Inky Voices

Piers Harrison-Reid is a frontline A&E nurse and an established voice in the British Performance Poetry scene. He is perhaps best known for his piece celebrating the 70th year of the NHS - ‘Love is for the Brave’ which went viral after its release in 2018. Piers is a veteran of the festival scene and is currently working on a project to give voice to the diverse array of workers at all levels in the NHS.

Alan Summers is a poet and authority on Japanese short-form poetry. He is a former General Secretary of the British Haiku Society and is the current President of the  United Haiku & Tanka Society’. His work has led him to receive an award from the Japan Times and he is a Pushcart Prize nominee. Along with his partner Karen Hoy, Alan offers online courses in various kinds of short-form poetry through ‘Call of the Page’ and is an advocate for poetry as a vehicle through which critically-ill and house-bound individuals, as well as able-bodied writers, can find a vehicle for personal expression and freedom.

Martin Figura is a Norfolk-based poet and performer. He has written a number of stage shows which have grown out of the three collections of work currently in publication - ‘Whistle’, ‘Dr Zeeman’s Catastrophe Machine’ and his most recent work ‘Shed’. Martin is also an experienced photographer and perhaps it is his own appreciation of visual aesthetics which has led him to explore the potential for combining poetry, prose and visual elements on the stage.

Susan Browne is a poet and musician based in Oakland California. She has had a string of poems published in respected journals and collections and has studied and collaborated with some of the best contemporary poets in the States, including previous ‘Inky Voices’ interviewee Kim Addonizio.  Susan has taught Creative Writing at Diablo Valley College for a number of years and has tutored rising poets online and through a number of workshops and seminars. Her first collection (‘Buddha’s Dogs’) was published in 2004, followed by ‘Zephyr’ in 2010. Her most recent collection - ‘Just Living’ (2019) won the Catamaran Poetry Prize last year and has been described by Zack Rogow as a collection of works ‘that fuse outrageous humour with a stiletto-sharp pathos’. 

Luke Kennard is a Midlands-based poet, novelist and Professor of Creative Writing at Birmingham University. He was the youngest poet ever to be nominated for the Forward Poetry Prize and has several critically-acclaimed collections to his name. Luke is perhaps best known for his authoritative treatment of the prose poem as an experimental form; his work is infused with surreal and absurdist imagery which is at once self-ironising but also achieves a sense of the numinous.

Helen Ivory is a Norfolk based poet and visual artist with a number of acclaimed collections published by Bloodaxe Books, including her most recent anthology ‘The Anatomical Venus (2019). She is also the editor of the webzine ‘Ink, Sweat, Tears’ and is a tutor and course director for the UEA/National Centre for Writing online creative writing programme.

James Wijesinghe is a rising poet in the UK Spoken Word scene. We met as contestants on the wonderful Punnit Gameshow and have stayed in touch since by social media. Like me, James has a passion for wordplay and creative, out-of-the-box thinking. He was the editor of Exeter’s ‘Enigma’ poetry journal and has won an award in New Zealand for his exploration of Dada cut-ups. James has performed at festivals, theatres and other public events and also regularly uses Instagram as a platform for his material.

Kim Addonizio is one of the most respected contemporary poets in the United States today. With 6 collections of poetry and a plethora of other fiction and non-fiction texts published to date, Kim has that rare ability to be able to evolve and experiment while, at the same time, remaining congruent to her own voice and underlying themes. Kim doesn’t identify as a poet of the ‘stage’ or the ‘page’, expressing a view that is increasingly my own; she thinks of herself as simply a ‘poet’ whose curiosity guides her along with her passion for wordplay.

In this episode, I reflect on my personal journey as a poet over the last few months. The last time I did this was back at the end of November last year and a lot has happened over the last 10 weeks!

John Osborne is a seasoned Spoken word poet who has headlined many of the major festivals and poetry events over the years. A key member of Aisle 16, John’s approachability and wit gave him a unique voice which warmed audiences across the country and he continues to enjoy a diverse and loyal fan base. John’s also an accomplished scriptwriter (‘After Hours’ in collaboration with Molly Naylor), non-fiction writer and he has a series of stage shows to his name alongside a growing body of poems. 

Erin Bolens is a poet and performer currently based in London; her first collection, ‘Alternate Endings’ is due to be published in May this year (2020). She is a long-time favourite of the festival and Slam poetry scene and her touring show, exploring grief and the ways we negotiate our own and loved ones’ mortality - ‘What We Leave Behind’, has been met with rave reviews across the country. I caught up with Erin in Norwich just ahead of her headlining a ‘Toast’ poetry evening, along with Rob Auton. It was a warm and friendly conversation; Erin is one of those people who, after just a few minutes, makes you feel like you’ve been mates for years. She also writes some bloody good poems!

Have you ever wondered how accomplished poets and performers get great ideas and then convert them into poetry? Have you wondered how they rehearse their material so that they can share their poems while holding their audience spellbound? I asked these questions and more to Mark Grist who generously shared his thoughts about the writing and performance process.

Ashley Hickson-Lovence grew up on a Hackney council estate, an area which would go on to inspire his first novel which was published in April 2019 to wide public acclaim. He spent a period of time as an English teacher in London and is currently studying for his PhD in Creative Writing at UEA in Norwich. He is also an accomplished poet and his prose writing retains much of the lyricism and musicality of his verse. In this conversation, we chatted about his origins and influences as a writer, his writing process and the sense of the poetic which resonates throughout his current writing.

Dr Rosy Carrick is a poet, playwright, performer and translator. Her first full collection Chokey was published in 2018 by Burning Eye Books. Rosy has a PhD on the poetry of the Russian revolutionary writer Vladimir Mayakovsky and has released two books of his work in translation. She currently teaches on the English Literature and Creative Writing course at Brighton University and has just finished touring her acclaimed solo performance play ‘Passionate Machine’.

Robert was born in the US but is now based in the UK. He is a poetry tutor, working with the Poetry Society near where he lives in St Albans and has two collections of poetry published by Nine Arches Press - Cyclone (2018) and ‘The Knowledge’ (2015). In this conversation, we explore Robert’s origin story as a poet, his process in writing and the advice he has to offer to aspiring poets.

In this week's show, I interview Norwich-based Scriptwriter and Spoken Word artist, Molly Naylor. Molly coaches scriptwriting at UEA, has toured her own award-winning stage shows and has a collection of poetry published through Burning Eye books entitled 'Badminton'. She is also the co-host of True Stories Live, a monthly storytelling event which has galvanised the communities who attend. In our conversation, we explore Molly's origin story, the inspiration behind her work and how she has developed as an artist and performer.

Rowan McCabe is a Spoken Word poet based in the North of England, who enjoyed much success as a Slam Performer, but it is is ‘Door to Door’ project which has launched him to national notoriety. For a couple of years now Rowan has been knocking on the doors of complete strangers and offering to compose an original poem based on their interests, then returning to perform it a couple of weeks later! 'Door to Door’ poetry has become a project that speaks to our shared humanity which is a message very much needed in today’s political climate.

Sophia Walker is the organiser and host of the BBC Poetry Slam Championship and is a former winner herself. She has a published collection of poems ('Opposite the Tour Bus'), has enjoyed success with her award-winning stage show 'Around the World in 8 Mistakes' and is one of the creators of The Spoken Word Theatre Foundation. Currently based in Seattle, Sophia has some strong but congruent views on the gifts and challenges that come with being a Spoken Word artist and this was a rich and stimulating conversation.

Now and again, alongside interviews with some of the most exciting voices in the Spoken Word community, I will be dedicating an episode to chart my growth and development as a writer and performer. I hope this will be seen as part of my commitment to share resources and ideas rather than an act of self-indulgence! In this episode I recommend 6 podcasts I am currently enjoying, 4 poets whose work has inspired me (including a writing prompt for each) and then I end with two of my own poems which have emerged in the last few weeks.

Adam Woollard, aka Shuffle T, is one of the most respected Rap Battle artists in the UK. He has stood toe to toe with some of the best performers, spitting bars across the UK as well as in the States. Drake is just one of his many fans and he is about to release 'The Advanced Rhyming Dictionary' - a labour of love, to bring the joy of multi-syllabic rhymes to the Spoken Word community. In this conversation, we explore that project as well as the highs and lows of the Rap battle scene.

Luke Wright is a seasoned Spoken Word performer with more than 20 years of creative stage performances to his name. He has just released the third in a series of one character plays - 'The Remains of Logan Dankworth' which has met with rave reviews. He is also a busy touring poet, educational workshop leader and patron of numerous arts projects. Luke and I sat down between an exhausting rehearsal schedule to talk about his career so far and the advice he would offer to performer and writers just finding their voice.

Peter Bearder, author of 'Stage Invasion' is one of the most influential figures in the modern UK Spoken Word Scene. He contributed to the Indie Feed project for 4 years and has been a performer himself for 14 years with numerous European tours under his belt. He is a protest poet, using his voice as an activist as well as an entertainer. In this interview we discuss his book and why Spoken Word may well offer hope at a time when things look so bleak in our country.

Mark Grist enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame in 2010 when his Rap battle with 'Blizzard' went viral. Since then he has become one of the most respected and successful Spoken Word poets in the UK. In this interview, we chat about his origin story, the importance of audience and fairness in his work, and some of the highlights of his career to date.

A brief introduction to the Inky Voices podcast so you can decide if it will be a good fit for you.