 2026 — Curzon Clevedon
📝 Full-Day Writing Retreat (Post-Emerging Poets)
With facilitators Jasmine Gardosi (@jasminegardosi ) and Vanessa Kisuule
Saturday 27 June 2026 — The Community Farm
📝 Full-Day Writing Retreat (Emerging+ / All Levels)
With facilitators Deanna Rodger (@deannarodger ) and Adam Kammerling (@adam_kammerling )
Saturday 19 September 2026 — The Community Farm
📝 Weekend Writing Retreat (Emerging+ / All Levels)
With facilitators Salena Godden (@salena.godden ) and Safiya Kamaria (@safiyakamaria )
6–8 November 2026 — Barley Wood House
📝 Weekend Writing Retreat (Post-Emerging)
With facilitators Pascale Petit (@pascalepetitpoet ) and Cecilia Knapp (@ceciliaknapp )
13–15 November 2026 — Barley Wood House
Applications at link in bio!
Our retreats and artist development programme are supported by Arts Council England.
🔥 Raise the Bar returns this Tuesday with two brilliant feature acts 🔥
✨ Tia-Zakura (@tiazakura ) — Cardiff-based spoken word artist known for her distinctive “flowetry” style, blending rhythm, wordplay and musicality. Fresh from placing 2nd in the final of the UK’s biggest poetry slam at the Roundhouse.
✨ Kate Noakes (@kate.noakes ) — acclaimed Bristol poet and author of ten poetry books, returning with work from her brand new collection Sublime Lungs, published this year by Two Rivers Press.
Plus open mic performers, community, drinks and another powerful night of live poetry at @theorchardcoffeeco .
📅 Tuesday 19 May 2026 📍 The Orchard Coffee & Co, Bristol ⏰ Doors 7pm | Show 7:30pm 🎟 Tickets via link in bio
🌿 Full-Day Writing Retreat with Jasmine Gardosi & Vanessa Kisuule 🌿
We’re incredibly excited to open applications for our Summer 2026 post-emerging writing retreat at Chew Valley Community Farm — a full day of poetry, conversation, community and creative development with two of the UK’s most celebrated spoken word artists.
✨ Jasmine Gardosi — former Birmingham Poet Laureate, award-winning poet, beatboxer and performer whose work has appeared everywhere from Tate Modern to Button Poetry, BBC and Glastonbury.
✨ Vanessa Kisuule — writer, performer and former Bristol City Poet, author of Neverland and one of the most influential voices in UK poetry today.
Designed for post-emerging / mid-career poets, this retreat is for writers looking to deepen their craft, generate new work and develop their professional practice alongside other ambitious poets from across the South West.
Expect: ✍️ Advanced writing workshops 🌱 Career and creative development conversations 🎤 Q&A sessions with both facilitators 🥗 Full vegan lunch + snacks included 🌳 Time to write, reflect and connect in a beautiful countryside setting
Raise the Bar retreats are known for their warm, welcoming and supportive atmosphere — a space to challenge yourself creatively while building genuine community with other writers.
📅 Saturday 27 June 2026 📍 Chew Valley Community Farm, Bristol ⏰ 10am–4pm 🎟 £60 💛 bursary spaces available 📝 Applications close Sunday 31 May at 9pm
Places are limited and expected to fill quickly.
Apply via link in bio.
🌍 Raise the Bar: Poems of Diaspora 🌍
What a night. Thank you to everybody who came through to @arnolfiniarts and helped make this such a special evening. The energy in the room was incredible from start to finish, and the stories shared on stage will stay with us for a long time.
Huge love to our phenomenal feature acts:�✨ @daljit.nagra1234 �✨ @wordrain �✨ @chloe.tenesha
And thank you to the surprise open mic performers who brought their voice and brilliance to the stage.
Big up to @diverseartistsnetwork and everyone involved in DIASPORA! 2026 ❤️
More soon!
✍️ Raise the Bar: Writing Workshop | Spring 2026 ✍️
We’re launching a new quarterly poetry workshop at @arnolfiniarts : an affordable, welcoming space for writers of all levels of experience to generate new work, explore contemporary poetry and connect with other poets in the community.
Our Spring workshop will be led by RTB founder and director Danny Carlo Pandolfi (@danny__carlo ).
Danny Carlo Pandolfi is a poet, rapper and cultural producer whose work has appeared in Aesthetica, Propel Magazine and more. Highly Commended for the 2025 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem – Performed, he has performed everywhere from Roundhouse London to Ministry of Sound, with work spanning poetry, performance and hip-hop.
Through gentle writing prompts, discussion and creative exercises, this session is designed for both complete beginners and experienced/published writers alike.
✨ Just 15 places available ✨ £5 tickets ✨ Advance booking essential
📅 Saturday 23 May 2026 📍 Arnolfini (Reading Room), Bristol ⏰ 12:00–2:00pm 🎟 Tickets via link in bio
Tom Sastry shares a poem from Life Expectancy Begins to Fall (Nine Arches Press)
@rtbspokenword
Bristol, UK
Catch Tom hosting our May Open Mic — tickets via link in bio
And don’t miss 🔥 Raise the Bar: Poems of Diaspora 🔥 this Thursday at @arnolfiniarts — last tickets remaining
🔥 Raise the Bar: Poems of Diaspora! 🔥
Photos from April’s Open Mic — and we’re back this week with something special.
As part of DIASPORA! 2026 (@diverseartistsnetwork ), Raise the Bar returns to @arnolfiniarts for a powerful night of poetry, bringing together four extraordinary voices representing four different continents.
✨ Daljit Nagra (@daljit.nagra1234 ) — Forward Prize winner and former Chair of the Royal Society of Literature, exploring identity, language and heritage.
✨ Maureen Onwunali (@monwunali_poetry ) — Dublin-born Nigerian poet and two-time national slam champion, with work spanning BBC, TEDx and beyond.
✨ Bohdan Piasecki (@wordrain ) — internationally acclaimed performer and Forward Prize winner, known for taking poetry across stages worldwide.
✨ Chloe Tenesha (@chloe.tenesha ) — Bristol-born poet whose reflective, lyrical work explores faith, identity and connection.
From the South West’s leading live poetry night.
📅 Thursday 7 May 2026 📍 Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA ⏰ 7:30–9:30pm (incl. interval) 🎟 Tickets via link in bio
#RaiseTheBar #DiasporaFest #BristolPoetry
🌍 Raise the Bar: Poems of Diaspora! 🌍
Our Spring show lands at @arnolfiniarts — and this one is not to be missed.
We’re excited to welcome ⭐ Bohdan Piasecki (@wordrain ) ⭐
A truly global performer, Bohdan Piasecki has taken his poetry from underground clubs in Tokyo to theatres in Birmingham, from bookshops in Beijing to tramways in Paris. A Forward Prize winner for Best Single Poem: Performed, his work blends range, intensity and craft — shaped by years on stages around the world.
Founder of the first poetry slam in Poland and now based in Birmingham, Bohdan is also an Assistant Professor in Creative Writing and a leading voice in the UK spoken word scene.
Joining him on the night:
✨ Daljit Nagra (@daljit.nagra1234 ) ✨ Maureen Onwunali (@monwunali_poetry ) ✨ Chloe Tenesha (@chloe.tenesha )
Part of DIASPORA! 2026 festival.
📅 Thursday 7 May 2026 📍 Arnolfini, Bristol ⏰ 7:30–9:30pm 🎟 £8 / £6 concessions / £10 solidarity — tickets via link in bio
🌍 Raise the Bar: Poems of Diaspora! 🌍
Our Spring show lands at @arnolfiniarts — and this one is not to be missed.
We’re excited to welcome ⭐ Daljit Nagra (@daljit.nagra1234 ) ⭐
A major voice in contemporary British poetry, Daljit Nagra is a Forward Prize winner and former Chair of the Royal Society of Literature. A poet, broadcaster and Professor of Creative Writing, his work has been widely celebrated for its energy, invention and cultural insight. With five collections published by Faber & Faber — and a new one, Yiewsley, arriving this May — Daljit continues to shape the landscape of UK poetry.
Joining him on the night:
✨ Maureen Onwunali (@monwunali_poetry ) ✨ Bohdan Piasecki (@wordrain ) ✨ Chloe Tenesha (@chloe.tenesha )
Part of DIASPORA! 2026 festival.
📅 Thursday 7 May 2026 📍 Arnolfini, Bristol ⏰ 7:30–9:30pm 🎟 £8 / £6 concessions / £10 solidarity — tickets via link in bio
