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The night began with a selection of talented and varied poets. Each is distinct in their own style and storytelling methods. It kicked off with Freya Beer, an incredible woman who has created albums and contributed zines to name a few of her achievements. Her poetry was plain in delivery, emphasising the importance of her words further and mainly focusing on issues surrounding feminism and womanhood as an experience.
Following her up was Jan Brierton, whose short career has already created a back catalogue of interesting work. She swears, uses plain language and describes what could be considered to some as quite mundane parts of life. Yet her delivery combined with all these aspects makes for a very real and funny performance.
Next up, Mike Gary, a man from Manchester, introduced the evening and spoke before the interval, acting as a host for the event. His stand-out poems were ones about his own personal relationships, like his son and a teacher her had as a child. He was brilliant at getting across the raw human emotions of caring for another person. The final opener of the night was Nottingham's own Henry Normal. His performance was a master class in tackling both serious topics such as the fear of a partner dying as well as throwing in humour and impeccable comedic timing.
John Cooper Clarke's performance was captivating and inspiring. He drew on material from his latest book, WHAT, as well as his classic work which has made him the legend he is today. His stage presence is still phenomenal and his ability to keep the audience captivated is nothing short of mesmerising. He was able to keep his personality shining beyond his words. As he'd move to switch his poetry books or have a drink, he could continue to make the audience laugh.
His spoken word poetry performances were mixed in with tales of his own life and humorous anecdotes. It's clear to see how he was able to share the stage with the likes of Buzzcocks and Sex Pistols as the raw passion and punk attitudes behind his art are still clear to see. The audience was thrilled when he performed fan favourites such as 'Evidently Chickentown' and 'Beasley Street' which have stood the test of time.
His performance ended with major applause and scattered standing ovations. The encore saw him discuss love and hate and perform a piece surrounding both of these topics. I was thrilled to see that the piece chosen in regards to love was 'I Wanna Be Yours' which has become popularised through the rendition by Arctic Monkeys. This combined with a spotlight in many recent school curriculums means that a new generation of fans are discovering the talent John Cooper Clarke possesses.
The night as a whole was captivating and intriguing. Performing arts and live events go so much further than the status quo and attending a variation is crucial to keeping the industry alive. Spoken word poetry goes hand in hand with musicianship as a number of the poets who I saw also released music and had a focus on lyricism. If you want to be entertained, inspired and educated I couldn't recommend the poets I saw enough.
