Stage not page: check out our new spoken word poetry meetup
We’re excited that one of our apprentice associates, Chivonne Head, is setting up a new Spoken Word Meetup. The first meetup (in person at The Writers Workshop) is coming up on December 1st, so we asked her what our members can expect.
You regularly perform your poetry. Have you always been a confident performer?
My journey as a spoken word poet hasn’t been simple. I’m naturally quite a shy person. If you’ve met me, you might not believe that, but it’s true. I try not to show that side of myself too much, but what I’ve noticed is that people can’t tell I’m shy most of the time, and if they can, what does it matter? There’s nothing wrong with loving the limelight, but a shy person performing and being willing to put themselves out there is brave and people can see that.
I started out by reading other people’s poetry because I was not yet ready for people to hear my ideas. I was basically obsessed with poetry, so I went to events and readings, mostly on my own because none of my friends liked poetry. It even helped me to get over a breakup! Poetry is magic. I practised too, and listened to the song “You’re the Voice” by John Farnham as an affirmation - sounds weird but it helped!
Why did you decide to set up a Spoken Word Meetup at The Writers Workshop?
I’d been to a few of Beverley’s events and liked what she was doing in Sheffield. I’d also been to poetry workshops at the Writer’s Workshop ran by other poets. I wanted to be a part of it, but I also wanted to use my experience to help other shy poets and would-be performers.
If you would like to learn how to perform poetry, or just want to learn more about it, this event is for you. We will be looking at the difference between spoken and written word in poetry, what looks good on the page versus what sounds good on the stage. We’ll also be sharing our own poetry and practising performing, helping each other to become more confident.
If you’re already a confident performer, that’s great! Come along and share your ideas. If you’re not, I am sure you still have ideas, even if you don’t know what they are yet. If you want to get started on your poetry journey, I can help you. A lot of it is about our psychology and challenging our perceptions of ourselves as performers. I’ve got some meditations and affirmations you can do, if you’re into that sort of thing.
What can people expect at the first session on December 1st and going forward?
I’ll be bringing a few poems along for us to discuss and we’ll also be sharing some of our own. Come along and bring a poem, it doesn’t have to be one of your own. Over time, I hope we’ll be able to form a supportive spoken word community to give each other feedback and accompany each other to different spoken word events. It’s a lot of fun as a hobby, and you meet the best people – feel the fear and do it anyway!