By Jim Corah
Making a Spring return, poetry and community event Bone Down will take place on 29 April 2026, heading up to the orchard on West Park.
Attendees are encouraged to picnic out on poetry and community between 6.30pm and 9pm.
Bone Down is organised by Alex Callaghan, a West Leeds writer and resident.
Describing themselves as writing about the “absurb and whimsical,” their debut poetry pamphlet For All The Winter Through was published by Written Off Publishing in 2025, who describe it as Described as a “cosy and calm” selection of adult rhymes for difficult times that “will make you smile” (writers note, it is a very enjoyable collection).
Bone Down takes place in public spaces across Leeds, all the way from Dartmouth Park in Morley, Woodhouse Ridge, and Beckett Park, as well as Kirkstall Abbey and Leeds Dock. Bone Down is a literary affinity group, an inclusive home for community and poetry.
As a reflection of the particularly strong Leeds and Yorkshire poetry scene, previous Bone Down events have seen considerable talent perform. The picnic on 29/04/2026 will be no different, with Talluhah Howarth and John Delvin in the spotlight.
WLD spoke to Alex Callaghan about the event.
As a regular event on the poetry calendar, what do you look forward to from each Bone Down?
Seeing a location become a community. Regardless of how many people, there’s always a feeling of ‘it’s just us here’ like despite being an outside venue, we have made a space that the outside can’t penetrate. Bone Down always greets me like an old friend and I am always surprised and grateful.
How did Bone Down come about?
Bone Down began in September 2022 on Woodhouse Ridge bandstand. It was advertised by posters and word of mouth only and I turned up alone in the dark on the word of someone I’d only met twice before; Caitlin McKenna, one the founders, had told me they were doing a poetry open mic in the woods. Lit only by tea lights and the night sky, it was atmospheric, culty and sensational.
By the second event, I was helping out and by the third I was part of the committee. Nowadays it’s just me running it but we ran it monthly for two years, released a zine, put on a full day of activities for the zine launch and also put on a cabaret night.
After a burnout hiatus, I brought it back and have been intermittently keeping alive the community that I love and helped grow. It’s always been an inclusive, experimental space, meant to reclaim public spaces for art and amplify local voices.
What were your highlights of previous events?
Getting Matt Abbott to spotlight at Kirkstall Abbey was very cool. We’ve had some really gorgeous locations. We did one by the docks which was such a cool atmosphere. The zine launch and cabaret night were really layered events to put on so they really pushed the boundary for what Bone Down was and could be.
We marched at Pride. That was really special. My first Bone Downs after the hiatus were especially big for me because I didn’t believe people would care if it was just me running it. I’ve taken it back to what has always made Bone Down special. Of course the big stuff is cool but poetry in the woods is timeless.
How does organising and putting on Bone Down inform your writing and creative processes?
Bone Down gives me a creative spark. Listening to poetry already feeds that creativity and you learn from hearing other people’s work but also being outside and the community of it. I struggle with consistency but it’s a constant source of rejuvenation. I’m like a tired vampire.
Only if you are comfortable, what is your current project?
I’m on an events kick right now so I have a few event ideas I want to put in motion. At the moment I’m just trying to write more and submit to places. I have a manuscript I’ll eventually come back to but for now I’m just sitting in the burst of creativity that has come with the sunshine and trying to make the most of it.
Bone Down is free to attend and will take place between 6.30pm and 9pm on Wednesday 29 April 2026 meeting at the West Park Orchard (LS16 5HT). Follow the events on Instagram @bonedownlag (link to profile https://www.instagram.com/bonedownlag for online version).
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