The Railway Inn presents
Poetry Platform
Winchester's maddest open mic welcomes writers and audience of old and new to our celebration of words and all their joy.
Poetry Platform is proud to be joining forces again with Winchester Poetry Festival for a very special edition of their open-mic night to kick off 2025.
We are proud to present as guest poet for the evening – Jenny McRobert, the winner of the inaugural Kathryn Bevis Prize 2024 with her poem ‘Oslo June 2022’
Jenny McRobert’s journey from Psychologist to poet has been her most enjoyable. Her poems have appeared in many publications. In 2024 she won The Kathryn Bevis Prize (best poem by a Hampshire poet) and the International Welsh Poetry Competition in 2023. She was shortlisted for both The Bridport Prize and The Rialto. Her debut collection, Silver Samovar, was published by The High Window Press in 2021 and was shortlisted for the Poetry Book Awards.
Open-mic sign up from 7:30pm.
Participants are invited to read a poem that is inspired by, or was encouraged by, the late Kathryn Bevis, if they wish.
The Kathryn Bevis Prize celebrates the strongest poem by a Hampshire-based poet entered into Winchester Poetry Prize. The inaugural Kathryn Bevis Prize was judged by Clare Shaw and the winner was announced on Sat 5th Oct as part of Winchester Poetry Day 2024.
The winner receives a year of development opportunities and coaching to help them develop their poetic career, just as Kathryn supported so many new writers to develop their own talent. Read more about the Kathryn Bevis Prize here: https://www.winchesterpoetryfestival.org/kathrynbevisprize