Little Venice, St Nicholas St, Worcester
THIS monthly event has been attracting an increasing level of interest in recent months. A combination of a strong bill, curiosity, and a personal invitation from organiser Lisa Ventura moved me to check it out, and I was not disappointed.

The venue itself is a good one. Set on the first floor of an Italian restaurant, the space is airy, private, and has its own bar and toilet facilities, with the added advantage that a meal beforehand, or just a snack, are both to hand (the latter very difficult to resist!). The restaurant itself is located right in the middle of the City with several bustling pubs and car parking close by.

The first half was closed by Amanda Bonnick who offered an accomplished performance. She opened with “A Day in Art”, a very clever piece themed with artistic imagery, each reference having a resonance which no doubt varied according to the sensibilities of the listener. Intriguingly, she later revealed to me that it was a poem of which she was uncertain.
I thought it was her best work. One school of poetic thought suggests that heartfelt passion and emotion produces the best poetry, another that sometimes a more dispassionate, considered and deliberate approach works best. I found “A day in Art” meticulously composed and very satisfying. Amanda seemed determined to show her variety of poetic inspiration in her poem selection. “The Ballad of Cara” told of an encounter with an outwardly feral young teenager in a park whose eyes told a different story to her words.

MOVING DESCRIPTION
It was a sparse, moving description which echoed far beyond the page. Whether she was (amusingly) exploring the loneliness of Lane Swimming, the whimsy of the allure of shoes and of a little girl dressing up, or the natural majesty of a kingfisher in the wild, sharp observation, economically told, was her hallmark. The enthusiastic response from the audience was richly deserved.
Before her, Caroline Ferguson opened with strong material, the performance of which she should take time to evolve, as it can work much harder for her. Ddotti Bluebell is a very distinctive performer with a trademark delivery of a rap/sing-song tone. Her inspiration comes from personal experience including that of her brothers in “Nintendo”, or her struggles with her hair. Her confident delivery will have inspired other younger aspiring female poets in the room.

David Calcutt by contrast performed a single “narrative verse drama” entitled “The Desire of Women”. A bold and risky gambit, it was a triumph Witty, nuanced and very well told; it also benefited from a strong punch line.

After the break two young female poets caught the ear. Beth Edwards, imposing, confident and charismatic, went for powerful diversity. “I’m the Dealer” was a strong street piece, the “Plagiarism Poem” an enjoyable literary romp, “My Two Left Feet” a tender, emotional love poem. Laura Dedicote is more restrained in manner, but no less effective. Elegant and assured, her work with Spoz ( of which more in a minute) was evident with her “Cuts” poem, it is good to see that a political radical edge is apparent in today’s youth, and persuasively articulate she was too. Yet “Home” and “Secrets and Silence”, a teenage take on teenage life, were mature but authentic, and heart-warming, all at the same time.

INSPIRED SET
Opening the second half Neil Richard delighted with a “Ramones” inspired set in which he was able to recite about four times as many poems as anyone else in the same time slot! Short, sharp and edgy, Neil stood apart from all others, and was the better for it.
To close the evening we were entertained by a past and current Birmingham Poet Laureate. “Spoz” is a consummate performance poet. Engaging with the audience from the start, he galloped through “Brummie Rotunda”, an ode to Daisy Waugh, a raunchy homily to Miss Davies a school Science teacher, before giving us “fibre” advice with “Bad Diet”. Spoz has worked with John Cooper Clarke, and his poems often reflect the tone of Clarke’s work. Tonight I realised that he is starting to look like him too! Spoz’s humour and humanity went down a storm.

Last on was Roy MacFarlane whom I have seen performing on several occasions. Invariably strong, this was the best I have seen him. I suspect he would be pleased by my assessment that he defies conventional categorisation.
His skill lies in a remarkable ability to be inclusive in his work, whilst not hesitating to work with marginal subjects. He tackles Black heritage in an accessible way to all, his poems on fatherhood, motherhood and love ,( “I Wanna Walk With You “ is a delight) are warm and wry. But his middle section on injustice was the highlight of his set, and the evening, particularly with “Daily Bread”. A banker who met Roy at the gates of St Peter would be in for a VERY rough ride.

All of this was efficiently, confidently, and expertly overseen by the effervescent Lisa Ventura, who kept things moving, on time, but always ensured that her poets were the stars of the show .A full, enthusiastic, house was a just acknowledgement of her efforts. “Parole Parlate” next plays on Thursday, May 5th at 7.30pm.
07-04-11