If you had asked me last year about the connections to be made between photography and poetry I would have happily reeled off a list including the imagistic quality of both, that they share a distinct and recognisable language as well as requiring some sort of formal skill and technique. My current photo-poetry project, Picture This, did not arrive with a lightbulb moment in the middle of the night; instead it was the constriction of illness that gave rise to the work.

For many months now I have been pretty much housebound with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and although this has proved to be one of the most challenging periods in my life, it has given me the opportunity to examine my creative process from a new perspective. I had no idea what I was starting when I began. I would struggle out in to the garden in my pyjamas, camera in hand, and take a photograph, then another and another. As the weeks passed I realised I had created a meaningful portfolio of work and a record of the small changes that occur in the unexamined. Before I got ill I lived life at such a speed many of my experiences where a fairground ride blur. Now it was stillness and repetition that had allowed me to stop and focus, to witness the moment in all its subtle and ever-changing detail.

But something did not feel complete. I was homesick for my writing community. I also knew that these images needed the gentle re-interpretation that only my poetic kin could offer. I invited a small number of respected poets to take part. They were to choose just one image and write a piece, no longer than 40 lines in response. I have been overwhelmed by the number of replies guaranteeing that this project will run for many months to come.

Now if you ask me about the links to be made between photography and poetry my answer would be simple – photographers and poets alike know how fleeting and precious the moment is, and it is our job to preserve and celebrate these moments.

You can find out more about Picture This, and Naomi’s work, here.

Sometimes characters aren’t meant to be confined to the page.  Sometimes they’d rather live and breathe.

Patience Agbabi asked participants to not only write in their character’s voice, but for the sake of the end performance, to become them. I likened this to the way a recipe is merely a blueprint for a meal or similar to DNA being the formula for life. The workshop was like a skeleton and through the process we, the participants and I, added the flesh, blood and breath.

As it turns out, creation can have the humblest of beginnings. Mine began with a charity fundraiser who secretly hated her or his job but pretended to love it.  And to be honest, I was at a loss for what to do.  What happens when there’s some information missing in a recipe? What about all those lost evolutionary links?

I decided that my character and I were different but had qualities that I knew well enough to try to recreate.  He had a different cadence, non-standard English, a boastful nature, a quiet passion hidden behind slightly criminal behaviour.  Essentially, I filled in the gaps, began to give rise to someone I could care about – whether he lived or died or what would happen to him next.  He had to be memorable, believable, hopefully dynamic.

My character and I made peace that day.  There is more work to be done; perhaps characters like people are always unfinished.  As I listened to others bring their characters to life from former writing prompts that had no heads, hands, no hearts or bodies, only a career and a confession, I realised this is what the writing is about – not just the recipe but the food created, not just the outline but what escapes the page.

Zakia Carpenter-Hall is a writer, facilitator and personal coach. She will be performing at Beyond Words, Gipsy Hill Tavern at 7.30pm Tuesday 5  June and reVerse View open mic Sunday 17 June, 4-6pm at UKCCA.
She is a Jr. Coach for Newham Word Champions and you can find her on Twitter @ZCarpenterHall.

Hello all,

May blossom is represented in the Apples and Snakes South East by an exciting new event series blooming in Margate on Friday 25 May. Big Talk will be a mix of performance poetry with open mic, feature guests and poetry films. It’ll all take place in the small, but perfectly formed, Tom Thumb Theatre. Details of the launch event can be found below in the events section.

May also brings THE REMEMBERERS gamboling into Southampton – a hip-hop graphic novel live action multi-media sci-fi show written and performed by Kenny Baraka which will take place at a secret location in the city. To find out more about where, visit www.nuffieldtheatre.co.uk.

Those of you following Apples and Snakes’ Shake the Dust project will be aware that the regional final, which will see 5 groups of young people competing in a poetry slam to represent the South East in a national final in London, is drawing ever closer and you can find out more and follow the project, including regular artist blog posts on the website here: www.shakethedust.co.uk.

I can’t go without thanking everyone who came along to 451 in April to see Kayo Chingonyi and Rachel Rose Reid, and to all the open mikers who did Southampton (and some from Bournemouth) proud.

Pete Hunter
South East Coordinator

This is an extract from May’s South East Snakebasket, to view the full version, click here.

Apples and Snakes’ Snakebaskets are monthly newsletters tailored for each region we work in. Here you will find lots of exciting poetry stuff and more about what we are up to in your area. Why not join our e.mailing list? Click here for more.

“just wanted to say thanks for one of the best poetry-info emails I’ve ever received. Hope to attend at least a couple of the events – brilliant!” London Snakebasket reader.

Welcome! This month – Tuesday 29 May, to be precise – I will be hosting Gallery Sessions, but I need your help! I need to compose a piece to read – do you want to donate a line of text? I’d like your words, song lyrics and quotes to build a Snakebasket inspired masterpiece! Possible themes and writing rules also welcome, e-mail me before the end of the month with suggestions! This will be the first Gallery Sessions of the year, with 4 eclectic and powerful poets taking to the stage. The studio gigs are taking a back seat for now as we return to the intimate café bar where you will have the opportunity to sit back, sip a drink and listen to some unique voices. A new addition to the event (apart from my hosting skills!) is a 5 minute opening slot from a local  talent, a way to see what great writers are living in Barnstaple but slipping through my net.

Before that, though, FORKED is back and shaking its spectacular spoken word feathers and shimmying delightfully. With 3 out of 4 poets on the bill direct from the South West, I’m flying the flag high for regional gems. The 4th poet is also very good indeed and coming from Brighton with a passion for freeganism – pretty cool too! That’s Thursday 24 May – info here.

So, with two shows in the same week there’s plenty to celebrate and pick from, whether you fancy some thoughtful words, comedic charm or captivating stories, come celebrate the new season with a good old poetry shin dig!
See you there!

Gina Sherman
Programme Coordinator, South West
gina@applesandsnakes.org / 01392 275 741
Apples and Snakes South West Facebook group

This is an extract from May’s South West Snakebasket, to view the full version, click here.

Apples and Snakes’ Snakebaskets are monthly newsletters tailored for each region we work in. Here you will find lots of exciting poetry stuff and more about what we are up to in your area. Why not join our e.mailing list? Click here for more.

“just wanted to say thanks for one of the best poetry-info emails I’ve ever received. Hope to attend at least a couple of the events – brilliant!” London Snakebasket reader.

Hello all!

Ah, spring. My friends from back home keep complaining about the heat wave that has engulfed Eastern Europe. The poor things, how they must suffer, with their cloudless skies and 30 degrees in the shade. A glance through the Custard Factory window reveals sensible clouds and reliable rain, which combined with the wind-blown cold on the walk here in the morning convince me yet again that the Midlands have the superior weather system. Or so I keep telling myself.

On to happier thoughts: some of you may remember that I mentioned an upcoming collaboration between Punch Records and Apples and Snakes – well, here it is! It’s called Go and See and is an ongoing opportunity for West Midlands poets to get inspired by the very best work happening elsewhere in the country, all at our expense. All we ask in return is that you write or record your impressions, so you can share your discoveries with the rest of us. The deadline for applications is on the last day of each month; all you need to do is download the (very simple) form from the Punch website, send to the wonderful Waqar Azam (waqar@punch-records.co.uk), cross ayour fingers and hope for the best! Find out more about the scheme here.

In other news, there are only two editions of Hit the Ode left before we take a break for the summer. The May edition features poets from Birmingham, London and Lisbon – you’ll find out more after the jump, and as ever, I strongly urge you to like the Facebook page for updates, pictures, and a video countdown.

Finally, a quick Shake the Dust update: work is now proceeding briskly in all five participating schools and youth groups. I keep hearing from the poet coaches and shadows about the incredible enthusiasm and talent of the young poets involved in the project, and I cannot wait until we all get to hear the results on Saturday 9 June. Oh yes.

Take care, and see you soon!

Bohdan
Apples and Snakes West Midlands Coordinator
bohdan@applesandsnakes.org

This is an extract from May’s West Midlands Snakebasket, to view the full version, click here.

Apples and Snakes’ Snakebaskets are monthly newsletters tailored for each region we work in. Here you will find lots of exciting poetry stuff and more about what we are up to in your area. Why not join our e.mailing list? Click here for more.

“just wanted to say thanks for one of the best poetry-info emails I’ve ever received. Hope to attend at least a couple of the events – brilliant!” London Snakebasket reader.

Hello, hello, hello, what have we here then?

A round up of some mightily fun stuff, of course, if you like that kind of thing. Which I’m assuming you do, what with being on my mailing list and all!

First up – this is what I’m doing, and it would be great to have you along in the audience: Scratch Tyne returns on Sunday 20 May in our new, permanent home on Floor 6 of Commercial Union House. The view alone is worth the trek, even if the poetry wasn’t so damn gorgeous! And we continue with Scratch Tees, in our new and we hope permanent home in the mima café. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than checking out some art, having a posh coffee and listening to poetry? This month with guest performances from the daddies of the Teesside scene, Bob Beagrie and Andy Willoughby. As usual, both events are preceded by our regular informal rehearsal clubs for anyone wanting to try performing their work.

Plus there are three fantastic spoken word nights coming up at ARC in May, which I know you won’t want to miss – first up is John Cooper Clarke, supported by Kate Fox and Mike Edwards on Saturday 12th; then there is some funny stuff including a re-telling of world classic literature in limericks from Andy Croft and Martin Rowson on Tuesday 22nd; and finally CountryBoy’s Struggle, a mixture of spoken word, hiphop and physical theatre happening on Wednesday 30th.

See you there!

Kirsten Luckins
North East Coordinator

Kirsten@applesandsnakes.org / 07585 223 162
@applessnakesne /  Facebook group

This is an extract from May’s North East Snakebasket, to view the full version, click here.

Apples and Snakes’ Snakebaskets are monthly newsletters tailored for each region we work in. Here you will find lots of exciting poetry stuff and more about what we are up to in your area. Why not join our e.mailing list? Click here for more.

“just wanted to say thanks for one of the best poetry-info emails I’ve ever received. Hope to attend at least a couple of the events – brilliant!” London Snakebasket reader.

Hello again. OK, we’ll keep it brief. Things are picking up with our Shake The Dust project at the moment and the London shows are thinning out for a month or so. Ah, but feel the quality.

We start off this very Friday with John Hegley & Some Other Poets (that’s one from the Ronseal School of Titling, there). John is a known quantity. And yet – is he? We think we know him, but he never fails to pull something surprising out of the bag. Those mysterious others are Julian Daniel, Cynthia Hamilton, Thick Richard and Lara A King – each of them worth the price of admission alone. The show is part of the Cockpit Theatre’s Poets in the Pit season – see Recommended for more on that.

We’ve got behind ecological wordmeister Pete the Temp for his Verses Climate Change show (yes, we know it’s spelt wrong – it’s a pun) when it comes to The Albany on 14 and 16 May. Come and see how one man can save the world just with the power of his larynx.

A StoryCraft at Rich Mix on Monday 21 gives something for the little-’uns to do, before our monthly night there stomps its way into May. Yes, Jawdance – the show that grabs you by the shoulders and yells “arrive at 6.30pm if you want to sign up for the open mic” (probably with a vein pulsating on its temple) – is back on Wednesday 23rd. As usual, it’ll be a raging storm of poets and films and more poets, all contained in a teacuppish two-and-a-half hours, and all for zero spondulicks. Oh, and an early heads-up (as the youngsters say): no Jawdance in June. I repeat: no Jawdance in June.

And that’s that. Remember to indulge in small acts of poetical beauty every day, if you can.

Russell
Programme Coordinator for London

This is an extract from May’s London Snakebasket, to view the full version, click here.

Apples and Snakes’ Snakebaskets are monthly newsletters tailored for each region we work in. Here you will find lots of exciting poetry stuff and more about what we are up to in your area. Why not join our e.mailing list? Click here for more.

“just wanted to say thanks for one of the best poetry-info emails I’ve ever received. Hope to attend at least a couple of the events – brilliant!” London Snakebasket reader.

The Poetry Society’s SLAMbassadors UK is now in its 10th year and the programme’s heart and soul, Joelle Taylor, was on fine form on Sunday. She warmed up the audience with her moving and compelling poem Last Poet Standing – a call to arms (or to pens) for all writers – and proceeded to get justifiably moist-eyed at the performances from the eight young people that she has nurtured and mentored over the past year.

The youngest of the winners, Emily and Renee, blew me away with their sheer confidence in front of a room brimful of other poets, friends and family and members of the public, whilst both the first and last of the young performers, Gabriel and Megan, are clearly getting into their stride as professional spoken word artists. Aaron, Harry and Tamara all displayed fantastic poetics alongside a real insight and sensitivity about the human condition in the 21st century, in all its beauty and squalor.

Charlotte meanwhile, performing a poem written from the perspective of a retired British serviceman in her soft, lyrical Northern Irish accent, had the room on its feet and my heart in my mouth with the final line of a poem created just the day before in a masterclass: “but she stopped, at once, at the second shot”.

An inspiring and emotional night.

More about the SLAMbassadors project can be found here, and you can read Joelle’s report from the event here.

April! Is it wrong to get so excited by cherry blossom? Answers in a haiku to…

So, would you like some intimate, innovative, site-specific, warm and welcoming, thought-provoking, participative poetry? Would you like a glass of wine with that? Then come to Home Cooking on Tuesday 17 April. This is the first in a series of occasional close-up gigs. The award-winning Hannah Jane Walker will perform two sittings of This Is Just To Say, a show about apologies for a maximum audience of 12, around a dining room table. Booking is essential – £5 for the show and a nice glass of wine!

Would you like to come to a very silly slam? On 22 April,Scratch Tyne moves to the delicious Newcastle Performance Collective space, and will celebrate with a Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed slam. Teams of poets will perform work by themselves and dead poets, plus there will be normal Scratch slots for new work and probably some silly awards for Most Inventive Use Of Swearing In A Performance Poem, and stuff like that. Won’t be the same without you!

And finally, a new Scratch Tees format and location – we will be at the wonderful MIMA, hopefully on their roof terrace, trying out new poems and also hearing from special guest performers Jenni Pascoe and Steve Urwin. Poets – keep checking out this newsletter and Facebook for fantastic free workshops on writing for performance, storyboarding your poetry film, and using physical theatre techniques in performance!

Kirsten Luckins
North East Coordinator

This is an extract from April’s North East Snakebasket, to view the full version, click here.

Apples and Snakes’ Snakebaskets are monthly newsletters tailored for each region we work in. Here you will find lots of exciting poetry stuff and more about what we are up to in your area. Why not join our e.mailing list? Click here for more.

“just wanted to say thanks for one of the best poetry-info emails I’ve ever received. Hope to attend at least a couple of the events – brilliant!” London Snakebasket reader.

Hello beautiful readers, here we are in sunny spring ready to indulge in some sumptuous spoken word shenanigans.

The Daffodils have sprouted, the parks are full and the beach too, isn’t the South West of England beautiful this time of year?  Whether you live near the rolling hills and valleys, by the golden coast or in the hustle of a creative city, here’s to embracing the inspiration all around us.

Just one Apples and Snakes type event this month, but plenty more happening in May! We’re thrilled to be supporting The Hip Yak Poetry Shack again, and what an incredible line-up they’ve got! Check out the info here.

So, May: be well prepared and get your tickets for the next FORKED nice and early: the crème de la crème of the South West spoken word scene and beyond. Festival favorites, slam winners and exciting newcomers will all feature alongside Mama Tokus of course.

I am also pleased to confirm the final line-up for the new and improved Gallery Sessions, the first of the year. Each Gallery Session will now feature a 5 minute slot from a local performer, be it poetry, prose, comedy, playwriting, monologues or songs, so if you’re a North Devon artist interested in showing your work, drop me a line. There will also be some amazing performances from storyteller Rachel Rose Reid, international poet Chanje Kunda and London-based Raymond Antrobus.

Finally, a big thank-you to those who attended the Rural Touring Workshop in partnership with Take Art: feedback was brilliant and we hope to bring you more events like this in the future.

Gina Sherman
South West Programme Coordinator

This is an extract from April’s South West Snakebasket, to view the full version, click here.

Apples and Snakes’ Snakebaskets are monthly newsletters tailored for each region we work in. Here you will find lots of exciting poetry stuff and more about what we are up to in your area. Why not join our e.mailing list? Click here for more.

“just wanted to say thanks for one of the best poetry-info emails I’ve ever received. Hope to attend at least a couple of the events – brilliant!” London Snakebasket reader.