Medway Poetry Night

15/08/2026

Happy to announce our Book of the Month is Hafsa Khokar's poetry collection - Saturn and her moons.

Find out more about the book here - medwaypoetrynight.com

09/08/2026

Counting down to August 22, 2026. Come perform your poems and listen to our feature poet for the month.

Time - 2pm
Venue - Nucleus arts centre - 272 High Street, Chatham, Kent (ME4 4BP)
Tickets here - medwaypoetrynight.com

About our feature:
Connor Sansby is a Poet, Author, Festival Producer and Editor-in-Chief for Whisky & Beards Publishing. Since 2013, Connor has performed across the South of England, including Margate Soul Festival, Wise Words Festival and London’s Let’s Kill It. He is the winner of the 2024 Rosemary McLeish Poetry Prize, and the recipient of an Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice Grant. His work has been nominated for three Saboteur Awards and has been shortlisted for the DYSPLA Storymakers Residency.

Since the release of his debut collection “Promise Me The Journey Back” in April 2018, Connor has been reconnecting with his hometown and his relationship with the sea. His second collection “Where The Land Forgets Itself” was released in 2025 and is touring nationally.

Routed in the American beat tradition, Connor’s work focuses on the underclass, bringing a digital harshness to Imagism to discuss contemporary society from the personal lens. One part Sophia Coppola movie, one part Bukowski at his least toxic, and two parts sea water.

Supporting poets in the Medway

03/08/2026

Join us on August 22 at 2pm for an afternoon of poetry with Connor Sansby.

medwaypoetrynight.com

14/07/2026

Delighted to announce that we are back in August with an afternoon (not night) of poetry and also some amazing art (watch out for our announcement later!)

Our feature poet is Connor Sansby and below are details:

Time - 2pm
Venue - Nucleus arts centre - 272 High Street, Chatham, Kent (ME4 4BP)
Tickets here - medwaypoetrynight.com

About our feature:
Connor Sansby is a Poet, Author, Festival Producer and Editor-in-Chief for Whisky & Beards Publishing. Since 2013, Connor has performed across the South of England, including Margate Soul Festival, Wise Words Festival and London’s Let’s Kill It. He is the winner of the 2024 Rosemary McLeish Poetry Prize, and the recipient of an Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice Grant. His work has been nominated for three Saboteur Awards and has been shortlisted for the DYSPLA Storymakers Residency.

Since the release of his debut collection “Promise Me The Journey Back” in April 2018, Connor has been reconnecting with his hometown and his relationship with the sea. His second collection “Where The Land Forgets Itself” was released in 2025 and is touring nationally.

Routed in the American beat tradition, Connor’s work focuses on the underclass, bringing a digital harshness to Imagism to discuss contemporary society from the personal lens. One part Sophia Coppola movie, one part Bukowski at his least toxic, and two parts sea water.

This month's cover art is by the amazing Sam Fentiman-Hall

14/03/2026

We are set for a March event but slightly earlier in the day.

Join us for a morning of feature and open mic poetry performances on Saturday, March 28, 2026.

Time - 10am
Venue - Nucleus arts centre - 272 High Street, Chatham, Kent (ME4 4BP)

Tickets here - https://medwaypoetrynight.com/

Our feature poet for March is Azalia Suhaimi.

She is a creative writer whose work spans poetry and experimental poetic prose. She is currently completing an MA in Contemporary Creative Writing at Northeastern University London, where she is developing a work of psychological literary fiction.

Over the past two decades, she has self-published poetry chapbooks and zines, and her poems and essays have appeared in anthologies in the UK, Malaysia and the US. She has performed poetry in the UK and Malaysia, and also virtually to a global audience during the Covid lockdown.

Alongside writing, Azalia occasionally works across visual forms including illustration, photography, and experimental short films. Her ongoing short-form experimental writing and bookish reflections are published on Substack.

Supporting poets in the Medway

06/03/2026

Happy to announce our book of the month for March.

Questionable Views by Levi Ames.

Link here - https://medwaypoetrynight.com/

16/01/2026

Happy to announce our first show of 2026. Our feature poet is the amazing Zack Davies.

Date - January 31, 2026
Time - 2pm
Venue - 272 High Street (Nucleus Arts Centre Meeting Room) Chatham, ME4 4BP
Tickets here - medwaypoetrynight.com

Zack Davies is a Kent-based poet who runs the Gravesend open mic night Holy Moly. He writes nonsense about politics, meditation and cotton buds, and rhymes words when he feels like it, which is often. He has written four books, which he guards jealously against being sold. Find more details at https://zackdavies.wordpress.com/ or follow Holy Moly at https://www.instagram.com/holymolypoetry/

13/01/2026

Thawing for the new year and happy to share our book of the month of February with you.

Roaming Reflections by Maria Therese Gregory Williams should be on your list of poetry books to read.

Read more about it here - https://medwaypoetrynight.com/

26/10/2025

Happy to announce that for November we are partnering up with Medway River Lit for an evening of poetry at the Huguenot Museum in Rochester on Monday November 10, 2025 from 7.20pm.

There will be an open mic, so come along with your poems if you'd like to perform. Or you can just come and watch.

Tickets and other details here:
https://www.medwayriverlit.co.uk/event-details-registration/nights-at-the-museum-medway-poetry-night-featuring-chika-jones

12/09/2025

We are back on September 20 with an amazing feature poet and as always an Open mic session that stays with you long after the last poem has been heard.

Date - September 20, 2025
Time - 2pm
Venue - 272 High Street (Nucleus Arts Centre Meeting Room) Chatham, ME4 4BP
Tickets here - medwaypoetrynight.com

Elizabeth Akinsehinwa, fondly called Beth, is a poet and people professional, passionate about using words as tools for expression, connection, and empowerment. She is the founder of Punpoets Media, a creative platform amplifying emerging voices and building vibrant poetry communities.

Beth is the author of two powerful poetry collections: In His Care, a poignant exploration of child abuse and Filtered Love, which reflects on love, faith, and imperfection. Through her work and leadership in poetry-centred projects, she continues to nurture spaces where stories heal, voices rise, and creativity thrives.

See you there!