Hit the Ode
Birmingham’s new poetry night- ‘Hit the Ode’ is really gathering momentum, with the last edition almost filling the Victoria’s upstairs space to capacity. Each night features one act from the West Midlands, one from elsewhere in the UK, and, uniquely, one international guest.
The star-studded edition on Thursday, 10th February, will give Brummies the chance to see Coventry’s Fatima Al Matar, Bristol’s Byron Vincent, and New York’s Joshua Bennett, alongside local open mic poets, and resident DJ Soesmix Edan will once again provide wonderful musical counterpoints to all the spoken word.
Write Out Loud members may be familiar with some of the work of fellow member Fatima Al Matar; originally from Kuwait but currently living in Coventry, Fatima has appeared in many poetry magazines, and won numerous slams around the country. Her poem ‘Lessons’ has been short-listed for the Torbay Poetry Award, and she is the author of a wonderful collection – ‘The Heart and the Subsidiary’, published last year. With her unique performance style she is rapidly establishing herself as one of the most interesting and compelling voices on the performance poetry scene. If you’d like to find out more about Fatima you can view her Write Out Loud profile at: www.writeoutloud.net/public/poetview.php?profilesid=1355
Bristol’s Byron Vincent – sink-estate dandy and festival stalwart, is one of BBC poetry season’s ‘New Talent Choices, a regular at the most prestigious literary and music festivals, and will be a familiar name to listeners of BBC Radio 4’s ‘Bespoken Word’, and other shows. Described by The Times as “The most precocious talent on show.”; and by The Evening Post as “Looks and sounds like he could easily have stumbled off an Arctic Monkeys tour bus” - he is definitely not to be missed.
And finally – from New York – Joshua Bennett; with appearances at the Sundance Film Festival as well as HBO and ESPN, and a standing ovation from the Obama family – it’s no surprise that he has a huge following in his native U.S.A. He is spending this year in the UK studying for an MA in Theatre and Performance Studies, so this is your chance to catch him for the short time he will be on this side of the Atlantic.
The doors are open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start, but please note that there will be a (very) few open mic slots available if you wish to perform, so get there early if you want to sign up. Tickets are £5 and you pay on the door.
The Victoria is in Birmingham’s City Centre at 48 John Bright Street, Birmingham B1 1BN. And if you need more information you can contact Bohdan Piasecki at: bohdan@applesandsnakes.orgTop of Form
