Last night, I did a live appearance in Brighton. MUAHAHAHAHAHA.
I wasn’t a headline, but I was first on. Four poems were read, two of which were less than 10 lines long. I’m enjoying the economy at present of small pieces. All the words have to work extra hard. Also, CRUCIALLY, I’ve seen pictures of me AT THE MIC which will be very useful going forward. I do not possess nearly enough pictures of me doing poetry, it’s on the To-Do list to fix. There’s also so much to think about as a result of last night that I think my head is going to implode. Lots of tea today will help me organize my thoughts.
The biggest takeaway from the gig is that poetry is in good hands right now. I spent time listening to MA students who had been encouraged to come and practice their trade in front of a microphone and, it must be said, utterly owned the space. God, I wish there’d been the ability to poet that early in my life, what might have been different now… but there wasn’t, and life took a different path. This is the space I need to be in now, and it’s great. There were some lovely moments too last night when it became apparent I’ve inspired people with what I’ve produced. THAT’S A GOOD FEELING.
All the poetry on offer was utterly top-notch, and yet again it is a testament to Barbara and Darren that the space not only works, but it is thriving. I really hope to see it grow too in the months that follow, and it is time to organize what I’m doing in February when it happens again. However, before that, there is the matter of TWO OF MY OWN BOOK LAUNCHES…
The Internet of Words 