WHAT THE DICKENS: Congratulations to WOL regular David Mellows, the first to flag the underlying theme for our monthly editions this year. His powers of perception were rewarded with an ABC Music CD of Charles Dickens ghost stories … that might be handy come October!

As the ’80s music continues to power our writing prompts, March picks up from the broken hearts and romance gone wrong of February’s ‘Tainted Love’ with a ‘Road to Nowhere’. We promise, things will get brighter down the track!

We were also very pleased to see a handful of new faces in the crowd and on the stage.

Wordsmiths are invited to explore the themes or simply ignore them altogether. This is a great opportunity to road test new material, celebrate a success or share some inspiration, or simply enjoy a diverse range of spoken word — poetry, prose or storytelling; read or recited; your own work or someone else’s.

Date: Thursday March 19

Time: Doors open about 6.30pm, words from 7pm

Venue: The Printers Room, in the basement of Sebastiaans at the corner of Mair and Lydiard streets, Ballarat. Enter from Mair. Note: the venue is stair-free. Take in the air in the beer garden. Enjoy the show from couches, the tables or a seat by the bar.

Performances: Sign up on the night – a maximum of 5 minutes each.

Eat and drink: The full menu is available, as well as a $20 two-course meal deal, with bar service.

Cost: Free, with a gold coin donation appreciated.

Keep in touch: at facebook.com/wordsoutloud or join our mailing list.

January’s Words Out Loud, with a theme of “Great Southern Land”, raised $111.85 in the donation jar for the Victorian Bushfire Appeal. We were so grateful for the generosity, and have topped that up to an even $150.

Bushfires and environmental degradation were a common theme on the night. If you’re on Facebook, Megan J. Riedl has posted a video of the powerful poem she performed on the night, “Cartographers of Othering“.

We point out that fires have affected each state and territory, and continue to threaten. Also drought and floods. So the season of giving is far from over.

On an arguably brighter note, February’s theme is “Tainted Love”. Wordsmiths are invited to explore the theme or simply ignore it altogether.

This is a great opportunity to road test new material, celebrate a success or share some inspiration, or simply enjoy a diverse range of spoken word — poetry, prose or storytelling; read or recited; your own work or someone else’s.

Date: Thursday February 20

Time: Doors open about 6.30pm, words from 7pm

Venue: The Printers Room, in the basement of Sebastiaans at the corner of Mair and Lydiard streets, Ballarat. Enter from Mair. Note: the venue is stair-free. Take in the air in the beer garden. Enjoy the show from couches, the tables or a seat by the bar.

Performances: Sign up on the night – a maximum of 5 minutes each.

Eat and drink: The full menu is available, as well as a $20 two-course meal deal, with bar service.

Cost: Free, with a gold coin donation appreciated.

Keep in touch: at facebook.com/wordsoutloud or join our mailing list.