| Spoken Worlds Rangemore House, Burton upon Trent
Conventional wisdom is that Spoken Word events are not held on Friday nights as people have more attractive options at the end of the week. “Spoken Worlds” organiser Gary Carr, neatly turns that proposition on its head by ensuring that his event, held on the third Friday of the month, IS that more attractive option. He was rewarded this evening by a full room, and an audience and performers who had travelled from the likes of Derby, Nottingham, Birmingham and Essex, as well as from the immediate locality. Burton upon Trent may be famous for its brewing, but it appears that news of its Spoken Word event has spread far and wide too. However good the event, and however talented the performers, there is a limit to how long any audience can concentrate on the unaccompanied solo voice. Gary Carr wisely manages this by organising the evening into “Three halves ”, limiting each performance to around five minutes, and allowing for generous intervals for the audience to chew the cud on performers and performances. Gary, Comperes the event , topping and tailing the evening with his own poems. His well crafted contributions set the standard, and he cunningly squeezed in some more work by allowing his daughter, Kirsty, to read some further contributions of his. “Airports” was evocative, “Without You” eschewed the schmaltz of the Nilsson song with the same title, and “ He Who Lasts Last Lasts Longest” was a fitting evening closer. Modern popular poetry events are the battleground of the Performance v Page poetry debate. Generally Performance Poetry wins, yet “Spoken Worlds” is characterised by a stubborn and pleasing determination to take page and serious poetry seriously. The challenge is that the best page poetry may not be revealed aurally, spoken by someone else, it’s magic and artifice instead best explored by solitary reflection and exploration. Thus, serious spoken word has to work doubly hard to compete at evenings such as these. RELATIONSHIP POEMS Fortunately Margaret Torr had the material to do just that, particularly with “Blind Spot” and “Running Parallel”. Both relationship poems. Poets are very fond of baring their souls with tales of their own emotional experiences. The problem is that just because an incident mattered deeply to them does not mean that it is going to matter deeply to the audience. Margaret succeeded by writing her narrative in such a way that it drew upon our universal experience and demonstrated what we may have felt, and seen others feel, first and foremost. The trap of self-indulgence which can cripple such themes was avoided. We were there with her in the car park, or on the river bank. Combine this with some well chosen, original imagery , in poems which were cliché free, and you have one of the stand-out performances of the evening. By contrast, Richard Young is a Performance Poet, and a very good one at that. He recites from memory enabling him to use his obvious drama skills to maximum effect. Strong material is supported by even stronger delivery, the master of the pause, a sideways glance, or a “stage aside”. Popular performance Poetry depends upon subjects which engage, and Richard scored each time with this. Morrissey once sang, “We Hate It When Our Friends become Successful”. Richard hilariously reprised this theme with “Bruce Byron”, the actor with whom he studied at Drama School and whose subsequent success has clearly been the subject of some angst for Richard. I googled him – he does exist! “Fantastic Felicity” also entertained whilst “Computer Programming” had an altogether darker humour and sinister edge. Richard confided to me that he had a shortage of material, but with poems of this quality, he needn’t worry too much about that. STRETCH OUT The diversity of talent impressed enormously. Andy Carroll is a performer and author who likes to stretch out, and fresh from a recent appearance at “Rhymes” in Birmingham, he performed an extract from his book ,“Once”, set in Smethwick ,Birmingham, whilst Jeannie Jordan , and her friend Jo, offered a clever piece imagining the role of Shirley Valentine’s husband. Poems about animals, and pets specifically, are difficult to pull off. Maudlin sentimentality lie in wait to crush the efforts of hapless writers. But Dea Costelloe succeeds with two of her cat poems, “Distinguished Visitor” and “Against All Odds” ( no sign of Phil Collins), from the “Cat Lines” anthology. Colin Hench writes with a fine traditional, but eclectic , style with challenging thoughtful themes, his reminder that “perfection is for the gods” amongst them, “Flotsam to the Door” stood out. Simon French veered from the light and satirical, to the dark and powerful “Druggie”. Tony Keeton gave us the light “Crimes Against Poetry” juxtaposed with a brilliant period poem, evoking the ghosts of Sharpe and Flashman with “Uncle Crispin Barrington Bruce”. The ever-reliable Andy Biddulph shone with “Armistice Day”, Joanne Hoare’s reading of her daughter Jenny’s “The Short Straw”, was evidence of a burgeoning youthful talent. The setting , Anne Lee’s Drama Studio at Rangemore House helped enormously to provide an environment for performers to shine. Although the next event will take place there on Friday 18th March at 7.30pm, Gary Carr anticipates that beyond that a new venue may need to be found. For more details check the Facebook Group “ Burton Spoken Word Nights”. 18-02-11 Gary Longden |
| Bring & Share Valentine’s EveningLibrary Theatre
Birmingham Reigning Birmingham Poet Laureate, Roy MacFarlane masterminded this prestigious free event which avoided the pitfall of an overdose of syrupy love poems with a shrewd choice of format and poet. The organisational energy of Roy ( and his wife) combined with the support of the Birmingham Library Service who sponsor the Poet Laureate ensured a strong turnout on a cold evening which was soon warmed up by the performers and performances on stage. Roy himself is a very fine poet. In a show of admirable self-restraint, he limited himself to his signature piece, “Where You From ? Birmingham !” , a wonderful celebration of the diversity of our City ,and “I Wanna Walk With You”, a beautiful love poem with shades of the great Smokey Robinson’s love song “Being With You” echoing thematically. From opening with the reigning Birmingham Poet Laureate, we then moved to the reigning Birmingham Young Poet Laureate , Jordan Westcarr. Only 16 years old, he was the youngest performer of the evening, yet gave an assured performance. Wisely, he concentrated on what he knew, teenage love, delighting his contemporaries, and jogging the memories of the old ’uns! “Long Enough to Smile at you” and “Kid” stood out, sharply observed, yet soft, and performed with conviction. A young man with a very bright future. Matt Windle, a past Young Birmingham Poet Laureate is only a little bit older, yet asks for no concessions for his youth – because he doesn’t need it. Hammering out words at a rate per minute that would have a shorthand expert operating at full stretch he skipped through relationships with “That’ll be The Day”, and teenage shyness “Outstanding”, before disappearing in a blur. Like Jordan, he sticks to themes he knows best, and is building up quite an audience of peers on the back of it. Yet he also expresses himself with a maturity which resonates with all age groups. Quite a skill. PAY HER DUES “Behind the Arras” has been championing “Fatima Al Matar” for some time now, and this venue and occasion was perfect for her. Although more than happy to pay her dues in Slams and Pub poetry nights, a proper theatre, with good acoustics, and an audience that has come to listen, is Fatima’s milieu. That was her platform for the evening. Once again she excelled. Her poetry invariably has a mystical tinge to it, and so it was tonight. We were treated to a child’s love, an exploration of the definition of love in “You Let Us”, and a deeply sensual “How We Loved”. Performing serious poetry successfully is extraordinarily difficult, a good poem is not enough. Fatima combines incredibly strong material with charisma, presence and a remarkable self –awareness of how to use the pitch and modulation of her voice to maximum effect. Rarely have I seen a poet whisper – and notice the entire audience lean forwards to catch the words – as if they were meant for them, personally, which of course they are. Closing the first half we were treated to a rare appearance by Sue Brown. Her elegant and dignified bearing was in perfect harmony with her poems. “For the Love of Auset” was a marvelous piece borrowing from the Classical Myth of Osiris and Isis who flew too close to the sun. “Death is only a breath away from life”. Intricate, and unafraid to borrow from arcane tradition it was an ambitious and powerful piece, and probably the literary high point of the evening, yet with the likes of “Some Other Day” she also demonstrated a mastery of a simpler, but no less effective, form. Hazel Malcolm is a stalwart of the Wolverhampton literary scene and showed just why with a powerful trio of poems. “Blues in the Black Country” was a lyrical, evocative remembrance, of Afro-Caribbean parties in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, whilst “All Black Men” was a bitter sweet journey around a tired stereotype told with love and affection. A great strength of the evening was its unpredictability, never was this more in evidence than in the performance of Phil Simpson whose earthy poems would have made Chaucer blush, the highlight of which was “Cocoa Butter Queen”. The BBC recorded some of the evenings performances for use on their Big Screen, Phil now has the distinction of producing the first “R 18“ rated poetic performance. A cry of “Are you available for Mothers Day?” as he left the stage brought the house down on what was a memorable set. NATIONAL REPUTATION Shaila Sharif is enjoying a national reputation for her poetry form Tower Hamlets to Edinburgh. She expresses her Bangladeshi heritage in a traditional English form offering an unique expression of her culture. She scores with universal themes, touchingly with “Hala” about the loss of a beloved aunt, and tales of loss friendship and adulterous relationships. That two out of her three pieces were untitled was a slight drawback as in short sets, titles do provide an initial focus for the listener. “Behind the Arras” has been proud to record the growth of Spoken Word in the Midlands, so it was a particular pleasure that Jo Bell, Director of National Poetry Day should take time to break her trip from London to Macclesfield to attend, perform and generally support the occasion. As Roy MacFarlane does in his local role, Jo does so much to promote poetry nationally that it is easy to forget what an accomplished poet she is in her own right. Tonight she gave us a timely reminder. Waspish, wry and laconic, she specialises in a faux verbal ennui, like a wise predator luxuriating in its lair, waiting, before pouncing to devour its prey.”The same Damn Thing” being a perfect example. “Floor Spot” poets of the highest standard popped up to deliver single offerings in addition to the advertised bill. Adrian Johnson excelled with old favourite “The Jam”, with Leonie, David Stackhouse, Sue Challis, Denise Williams, Lucy Jeynes (“A Maiden’s Prayer on Valentine’s Day” was great knockabout fun) and Jane Campion-Hoye also performing. In order that the others were made to look even better than they already were,, I was asked to close the evening with, “Love Sonnet #1”, “Cheryl Cole” and “Adultery” winding up proceedings. And so the evening ended. A resounding success in terms of attendance, calibre of performance and performer, diversity of material and desire to be heard! Roy is hoping to put on more such events both to meet the demands of those who were unable to perform due to time constraint, and to continue to support Poetry in Birmingham and the Midlands. “Behind the Arras” will let you know as soon as dates are set. 14-02-11 Gary Longden |
Hit the Ode
Victoria Pub
Birmingham City Centre
Sponsored by Apples & Snakes, and the brainchild of MC Bohdan Piesecki, “Hit the Ode” is fast becoming an event of significant national artistic credibility, as this month’s Bill bore testament to, with a roster of international talent oozing talent and creativity. Over three hours of performance left another full house entertained, challenged , and content.
The first half was dominated by Byron Vincent, who hails from Huddersfield, but is currently based in Bristol. In his publicity material he claims that : ” he was (poorly) educated within the cloying conurbation of various northern sink estates. His flowery name and love of language ensured that his journey was a challenging one. Never a defeatist he fought back with poetry. This was a terrible strategy and he regularly got his head kicked in.
Byron is a regular at many of the UK’s most prestigious music and literary events including Cheltenham, Oxford Literature Festival, Glastonbury, Latitude Festival and Bristol Poetry Festival. He has performed at venues as diverse as London’s Whitechapel Gallery and Shambala Festival’s Bedouin Tent.
He’s won nine poetry slams including Shambala, Secret Garden and the BBC Manchester Literary Festival.” That self effacing tone belies a wit as sharp as any.
STARRING SPOT
He mischievously claimed during his set that he wasn’t clever enough to be a real poet, not funny enough to be a comedian, and not cool enough to be an MC – wrong on all counts. Fresh from his starring spot on BBC Radio 4’s “Wondermentalist Caberet” (Still available on I player) Byron unleashed a slick show, and deceptively laid back manner, on an adoring crowd.
An unique talent, Byron doesn’t really do conventional poetry, he reflects on the Wombles of Wimbledon Common, he rails at the madness of Advertising Campaigns from his time as “Poet in Residence” at a Shopping Mall, and is gentlemanly enough not to describe women’s bottoms as fat – but prosperous. He enthralled, entertained and delighted the audience with a lengthy set which was not a minute too long. Probably the brightest spoken word performer on the scene right now.
The evening had begun strongly with the increasingly confident Matt Windle beginning with a trademark street mood piece, “Untitled (lobster)”, followed by, “Outstanding”. Matt is incredibly self aware for a teenager, confident enough to deliver fey, vulnerable words and sentiments, amidst a boxers shuffle and braggadocio. A precocious and prodigious talent, his word skills matched the best that the later headliners could offer. Louise Stokes’ trademark is “miserable”, so her new piece “Stay” was an interesting departure for her. A fragile but warm homily to love, its longer than usual form, had a defiant ring to it, a welcome addition to her repertoire.
MEMORABLE LINE
James Burnett made his debut with a quirky memorable appearance which included “Pillow Talk (after DH Lawrence)” and the, “Yes and No Game”, which contained the most memorable line of the night:”She was conceived in the very toilet that she squats to piss in” –yes, it was an “audience reaction” moment! Al Hutchins returned to the stage after a period away with a “Love Death and Buses” theme, and a very bright shirt.“The Headless Chickens Hum” about the Birmingham Outer Circle Bus route, was his best poem, his piece about the discovery of a dead baby’s body harrowing, and his advice on how to shine large stainless steel pots invaluable.
The unenviable task of preceding Byron Vincent was given to the be-suited Fergus McGonigal who played it just right, with humour and self-assuredness. His experience as a father of five that, “The Greatest Pleasure of Being a Parent is Seeing Other People’s Children Behave Atrociously ” astutely recognised the Schadenfreude all parents secretly hold in that situation, with “It Could Have Been Worse”, equally light and fun.
After the break the adorable Jodi-Ann Blickley played with our heart strings with the wonderful “Hold Tight” revelling in a personality that fuses the lovability of Kylie Minogue and the chirpy street persona of Lilly Allen. In a welcome innovation, we were then treated to a quartet of poems from the University of Birmingham Poetry Slam Team who were warming up to take on arch rivals from Warwick University in a forthcoming Slam (who were in the audience scouting) in a local derby scheduled to take place at the University of Birmingham Guild hall on the 4th March. Unsurprisingly, Andy Cook, Sam Murphy, Sean Colletti and James Bunton were rather good, Colletti’s “The Product” particularly so.
The mood shifted again with the arrival of American Rappers Professor D ,whose “Don’t Dumb Down My Content,” was powerful, but all too brief, and Kenny Baraka, who had taken a break from his run in “The Rememberers”, to perform a piece which is both an homage to, and an expansion of, hip hop performers like Jonzi D.
“The Rememberers” is set in a post-Apocalyptic time and the actual shows takes place in the base camp of the narrator.“The best way of describing it is to say that it is as if a graphic novel had come to life but with the voice of an MC,” Baraka said. “It is as if the dark side of these superheroes has come to life and we ask ‘what would their story look like? It is illustration, music, soundscape, classic graphic novel, narrative prose and hip hop. I would say that people who are really into graphic novels wouldn’t necessarily see another level but I guess they will be able to read more into it.”
TOURING MUSICIAN
Born in Eritrea and brought up in New York, Kenny has made the UK his home. He is an actor, poet as well as a touring musician with the likes of De La Soul and Supernatural.
Support to the second half headliner was local star Fatima Al Matar, a Kuwaiti who is resident and studying in the UK. Fatima’s stark intense poetry was in marked contrast to much else of what had gone before and stood out as a result. Beautiful, poised and elegant, she assumes an other worldly persona when she performs, exuding a Shamenic quality which mesmerises and transfixes the audience. She combines a commanding, lyrical use of the English language with a mystical Eastern phraseology, reminiscent of Kahil Gibran, whom she name checked during the evening.
“Some Loves Live” is a robust defence of the capacity of love to endure, and “The Self” a powerful philosophical exploration of the inner battle we all face between our “Self”, mind and body. “I Never Thanked You” was a tender reflection on a parent’s pride which brought fond laughter from the audience, something which I am sure Fatima enjoyed. Although naturally a feminist, she bravely tackles “You Only Want The Woman” in which the case for adultery is examined, before a caustic ” Mother”, and her tour de force, “Face”, a beautiful, pained, naked study in female maturity and ageing which has a wonderful universal quality to it.
Closing proceedings was
American Slam champion Joshua Bennett who has performed in the East Room of the White House — and received a standing ovation from President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and about 200 guests. Joshua closed with the piece he performed to the President: “Tamara’s Opus,” an original poem about his own struggle to communicate with his deaf sister. “I want to leave an impression on people that Josh did it right,” Joshua said. “That’s the legacy that I’m concerned with: How will people remember you when you’re gone?” Some poetry when performed smoulders with sincerity and authenticity, “Tamara’s Opus” was one of those, as was, “Jesus Riding Shotgun” a celebration of the importance of the Christian Faith to his family and his mother in particular, ” She believed in God more than gravity”. A fine closing act for a fine event.
And so finished an astonishing evening of diverse content, cultural background, and message. There really was something for everbody. “Hit the Ode” returns to The Victoria on Thursday 24th March. 10-02-11
Gary Longden
Garyswordz 