Liverpool’s Liver Bards are looking to have regular guest MCs at future meetings, and are seeking volunteers. Organisers Steve Regan and Dave Costello usually divide the MC-ing duties up between themselves but now they want to give other poets a chance to run this rumbustious open mic night.

If you’d like to have a go, come to Liver Bards at the Ship and Mitre pub, central Liverpool, this coming Monday night, 16 July, from 8pm and speak to either Steve or Dave. They are also considering having the occasional guest MC at the long-running Bards night across the river Mersey in New Brighton.

Bards and Liver Bards founder Steve Regan said: “There are many different styles of MC-ing at poetry nights – the funny, the supportive, the wildly flamboyant – but we also need our MCs to exercise control of the timing of poets’ performance slots (five minutes, with each poet usually getting two slots in the course of the evening).

“And our MCs need to politely enforce the Bards and Liver Bards’ somewhat unusual rule of ‘no preamble’ to poetry performance slots – ie, we ask poets to just do their poems and eschew any rambling introductions. That way everyone gets maximum performance time.”

If you fancy MC-ing come to the Liver Bards on Monday 16 July. The Ship and Mitre is in Dale Street (L2 2JH), just five minutes’ walk from Lime Street rail station and Moorfields rail station.

Or phone Steve Regan on 07764 615069, or leave a message on his WOL profile.