LITERARY enthusiasts are invited to see actress Kim Hicks present a selection of short stories and poems by an American writer in Stoke Prior next Friday.

The performance, entitled "Couples", by Dorothy Parker, will be hosted by Words, a Bromsgrove organisation set up in 1979 to promote interest in the written and spoken word.

Kim Hicks, who lives in Bristol with her husband and two young sons, is well known for her one-woman performances.

Her varied career includes work for radio, theatre and television and in one play, Sheila Yeger's Self Portrait, Kim painted live on stage in oils, completing 100 copies while the play ran.

Outside acting, Kim is a Second Dan Black Belt in Judo and in the past, has competed internationally.

Now she is responsible for coaching in the Western area of the British Judo Association.

Kim will portray American writer Parker, who was born in 1895.

As well as writing poems and short stories, the author wrote Hollywood film scripts and had the reputation of being the wittiest woman in America.

The performance starts at 8pm in the conference room at L G Harris and Co. Ltd, Stoke Prior. For tickets contact Bromsgrove Books: 01299 851335.