This is a list of poetry events, workshops, groups and readings that meet regularly in venues throughout New Zealand. If you run an event or are planning to, feel free to contact us, so we can include your event in this list: info@poetrysociety.org.nz

Auckland | Christchurch | Cromwell | Dunedin | Golden Bay | Greymouth | Hamilton | Hawke’s Bay | Kapiti | Marlborough | Nelson | Oamaru | Palmerston North | Picton | Porirua | Rotorua | Taupo | Tauranga | Timaru | Wairarapa | Wanaka | Wellington | Whakatane | Whangarei

Auckland

• POETRY LIVE AUCKLAND: Book yourself in to read at Poetry Live, at the Thirsty Dog, 469 Karangahape Rd, Auckland City. Tuesdays 8 p.m. Guest poets, guest musician & open mike. Contact: MCs Simone, Kate, Sophie, Ken, and Matt by email: poetrylive@gmail.com, putting the MC’s name in the subject line.

• 306 OPEN MIKE NIGHT: Standing invitation every Wednesday night, 8-11pm, 306 Bar & Bistro, 306 Onehunga Mall. Poets, Musos, Singers, Poets, Comedians, other performers. The main focus is the acoustic guitar players & singer / songwriters, but all performers welcome. There is a small in house PA System with 2 microphones. Other than that, musicians should bring their own gear. Free entry.

• OPEN MIC NIGHT Waiatarua: 7-10pm, every 2nd Wednesday. Free entry. Elevation Café, 473 Scenic Drive. Poets, singer/songwriters, comedians – original performers encouraged, solos, duos & small ensembles only (sorry no drum kits). PA, mics, stands & percussion supplied, 3 items (max 15 mins) per performer. Performers prize draw. To pre-book a spot, E: fionamcewen@clear.net.nz or enter on the night. For more info or restaurant bookings, call Elevation (09) 814 1919 and email info@elevationcafe.co.nz

• INSIDE.OUT Open Mic for Writers (est. 2012) Open mic readings and performances with guest musicians, once every month. All writers welcome to share fiction, poetry, non-fiction, performance poetry, etcetera, or come as audience. Meet other writers & get updates on what’s on. Five-word challenge with three book prizes.  7pm – 10pm, One2One Café, 121 Ponsonby Rd, Auckland. Email for more info: anitaarlov@hotmail.co.nz

• TITIRANGI POET’S SESSIONS are held at Titirangi Library, 500 Titirangi South Road, between 2 pm and 4pm. on the second Saturday of every month. More info, email: piers@wwandd.co.nz

• Orewa Writers Group meets on the 3^rd Saturday of each month at 1.15pm in Orewa Library, 12 Moana Ave, Orewa. Poets are especially welcome, and we also have an associated poetry critiquing group. Contact Kristin Stock (kmstock@actrix.co.nz) for more details, or just come along.

• nzepc presents LOUNGE. A public reading. All welcome. Old Government House, University of Auckland City Campus, corner Princes St & Waterloo Quadrant. Once a month, starting from March, on a Wednesday evening, from 5.30-7pm. Please check the nzepc events page and what’s new page.

Christchurch

• AIRING CUPBOARD WOMEN’S POETS meet at 10 a.m. every 2 weeks at South Christchurch Library, 66 Colombo Street Street. Ring Lynn Austin, phone 03 384 1346 or email lynnskydance@gmail.com, and Ruth Gardner, phone 03 365 6943 or email rely88@gmail.com
  
  
• THE CANTERBURY POET’S COLLECTIVE Spring Season. Wednesdays at 6.30pm, CPIT Students Association (CPSA) Hall, 5 Madras Street. Canterbury Poets Collective (CPC) presents open mic and guest readers. Audience votes for the Best Open Mic Poet. The programme will be posted when it is available.

• CATALYST POETRY OPEN MIC: First Wednesday of the month, The Twisted Hop, 616 Ferry Rd, Woolston, Christchurch.

• BEAT STREET SESSIONS, Christchurch: Third Thursday of the month at Beat St Cafe, Cnr Barbados & Armagh Sts. 6pm for music and open mic sign-up; 7pm for Guest poets. Entry: $5 if you can.

• SMALL WHITE TEAPOT HAIKU GROUP: Meets regularly 12-2pm on the fourth Tuesday of the month, to hear, discuss and critique our own haiku. We don’t stick strictly to the 5-7-5 format of the Japanese language style; but these guidelines often apply: the seasons, nature, the moment etc, and they are usually written in three short lines. All welcome. There is a cover charge of $3, used to pay room hire. Venue: Avebury House, Evelyn Couzins Ave, Richmond, Christchurch. Contacts: Rosemary: 03 3855274, Barbara: bhstrang@yahoo.com.

• THE CATALYST poetry open mic. Tuesdays at 8pm. Wunderbar, Lyttelton. BYO poetry, creative writing — all welcome.

Cromwell

• CROMWELL WRITERS meet on the last Tuesday of the month in the homes of members on a shared basis. Contact Tom Llandreth on 03 4451352.

Dunedin

• LIVE POETRY WITH THE OCTAGON POETRY COLLECTIVE We meet monthly (most months) in the Dog With Two Tails Cafe and Bar in Moray Place, a few doors up from the Rialto cinema.  At 8pm, on the penultimate Wednesday of the month, one of us hosts an evening of live poetry. Usually we feature two invited guests, who may be local poets of note but we also try to be aware of poets of national and international standing who might welcome an invitation to read. Our open mic is a popular, lively part of the evening, where everyone is welcome to participate. Great friendly, supportive crowd, excellent food and drink available at the counter. For specific details, check out our Facebook page: Octagon Collective/Dog with Two Tails Poetry Readings. To contact us, email octagoncollective@gmail.com and cc: r.blaikie@xtra.co.nz.

Golden Bay

• GOLDEN BAY LIVE POET’S SOCIETY has a monthly Performance Night at the famous Mussel Inn Bush Café at Onekaka. (For dates go to Mussel Inn.) Visiting poets are most welcome. For news of meetings contact convenor Mark Raffills at mark@drycrust.com or 03 544 4975 ext. 210

Greymouth

• WORD OF MOUTH meets every month on the last Wednesday, 7.30-9pm at the Left Bank Art Gallery, 1 Tainui Street. A friendly, enthusiastic gathering of poets and poetry fans. All welcome. Contact Greg O’Connell W: (03) 768 5597 H: (03) 768 5222 M: (027) 759 0531 E: greg@gregoconnell.com

Hamilton

• POET’S ALIVE is currently not holding regular meetings, although we do hope we will again in the future. In the meantime we can add you to our email list. This will keep you up to date with poetry events happening locally, and with competitions, both national and international, for which we receive notifications. If this sounds helpful, contact us at poetsalivenz@gmail.com and we will add you to the mailing list. If you are particularly interested in performance poetry, you might like to contact the organisers of the Hamilton Poetry Slam group via their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/hamslampoetry/

Hawke’s Bay

• HAWKE’S BAY LIVE POETRY SOCIETY meets at 8pm on the second Monday of each month (except January) at the Hastings Community Arts Centre, 106 Russell Street, Hastings. Contact Bill Sutton on 06 844 4196 or email suttb70@gmail.com.

Kapiti

• POET’S TO THE PEOPLE meets at Hightide Cafe, 44 Marine Parade, Paraparaumu Beach, 4­-6pm, on the last Sunday of the month February to November, except October. Guest poet each month. Open mic at 4pm. Snacks and beverages are available. Entry price of $5 covers the poet’s koha and general expenses. Contact Michael Keith mickeith@ihug.co.nz.

Marlborough

• POETRY CORNER: An informal group for lovers of poetry; meets between 6pm and 8.30pm on the first Monday of each month, at various locations. Readers, writers, listeners and performers are all welcome. Come and go as you please during the allotted time. For more information please contact June Bowen, at 03 577 9035.

Nelson

• NELSON LIVE POETS SOCIETY Venue: Nelson Live Poets held 3rd Tuesday of the month at the On Inn Basement Bar, 385 Trafalgar Square East, Nelson. Entry by koha. Contact person Cat Woodward, cat.woodward@outlook.com

Oamaru

• WAITAKI WRITERS GROUP
  The Waitaki Writers Group meets 2nd Monday monthly from Feb – December, 1.30pm St Johns Rooms, Exe Street, Oamaru.

  Our mission is encourage writers and poets in the Waitaki District.

  We have a mix of writers and poets as members who attend meetings to present work for feedback, we run an Annual Writing and Poetry competition and collaborate with other groups for Poetry Jams and Slams.

  Contract secretary – brucecostello@yahoo.co.nz for more info. New members or interested bods most welcome.

  Instagram – Waitakiwritersgroup

Picton

• PICTON POETS: (founded by Ernest Berry in 1994) meet on the third Wednesday of each month at 10.30 am at the Picton Library.  Poets share their own original poetry and comment in an encouraging way.  New members and visitors to Marlborough are welcome.

Palmerston North

• STAND UP POETRY: Open mic poetry evening and special guest poet. First Wednesday of the month, 7-9 pm, Sound & Vision Zone, Level 1, Central Library. Organiser:  Helen Lehndorf. For more information on this and other happenings, contact (06) 351 4100; email: promotions@pncc.govt.nz; website http://www.citylibrary.pncc.govt.nz/ Contact person at the library is Jenny Veller.

Porirua

• POETRY AND MUSIC AT THE METRO. First Sunday of every month, 3pm-6pm at the Metropolitan Restaurant and Bar, 7 Lydney Place, Porirua City Centre (opp. Railway Station, behind Bus stop). Programme: 3pm-5pm Open mic for any performance poetry, song, instrumental, original or covers, dance etc, any genre – traditional or contemporary, pop, rock, folk, rap, whatever. 5pm-6pm features invited guest artist – poet, musician, singer, band, soloist or combination. Come along and put your name on the blackboard and have a go, or just listen and enjoy. Koha collection taken for guest artist. Food and drink available from bar. We are always looking for guest artists whether musos, poets, dancers, or any other type of performers. For more information contact Phil O’Connell (04)237-9902; mobile 027 786 5542; email philjoconnell@gmail.com if you are interested and available.

Rotorua

• ROTORUA MAD POETS meet every Wednesday night at the Rotorua Public Library at 6:00 pm. All poets and general public welcome to attend. Light refreshments available afterwards. 7.30-9.30 p.m

Taupo

• LIVE POETS: A friendly group of Taupo poets and writers who meet for informal readings at 5.15pm on the last Wednesday of each month at the Taupo Museum. These are open to all, and readings of original poems and those by favourite authors are encouraged. Email Geni for more information genirayjohnston@gmail.com
  • There are monthly Poetry Workshops at members’ homes, which look in depth at poems written by members with a view to improving the skill of members in an encouraging atmosphere.
  • Children’s Poetry Readings are held every school holidays.
  • We read at local Rest homes on dates which suit the Rest Homes.
  • We also organise occasional guest poets and Poetry Day events for Taupo.

Tauranga

• TAURANGA WRITERS: A self-help group established over 40 years ago. We get together monthly to exchange experience and expertise, discuss tactics and techniques and to share work in progress for constructive criticism. We meet on the first Thursday of the month at 7.00 pm, at The Alzheimer’s Society House, 116, 13th Avenue, Tauranga. Contact Jenny Argante on 07 578 5757 and 022 053 48 68, or email jenny.argante@gmail.com. All genres and new members always welcome. Enquirers may request a complimentary copy of Update, our monthly newsletter, to find out what we’re all about.

Timaru

• For poetry events, or to contact Timaru or South Canterbury poets, contact Karalyn Joyce at karalynjoyce@xtra.co.nz ph. 03 6147858.

Wairarapa

• WAIRARAPA WORD meets on the first Sunday of the month, 3-5pm, at Almo Books, High St, Carterton. All welcome: poets, novelists, lyricists, story-tellers, more. We read aloud our original work and the work of others. Free entry. Cash bar.

Wanaka

• POETRY IN MOTION happens on the first Wednesday of the month at Meow, in Edward St. It is an inclusive event which aims to raise the profile of poetry and spoken word as a fun, engaging art form and challenge people’s notions of what poetry is. This is a forum for sharing ideas, laughter, tears and views on life with a community of people who love words and performance in a lively bar atmosphere. No open mic as such, but people can book a ‘Stage’ slot during the first half of the show and read/perform for 5–6 minutes.
• POETRY AT THE FRINGE: 4–6pm on the 3rd Sunday of every month at the The Fringe Bar, Allen Street, Wellington City. Free entry. Features an Open Mic session, Guest Poet and a musical interlude. For information contact cellphone 02041362989 or https://www.facebook.com/poetryatthefringe

Whakatane

• LIVE POETS meet at 7.30pm on the third Monday of the month, in the home of a member. Contact: Margaret Wilson at 07 3072308 (you can leave a message).