Slamming at the Spinning Room

What fun it was last night. Geoff Fox organised a slam- held at the Spinning Room, one great venue (thanks to John and Anthony for hosting) . It was a good crowd and dare I say some great poets.
The open mic got the poetry juices flowing (what a great open mic) and then the slam.

Some familiar faces....Michael Reynolds, one minute I'm laughing out loud at his poems, then he's got the room silent with a serious piece on family. Koraly Dimitriadis work- she memorised two poems dealing with the fragility of the everyday- some great insights.  Emily Manger memorised as well, her funny quirky thoughts on the phone and a relative had me torn between laughing and cringing. Emilie Collyer - whose work I so admire- once again delivered the goods. Her words leave me wanting more, and pondering life (in a good way).

Then to me there were some new faces and voices - and I must admit this is one of the reasons I love venturing off the mountain. It's hearing not only poets that I know and think are so good, but hearing new ones that just amaze me with their abilities.

Last night I heard three new voices  (did I mention I don't get off my mountain much? - so new voices for me ) - Tariro Mavondo -  an exciting new voice with great strength and a great use of language. Loved her use of singing with the poetry.

Also Sam Zifchak -  loved his use of language, rhythm and rhyme - his narrative style was very impressive...and Marc Testart - who memorised all of his poems and delivered them with such style and passion. Who obviously enjoys playing with words and rhythm.
WOW - these guys were amazing.  -  their voices, their ability with words and language.

It was a great night, a fun night and I heard some poetry that made me realise that there is so much out there worth hearing.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE SOLITARY WRITER...

Image
Writers are said to be solitary creatures. There is the age old image of the writer, alone, shivering and gaunt, scribbling away frantically while living in an attic. Frankly I don't know any writers who live in attics, or in fact many who lead the solitary life. Most are surrounded by people- in their daily lives, in their jobs, surrounded by family and friends. And really it is by being part of this social whirl where the majority of ideas come from. People as a species are so interesting, so volatile, so eager to say too much. All fodder for a poem or short story, a play, piece of non-fiction...or the seed for a novel. The novel I wrote for Nanowrimo last year was based on a line my father said. One simple phrase and I wondered 'what if...' and it went from there. The last short story I wrote was based on a mother I noticed at work and how she interacted with her children on one of the last scorching days. Let's just say the temperature wasn't the only thi...
Read more

OBSTACLES....

Image
This year has been a bit of a doozy. A lot of obstacles have popped up, some avoidable (accepting bigger work load and more hours)..some unavoidable (death of family member). So without me noticing it, March has arrived. Summer is gone and we have autumn, and not a lot of writing has been done. But here we are and I'm determined to get myself organised and on focus. I have made a goal sheet for 2018, which is a great start. It only has two things on it but heh, they are two BIG things and hopefully  I intend to get them done.  Last night I attended my YA / Children's writing group. What an inspirational group! Just when I needed a pick up, a kick up the pants (please supply any number of cliches) I was reminded of what can be achieved with lots of hard work. Fellow member Pauline   is about to launch her second book in her Cinnamon Stevens series. There will be a launch at Belgrave Library, Tuesday 10th April 2pm.  Copies can be purchased ...
Read more

FRESH START....

Image
There's something about the beginning of a new year. Fills us with inspiration, hopes and dreams. Lets us believe that anything is possible. That the year to come can be anything we want it to be. And it can. And of course there are resolutions...I'm still debating about what tack to take. Whether to focus on poetry or short story, the novel(s) that I wrote last year....hmmm too hard to think about just yet. I'll let it percolate, ponder on the pros and cons, on what I WANT to do, not what I SHOULD do. Personal resolutions are so much easier- I have plans on health and wellbeing, on the house, on the garden, on myself spiritually as well. The writing ones are so much harder. And of course there is knowing when to stop. There is no point in having a list a mile long ( I so used to do that)... totally unachievable and so daunting. So it's better to have a few solid ones on the list...ones that can be achieved within twelve months. And also goals that I have contr...
Read more