There are already a number of extremely good poetry forums in existence - and I'm a committed member of several of them - so why start another?

Basically because I don't feel that live poetry in the UK is being catered for by any of those other forums. I do know of some live or performance poetry message boards for local areas or particular groups of poets, but none that are national in flavour or that cater specifically for performers who want to network across the UK or advertise their gigs to a wide audience.

The idea behind the POETS ON FIRE Forum is that you, the poets or the fans of live poetry & spoken word, can use these forums to find out what's going on around the entire country and also to make friends, start networking and get into lively discussions with other people like yourself. If there are any other people like yourself, that is.

Start as many topics as you like and post as many replies as you can. There are no limits and I am unlikely to interfere in a heated discussion unless you're being libellous, offensive or obscene. No excuses of 'freedom of speech' or 'that's just a personal opinion' will be accepted. If I consider your post unacceptable on any or all of those counts, I will warn you and edit or delete it. This forum is subject to similar rules by the owners.

So be sensible, please don't post annoying spam or upset people by being unnecessarily rude, but do please talk to each other about live poetry and, most of all, ENJOY yourselves. For those interested in the 'Rules' for this forum, there's a clickable link near the top left-hand side of the main forum board.

Jane