Whether you love listening to poetry, or enjoy writing it - Come on down to Macclesfield's friendly and unpredictable poetry slam!

Founded for National Poetry Day in 2012 and still going strong, Verse vs Verse gives a chance for all local poets to perform their material in front of a friendly audience. Simply bring your poems and read them with passion, pathos or humour to win over judges in the audience - The last poet standing walks away with our terrific trophy!

Everyone is welcome - In the past, first-time poets have beaten former poet laureates! All material is equally good and in the past we've had poems ranging from the heart-breaking to the hilarious, covering subjects ranging from pub toilets to politics, from bondage to the Big Issue!

No registration or ticket is necessary - Just turn up with your poems and put your name down to compete. The competition begins around 9:00, so any poets not registered by that point will not be able to compete. Entry is £3 per poet, and all poets are advised to bring along enough material for three or four 3-minute rounds.

How it works:

1. Judges are picked at random from the audience
2. Each poet gets three minutes to perform as much (or as little) original material as they wish
3. Judges anonymously give each poet an overall score
4. At the end of each round, the highest-scoring poets advance to the next round
5. The highest-scoring poet in the final round wins!