An evening of poetry, guitars, and late-night conversation.

We’ll begin, as always, with the open mic; voices gathering one by one, sharing poems that move between humour, heartbreak, and everything in between.

Then a feature from Serena Arthur, whose work feels like catching up with a friend over a glass of wine: familiar, thoughtful, and quietly moving.

After the break, the room shifts.

Words give way to sound gently with an ambient set from Deerbus. Something slow, atmospheric, and immersive, before building into a live performance from The Sleeves, a duo whose music lives in the spaces most people overlook: the pauses, the silences, the moments where something almost happens.

It’s not just a poetry night, and it’s not just a gig. It’s something in between.

6 open mic slots available
sign up on the door (5 minutes per poet)

Food & Drink:

A selection of food and drink will be available on the night. Our drinks offering includes a beautifully curated collection of wines, handpicked for the week by Diego Amaro, as well as a selection of in-house cocktails from our distillery, Vault Aperitivo. You can also find a selection of soft drinks for those of you who want to take it a little bit easier.

There will be a selection of bar snacks, and there will be a cicchetti bar available to order from on the night, so come hungry!

About the Artists

Serena Arthur

Serena Arthur is a London-based poet and former Birmingham Young Poet Laureate who has performed her work across the UK in venues, schools, and creative spaces. Alongside her writing, she works as a Commissioning Editor at Footnote Press.

Her poetry is rooted in everyday moments: friendships, city life, memory, and the small details that often go unnoticed. Warm, reflective, and quietly powerful, her work invites audiences back into their own experiences, offering something that feels both personal and deeply familiar.

Deerbus

Deerbus is an Essex based composer and musician combining live instrumentation and electronics to create moody lush soundscapes that draw inspiration from the pastoral and liminal spaces of the English countryside. She has previously had work featured in games as well as remixing and producing for other artists and is set to release an album of piano compositions this year..

The Sleeves

The Sleeves are the duo of Jack Cooper and Tara Cunningham, formed through a shared instinctive approach to guitar and sound. Their music moves between structure and improvisation, shaped by a sensitivity to space, silence, and subtle interplay.

Blending voice and guitar in ways that resist easy definition, their work feels both intimate and expansive, drawing on familiar traditions while existing in a space entirely their own. What emerges is something delicate, immersive, and quietly magnetic.

Where?

Chater’s, 17 Church Street, Saffron Walden, CB10 1JW

When?

Wednesday 8 July
Doors @ 6pm
Words @ 7pm

Come alone or with friends. Stay for a drink. Listen closely.

Stanzas Under the Sky is an open-air evening of poetry set against the slow fade of a summer sunset.

Join us at Nina’s Farm Café for a night of live words, warm air, and shared stillness, where strangers gather, listen, and become a community. Expect an open mic full of honest, unfiltered voices, soft fairy lights as dusk settles in, and the gentle hum of conversation between sets.

And, we’ll be feeding you properly: Smash and Grab will be on site with his smashburger van (yes, it’s as good as it sounds), alongside drinks from the café to keep everything flowing. So come hungry!

How It Works:

Sign up on the door if you’d like to read; names are pulled at random from the hat throughout the evening. Each speaker has up to 5 minutes and is welcome to share their own poetry, read on behalf of someone else, or perform a piece by a poet they love.

There’s no pressure, just a gentle, welcoming space to try something out or share something you love. Of course, you’re equally welcome to sit back, eat, drink, and take it all in.

Rough Running Order:

6pm — Doors open
Arrive, get a drink, grab a burger, find your spot

7pm — Open mic begins
Names drawn at random throughout the evening

8:15 pm — Short interval
Refill, reset, and watch the light start to change

8:30 pm – sunset (~9:15 pm) — Final readings
The sky softens, the poems land a little deeper

9:30 pm — Close

Where:

Nina’s Farm Café
Waldegraves Farmhouse, Waldegraves, Widdington, Saffron Walden, CB11 3RZ

When:

Saturday 18th July