the mays

the mays xviii is born

posted by: lizzie.
categories: exciting
June 19th, 2010, 22:18

The mays xviii arrived in the nick of time for our launch party on Thursday morning. Here it is in all its glory:


First Mays Reading, 2nd Dec 2009, The Poster


The mays xviii, one day old.

Garden Party

posted by: lizzie.
categories: events, exciting
June 15th, 2010, 8:13

We are very pleased to announce the impending arrival of the mays xviii.

All are warmly invited to the launch party, which will be held from 11am to 2pm on Thursday, June 17th in the Scholar’s Garden of St John’s College, Cambridge. As well as providing another May Week opportunity for eating, drinking and possible sunburn, this will be the first chance to buy a copy of the book (and last chance to get it at the reduced price).

Guest edited by Amit Chaudhuri, Tom Raworth and Benjamin Sommerhalder, the mays xviii will feature work by:

Annabel Banks
Louise Benson
Cathy Bueker
Jo Davis
Charlotte Geater
Yuddi Gershon
Tom Gilliver
Jennifer Gutteridge
Edward Herring
Adam Hines-Green
Briony Jones
Marc Justin Cinnani
Eleanor Kendrick
Laura Kilbride
Toby Lloyd
Alice Malin
Sascha Morrell
Peter Morrelli
Benjamin Morris
marcelle olivier
Richard Osmond
Praveen Paranagamage
Pritika Pradhan
Julia Rampen
Miguel Santa Clara
Jessica Sequeira
Arianna Shahvisi
George Shapter
Dylan Spencer-Davidson
Katherine Spence
Andrew Spyrou
Katherine Waters
Chenting Zou

We would like to thank everyone who submitted work. This year’s submissions were remarkable both in quantity and calibre – as the guest editors’ praise makes clear. We look forward to seeing many of you on Thursday morning.

Here is a link to the Facebook event.

EXCITING NEWS

posted by: lizzie.
categories: exciting, submissions
May 29th, 2010, 12:35

We are very proud to announce our three (!) guest editors for the mays xviii: Amit Chaudhuri, Tom Raworth and Benjamin Sommerhalder. They have just finished compiling an exciting and extremely varied selection of work, and we strongly suspect that this year’s mays will be one of the best yet.

We’re in the process of assembling this selection into a very, very beautiful book. You can pre-order your copy at a reduced price here (save on shipping by picking it up at the launch party or Varsity offices in May Week).

Priced to move: Mays XVIII @ £9 on pre-order

Priced to move: Mays XVIII @ £9 on pre-order

Read, read, read

posted by: elliot.
categories: submissions
April 20th, 2010, 22:54

Thankyou to all who submitted work for Mays XVIII. There was a big response – about 300 poems and hundreds of thousands of words of prose.

Somewhere in Cambridge, at this very moment, a boffin or two may be reading what you sent us.

We’ll let you know as soon as we have finalised the selection process.

About time you were sending ‘em in

posted by: elliot.
categories: submissions
March 9th, 2010, 0:22
Our posters are up and with the deadline approaching the editorial inbox is already besieged by the printed workings of Oxbridge’s imagination.

But the only way you’ll be seeing your work in Mays XVIII is if you send it to us before the end of the month. Here are a few DOS AND DONTS:

Oh, please…

Do send in anything exciting or challenging or beautiful or provocative or original that can be printed in 2D. Apparently someone once submitted a (dead) trout as their ‘Original Composition’ for Tripos. They hadn’t worded the rubric carefully enough and so they had to mark the trout. I heard it got a mid-II.2. NB: Fauna will NOT be considered for publication.

Do stop writing at:  **** midnight on 31st March, 2010  ****

Do send your work, as an attachment, to mays@varsity.co.uk with the word ‘submission’ in the subject line.  Include your name, college and email address in the body of your message, but not in the attachment – submissions are considered anonymously.

Do check out our short film competition – see below for more information.

But whatever you do…

Don’t send in more than three submissions.

Don’t give us any previously published work. Well done, but we’re not interested.

Don’t send us anything unless you’re a current student at Cambridge or Oxford University. 

UNACCEPTABLE: Alaskan Rainbow Trout

******************************************************

Short Film Competition

The Mays is no longer just about poetry, prose and pictures. Because this year – right now in fact – we are launching the very first Mays Short Film Competition.

Submissions of films under one hour in length (though they can be much shorter) and of any genre are invited from anyone currently studying at the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge. These may be narrative, documentary, impressionistic or otherwise.

The closing date for the competition is April 26 2010.

Our panel of boffins will assess all submissions and shortlisted entries will be screened at a maysMovies showcase evening, at the end of which the winner will be announced.

Hard copy entries may be mailed to: Elliot Ross, St John’s College, Cambridge, CB2 1TP

Links to online versions can also be sent in to: mays@varsity.co.uk

The Mays Short Film Competition 2010

posted by: elliot.
categories: film, submissions
February 20th, 2010, 14:01

The Mays is no longer just about poetry and prose. Because this year – right now in fact – we are launching the very first Mays Short Film Competition.

Submissions of films under one hour in length (though they can be much shorter) and of any genre are invited from anyone currently studying at the Universities of Oxford or Cambridge. These may be narrative, documentary, impressionistic or otherwise.

The closing date for the competition is April 26 2010.

Our panel of boffins will assess all submissions and shortlisted entries will be screened at a maysMovies showcase evening, at the end of which the winner will be announced.

Hard copy entries may be mailed to: Elliot Ross, St John’s College, Cambridge, CB2 1TP

Links to online versions of films can also be sent to: mays@varsity.co.uk

It certainly won’t be the last time the prize is contested – the Mays is here to stay and we plan to run the film competition for as long as students are making good films in Cambridge or Oxford. But there will only ever be one inaugural winner. You?

multimedia experience

posted by: lizzie.
categories: events, exciting
January 13th, 2010, 20:21

if you missed our reading on the second of december – or if you want to relive it – you can go to the readings page to see videos of some of the poets.  they’re ace.

overheard

posted by: elliot.
categories: Uncategorized
December 1st, 2009, 15:41

I haven’t done enough work

I should have done enough work

But I haven’t.

join the team

posted by: lizzie.
categories: applications
November 27th, 2009, 22:02

marketing strategy #1: ad in varsity

We’re looking for students to help select submissions for the mays xviii. If you would like to be on the prose, poetry or visual arts editorial committees, please apply by January 24th, 2010.

We’re also looking for people to help organise workshops, readings and masterclasses throughout the year. Please apply by January 2nd, 2010.

Apply to mays@varsity.co.uk with your contact information, and the position(s) you are interested in, and explain why you want to be involved and any relevant experience you have.


the mays xviii begins

posted by: lizzie.
categories: exciting
November 24th, 2009, 1:31

Welcome to our exciting new mays xviii website.

We’ll be using this space to:

  • tell you about all our upcoming events (readings, performances, workshops, and film screenings)
  • show you photos and video recordings of previous events
  • let you know how, and when, to submit your work
  • invite you to join the team.

Keep coming back please. We’ll keep you supplied with exciting updates.