Out-Spoken at Purcell Room, Southbank, London

 The first Out-Spoken of the year took place on Thursday, an evening of poetry and music. I had no idea who would be performing, but there is always something to like, and there are books available to buy during the internal and afterwards.

Compare for the evening was Toby Campion, as award-winning poet, playwright and facilitator. He also read some of his own poetry after the interval, and I'd love to read more of it, but I'd already maxed out on two poetry books on the night!

Tony Campion

First up was Amy Acre, who runs Bad Betty Press. She read from her book Mothersong about growing up and being a mother and being a woman. She was followed by William Letford, whose reading from his dystopian book of poetry and diary entries was both funny and thoughtful. His humour caught me and made me want to know more, so I bought his book. The first music came from Amethyst, a soul/jazz trio, though one member couldn't make the show. While it's not my kind of music, Amethyst herself had a very good voice.

Amy Acre

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William (Billy) Letford

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Amethyst

After the interval, and Toby's poems, he introduced Karim Karmal. I'm not sure I have the spelling right as his name wasn't on the sheet we were given when we arrived. He is a composer and I'm sure I've seen him play in a past Out-Spoken event. The piece he played was lovely, very calming and beautiful.

Karim

Then it was the turn of Nick Laird, and Irish writer who read a personal poem about the death of his father during covid, and all the trauma of not being able to visit the hospital and saying goodbye via video His other poem was about he and his sister clearing the house.

The final performance was from Yaw Evans, a composer, electronic musician and DJ from South London. He played synthesizer. I tried to get a photo, but he was hidden behind his equipment and all I could see was the top of his head. Even at the end, he exited too quickly for me to take a photo.

It was a good evening with a lot of laughter. These events are a good way to keep up to date with what is being written in the poetry world and to hear it read. It's a place to come across poets that are new to me. Very inspiring.

My purchases

February slump

 I'm in a bit of a slump right now. I don't seem to be able to find a direction. I have pieces ready to send out, but cannot find the right place to send them. Either submission windows are closed or I don't see me in that particular magazine. I'm loath to send to anymore competions at this time. Has anyone else noticed how entry fees have gone up? I did send to one competition this week, but I cannot justfy spending that much every time. I have to weigh up the fee against the prize (and my chances??). 

Even my projects have come to a stand still. However, I am toying with the idea of taking an in depth Flash Fiction course. It's expensive, hence the hesitation.

However, a few good things happened at the end of last month. My poem, How it Began, was published by Amethyst Journal. This poem came out of an article I read which fascinated me. When people ask where I get my ideas from, reading is one of them. It can be very random, and certainly this poem wouldn't have been written had I not read the article.

The other great thing was attending Out-Spoken at the Purcell Room at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre with a friend. We found out that this is a monthly event, and we enjoyed it so much we are going back again this month!

Kim Moore

The evening consisted of three poets and two musicians. I'd particularly wanted to see Kim Moore, whose poetry book The Art of Falling, I have read. This time she read from her latest book, All The Men I Never Married. I loved her quip to the late arrivals, 'Sorry, you've missed the penis poem', or words to that effect! During the interval, I bought her book along with Improvised Explosive Device by Arji Manuelpillai, who was the first reader of the evening. His poetry was like nothing I had heard before and based on extremism, and why people act the way they do. He'd interviewed people including Tamil Tigers and an EDL member, and researched articles.

Arji Manuelpillai

Mark Waldron's started off his session with a poem about a Lawnmower Museum. It was so funny everyone was roaring with laughter. He had a mix of funny poetry and poetry taken from folk and fairies tales. I particularly liked his funny poetry. It makes a refreshing change, as most poetry is serious and often dark.

Mark Waldron

The musicians were Jay Verma, a UK-based jazz pianist, and Jamie Leeming, a jazz guitarist. I'm not a fan of jazz, but I wouldn't have called Jamie Leeming a jazz guitarist. I enjoyed his music, and was fascinated by his use of a loop machine.

Jamie Leeming

I found the evening inspirational and it left me with a buzz. It's good to see what poets are writing these days. 

Finally, I have been asked my Mothers' Union Branch to give a talk on my writing experience, so I have been busy putting together information and making A5 booklets with a combination of flash and poetry I've had published to give away on the night. I should add that I've been a member of this branch since my eldest son was a toddler. I'll tell you how it went next time.

Now back to the slump!