Write Out Loud has had another record-busting month. Almost 1,000 visits per day to this site in October – 30,616 in total - from a record 12,339 unique individual users, a bulging Gig Guide, record numbers of profiles, poem postings (blogs) and comments/discussions … Open-mic, poetry, live-lit and similar grassroots events are booming – in spite of official money-wasting of Olympian proportions on fat-arts organisations reinforcing the cultural divide.

Why do they (you) come? Because this stuff matters. Creativity is good for you – for your health and well-being. Thousands of people are putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboards as they realise they have as much right to express themselves as anyone else; then getting off their settees and toddling down to their local poetry night; or perhaps poetry-with-music-film-story-theatre. How is this possible? Because Write Out Loud helps them find their nearest from the 500+ events per month across the UK right here on our grassroots literature and performance world’s bestest gig guide.

Apart from the odd, hugely-appreciated donation, we get none of the thousands spent on other organisations. Our ISP costs increase with usage since we shifted to a bigger server to avoid the spikes we used to suffer. We are run by VERY hardworking volunteers who care about the difference this stuff makes to the lives of individuals and to the health and well-being of the nation. Think that sounds pompous? Nah, you know it’s true. Creativity is part of a balanced life, not a luxury the nation cannot afford because it has bailed out the bankers:

Bankers failed

Bankers wailed

Bankers bailed.

When will this read

‘bankers assailed

bankers nailed

justice prevailed’?

I had a little niggle about the dearth of political poetry on these pages recently. It was definitely alive and well at the Speech Motion open mic night in Stoke Newington on Sunday night. Read my mini-review, then get yourselves there.

We need more help with running the gig guide and the rest of the website. If you know anyone with data-processing or moderating skills, some time on their hands and a desire to help this stuff keep on growing so more people can reap the personal and collective benefits, please email julian@writeoutloud.net.