Platform Poetry

RS is one of the co-organisers of this regular poetry & music event in Fife, alongside Beth McDonough, Keren Macpherson, Jean Johnstone & Emil Thompson.

Platform was founded in 2013 by poet Lindsay Macgregor and musician John Hargreaves, and was held at Off the Rails Arthouse in Ladybank, Fife until 2019. Lindsay and John handed the reins to the current organising team, which then also included the late poet Brian Johnstone. When Platform returned after the 2020 hiatus, it settled in its current venue of The Larick Centre in Tayport, Fife. 

Platform holds five programmed events each year in February, April, June, September & November, usually on the last Saturday of the month, 2-4pm. Each Platform features two invited guest poets and a musician. It also occasionally hosts interdisciplinary collaborations and some in-conversation features.

Platform supports emerging and newer poets alongside well-known and established names, with a view to supporting a diversity of voices; including local writers and occasional guests from further afield. Previous guests are too many to mention, but have included Douglas Dunn, Don Paterson, Anna Crowe, John Glenday, Stewart Sanderson, Andy Jackson, Vahid Davar, Victoria MacKenzie, Judith Taylor, Stewart Conn, Marcas Mac an Tuairneir, Paula Jennings, Niall Campbell, Jon Plunkett, Anne Pia, Taylor Strickland, MacGillivray, Garry MacKenzie, and many many more... 

In 2023 Platform started recording the sessions, led by our in-house sound engineer Emil Thompson. A new album of Platform recordings (poets & musical guests) is released every June with Souterrain Sounds, which you can listen to over on Bandcamp.

And new from 2026 we introduced Platform Preview, a curated shorter reading spot for newer and seasoned writers alike - anyone who has new work to test or share, and/or might be reading with us for a full set further down the line. As with the main readers, we tend to programme the Preview spots quite far in advance - but it's also a way for us to get to know writers we haven't met yet (and vice versa!). If you'd like to give us a wave for a possible future Preview slot, email info@rebeccajoysharp.com 

How to find us:
Promotions are pretty low-key (we all do this on a voluntary basis): we make a Facebook event page for every session (search 'Platform Poetry at the Larick Centre'), and the forthcoming session will always be listed on this page, below. The best way to never miss an announcement is by joining the emailing list: contact Beth McDonough - beth.mcdonough2@virginmedia.com