Gosh, what a month that was – it started off with a bang for me as April’s featured act at Good Shout in Peterborough, hosted as always by the awesome Alex Tyler – thanks so much for asking me to headline Alex! It’s a great little night and has quickly become a regular staple of the local spoken word/poetry scene. Give them a follow on Facebook and/or Instagram to keep up to date with upcoming features!
And as if that couldn’t get any better, a few weeks later, I won the 2024 Spalding Poetry Slam’s Wordsmith award. It was a great evening featuring 20 different poets, & what a brilliant selection of local poets in one room – was so much variety to listen to. Thanks again to Miles Green – South Holland Poet Laureate & everyone at Spalding Museum/Spalding Gentlemen’s Society for putting on the event & of course the award – I’m so very humbled. They are looking to put on more poetry/spoken word events in Spalding & the surrounding area, including crowning a new South Holland Poet Laureate in July. Give them a follow on their Facebook page and/or their website to be kept up to date. Also while you are there, if you are looking for poetry/spoken word in that locality, then make sure you also follow White Horse Writer’s Facebook page – they are also putting on a few events, if you want things to plug into.
As well as hosting Write Club’s daily NaPoWriMo throughout April, I was busy with the social media on the Stamford Poetry Facebook page during the Stamford Verse Festival. What a great small festival we had, welcoming Joelle Taylor, The Very Grimm Brothers, Ash Dickinson & Luke Wright to the arts centre, plus a selection of free events featuring local performers, & of course on the opening evening was this year’s Stamford Poet Laureate awards – big congratulations to the new Stamford Poet Laureate, the wonderful Caroline Avnit & new Stamford Youth Laureate Jasper Cairns. A big shout-out also goes to runner-up, the amazing powerhouse Emmy Jenkins. I know it’s a cliché to say ‘glad I wasn’t judging this year’ but honestly what a great selection of entrants there were. Also well done to outgoing Poet Laureate Emily Dickens, and Youth Laureates Abbie Blair and Aiden Surridge on your year in the roles.
It makes me really happy and proud to be part of this family of laureates & former laureates, it’s great to see our local poetry/spoken word community go from strength to strength.
Do keep an eye on everything that’s going on – of course I recommend following Stamford Poetry on Facebook, as well as checking out upcoming poetry events on Stamford Art’s Centre website – they have Harry Baker performing in June, as well as the return of the Poet Laureate himself – Simon Armitage as part of LYR. Stamford’s own Poet Laureate Caroline, is better known on Instagram as MyStamfordLife, do check out and give her a follow on there for all things Stamford, & whilst you there make sure you follow Rhymes On the Rocks, a second monthly poetry/spoken word open mic in the town, hosted by laureate runner up Emmy Jenkins alongside Kia Went.
To quote local poetry friend Callum Brazzo ‘Poetry is alive and well’
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