Zarf at Wharf Chambers, Leeds

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

Visit now

Zarf

21 March 2018

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Writer Eley Williams.
Writer Eley Williams.
Book now

If your whistle has been whetted by February’s The Other Room, when Zarf editor Calum Gardner and Zarf contributor and pamphleteer Jazmine Linklater made up two-thirds of the line-up, then head over the hills for one of the regular nights held by the poetry magazine team at the wonderful Wharf Chambers co-operative arts venue. (Zarf Editions also published Vicky Sparrow, appearing at The Other Room’s 10th birthday – and final outing – in April.) The Leeds-based literature night serves up poetry, text, speaking and the written weird, and features live performances by contributors to Zarf magazine and other special guests from around the country.

Zarf 9 is on Friday 23 February and welcomes three writers to the stage: one from Lancashire (Jessica Tillings, co-organiser of Ormskirk’s Reverb reading series); one originally from Lancashire but now in the Big Smoke (Tom Crompton, whose work can be found most recently in para.textadjacent pineapple and, of course, Zarf), and one from the Big Smoke, Eley Williams, whose poetry pamphlet Frit is available on Sad Press and whose short story collection, Attrib. and other stories (Influx Press), was listed among Best Books of 2017 by The GuardianThe Telegraph and The New Statesman, and was chosen by Ali Smith as one of 2017’s best debut fiction at the Cambridge Literary Festival.

Zarf 10 on Thursday 21 March hosts the poets Maya Chowdhry and Nathan Walker, among others. Maya’s collection The Seamstress and the Global Garment is on Manchester’s Crocus Books while Leeds-based Peepal Tree Press published her most recent, Fossil. She collaborated on Manchester Literature Festival’s immersive Tales from the Towpath project, shortlisted for the 2014 New Media Writing Prize, and she has been published in numerous anthologies, including Out of Bounds (Bloodaxe), and magazines such as Ambit. York-based Cumbrian Nathan is a performance artist and poet with work in 3:AM, Gorse, Datableed, Alterity Studies Journal and Huellkurven, and publications including Action Score Generator (If p then q Press – who celebrate a decade in July. Watch this space for more).

What's on at Wharf Chambers

Sans Froid
MusicLeeds
Sans Froid at Wharf Chambers

Smart, eccentric, and gleefully out of step with trends – Bristol quartet Sans Froid bring their tangled, piano-led art-rock to Leeds.

From £8.00

Where to go near Zarf at Wharf Chambers, Leeds

The Warehouse In Holbeck
Leeds
Event venue
The Warehouse In Holbeck

Run by acclaimed theatre company Slung Low, The Warehouse in Holbeck is home to boundary-pushing performance and community projects.

Leeds
Event venue
The Attic

Tucked away above the bustle of Merrion Street, The Attic is one of Leeds’ most distinctive small venues – intimate, unpretentious, and steeped in DIY spirit.

The Chevin is a great place for visitors to do lots of different activities and is open all year round with 5 free car parks. To help you find out whatís best for you we have divided this section up into some of these different activities.Please be aware that The Chevin is a working estate so you may see vehicles including timber-extraction lorries using some of the tracks.Self-guided WalksThe Chevin is a big place and there is a good network of paths to make your own circular walk, but if you want to follow a themed trail there is a Geology Trail, Heritage Time Trail and a route for Tree Spotters.Bikes & HorsesThere is an extensive bridleway network on the eastern parts of The Chevin that caters for a range of abilities.Orienteering and GeocachingTwo orienteering courses and a number of geocache sites are waiting to be discovered.Climbing & BoulderingThere are many fantastic crags for climbing and boulders for bouldering.Mobility Scooters & Wheelchairs
Leeds
Restaurant
Oporto

For many years, Oporto has been a beacon of alternative energy on Leeds’ Call Lane – serving up great food and drink alongside resident DJs and live music.

Manchester
Gallery
Black Redstart Gallery

Black Redstart Gallery is located in the Northern Quarter and runs a busy programme of exhibitions from emerging and established artists.

RJC Dance Xmas Show
Leeds
RJC Dance

RJC Dance, based in Chapeltown, Leeds, champions youth and education, leading inclusive Black dance in the North through national partnerships.

Manchester
Gallery
texture mcr

Possibly one of the city’s most mysterious art galleries, texture is a small and perfectly-formed independent space in Ardwick.

The Beacon at Cliffe Castle Park
Bradford
Park
Cliffe Castle Park

Cliffe Castle Park hosts the Beacon, a stunning performance space that will be touring the district throughout Bradford UK City of Culture 2025.

What's on: Literature

LiteratureWest Yorkshire
Poetry at the Dusty Miller

Poetry at the Dusty Miller is a now regular night with invited readers, organised by poets Carola Luther and Ian Humphreys in the Coiners’ Room in the Mytholmroyd pub.

Free entry
Lorna Goodison
LiteratureManchester
Poets & Players at Burgess Foundation

Poets & Players is a must-go for lovers of words and music, presenting poets established and emerging, with the autumn season kicking off with headline poet Lorna Goodison.

Free entry
LiteratureManchester
Nikita Gill at Feel Good Club

Enter the Underworld with internationally bestselling poet Nikita Gill as she discusses her “propulsive, electrifying and enraging” new book Hekate.

From £18.99

Culture Guides

Cinema in the North

This month we recommend a season of Film noir, cult Australian movies and a huge celebration of DIY community cinema.

Author portrait
Literature Events in the North

Our latest round-up features plenty of one-off live literature events to wrap your ears about, so get those diaries ticking over...

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

This season’s theatre is gloriously eclectic: from radical cabaret and reinvented classics to new musicals and boundary-pushing performance.

Sprints
Music in the North

10 fresh shows across Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool, threading together noise, ritual, euphoria and release in all their messy, beautiful forms.

Detail of an abstract sculpture, with burned materials and rusty chicken wire at the centre, with rusted metal bars bent around it.
Exhibitions in the North

Chocolate fountains, beautiful batiks and medieval marginalia - this month's supersized Exhibitions Guide has it all.