You arrive at the venue – it’s usually a pub – and ask at the bar, maybe a little nervously, if it’s your first time: “Where’s the poetry?” You’ll probably be directed to a separate area upstairs. You’ll get changed in a curtained off area, or the loos, put on a dressing gown, which stays on most of the night, until it is your turn to take to the mic and read a few poems.  The robe comes off, and is placed upon a side chair.  After the last poem, and the polite applause, the robe goes back on. 

Welcome to the world of naked poetry, an idea that originated in continental Europe, spread to London in the 1990s, and onwards to Oxford, and Bristol.  Now it’s on Merseyside, and Wirral Naked Poets have their own profile on Write Out Loud. Why is why we thought it worth asking a few questions of the naked poets. Their replies were frank, detailed, and sometimes surprising, too.

Derek, a spokesman for the group, said the Wirral Naked Poets have been meeting on a monthly basis for about 18 months. The usual number of people that turn up is between 14 and 20.

Is it difficult to find a suitable venue? “It can be,” Derek said.  “You don’t want a place bang on the high street, where any old louts and undesirables could find out about things.  You want a secondary road, street, or avenue.  You also want a place with a respectable community, not a place known as a trouble spot or high crime area.  Then it is down to emotion and feel.  You almost know when you walk in if a place is right or not.  An upstairs room for performances is better, but back rooms, with a proper door, and various obstacles to the general public can be all right as well.  Then you have to have a pub owner or management that understands that it is completely honest, and artistic based, it is not any kind of a sex show.”

What about the poetry itself? Is it the same mix as you might get at any open mic night? Derek said they first made sure that anyone who came along was a proper poet, with a back catalogue of work. “A man that has a history of doing anti-war poems, will do anti-war poems at our nights too.  A man or woman who tends to write comical poems will continue with that.  So in the first phase they tend to stick to form. We call that the conventional poetry, though in other senses it might not be conventional at all.  But then there a second kind of poetry, which we have come to call naked spirit poetry, or soul poetry.  This is not always about nakedness, nakedness of body, but nakedness of mind.  it is very hard to describe on paper, but those have attended often enough come to know what it is.  Performers can be quite nervous, and the first time it is a big deal for them.  They can experience some sort of new self, or some kind of change within themselves, a kind of transformation.  Not always, but they can be inspired to write different kinds of poetry after having undergone this experience.  For some it they write it after the very first nude performance.  For others, it comes on gradually, maybe after their tenth visit. Naked spirit poetry can be very elusive.  Different things work for different people. ” 

Are there any rules? “The ladies can feel uncomfortable if they are too much outnumbered by men.  Therefore men have to pre-book, and may have to be put on a quota or rota system.” Do you have to be a naturist to join? “Oh no, not at all. Two- thirds of us are not naturists.  We are poets first, and perhaps naturists second.  Naturists are a good recruiting ground, because they are a safer bet, in terms of having honest motives, and some understanding of what we are about.  The freedom, the expression, the honesty, the lack of hang-ups, the supportiveness, and so on.  But a lot of us were poets through and through who had never appeared naked in public ever before, and were rather anxious about it the first time, a bag of nerves.  Then after that first performance, a sense of euphoria, there was nothing to it, what was all that fuss about, my God, how amazing, it’s an experience and a feeling you can’t describe. You simply have to do it.”

Wirral Naked Poets decided to put up a profile on Write Out Loud. Are they looking for more recruits? Derek replied: “I think any group at all, whether it be a photography club, or a stamp collecting society, might always be glad of a few new members.  This was not a primary objective, but we do want to become better known and spread the word, merely because we think it is good thing.  As you might expect, there is more scope for new women members than men.  It doesn’t matter what age you are. You certainly don’t need any kind of model or Hollywood good looks.  We have a great cross-section of quite ordinary looking people of various shapes and sizes, that you could come across anywhere.”

But recruiting new poets can be hard at times, because of shyness. “You would be surprised how men who sound fine on the phone, are more nervous at the bar, and have to gather their courage to ask the bar staff about ‘the poetry’.  Several who were convinced they would be fine, fail to make it naked onto the stage.  We agree that taking the plunge is perhaps a bit too much for some people,”

So Wirral Naked Poets are putting together a new group called the half-naked poets:  “They may go on to do full nude, some may not.”  There is also going to be a women-only group. Derek added that the group carried out corporate and charity work, as well as male nude poets performing at the occasional hen night. “But that requires the confidence to be nude in front of women who won’t be performing nude poetry themselves.  It’s the same for our naked poets, male and female who have done a small number so far of the charity events, reading to fully clothed people.  The audiences for  the charity events tend to not be the shouting, noisy type of crowds, but ones who have been briefed that it is being done in the name of charity, and to be somewhat respectful and sympathetic to the poets, who are baring their all to raise money, for a serious good cause.  Some of the charity audiences couldn’t help but grin, and maybe even giggle just a little bit, but they were very polite and understanding and respectful so it wasn’t too bad at all for the performers. 

“We are the Wirral Naked Poets, so I would say if you live on the Wirral, or Merseyside, and you are genuinely a poet, you can certainly get in touch with us.  Getting in touch might be all you ever do, you are not committing yourself to anything whatever.  There will be no pressure of any sort.” 

You don’t have to take Derek’s word for it. Here’s another Wirral Naked Poet, Neil: “I was there right at the start.  I was always a bit of a show-off, right from childhood.  I became a bit of an actor.  I written a lot of stories, and only a bit of poetry, I had never thought it was good enough to read out or publish.  I was moving in artistic and writing type circles, and I quite by chance I got to hear about this crazy idea for Wirral Naked Poets.  Half of me was saying no this is too crazy, nakedness is meant to be private, for the bedroom and the bathroom.  But the other half of me just couldn’t resist.  I thought, well, it’s art, I do get the idealism, and it’s friends, it’s only other people after all, humans.  I asked myself very seriously, can I do this and live with myself afterwards.  The answer was yes I can.  It’s much more ok than you think it is. Sorry, clothed poets is for wimps, the lesser mortals.”

Another poet, Matthew, said: “How long have I been a member of Wirral Naked Poets? Not long enough.  About eight months, I think.  I have the long hair and the beard, I have always been one for the alternative lifestyle.  Naked poetry, it’s the one thing society has been missing.  I read up about the naked poetry movement and I got it very quickly, I knew straight away what they were on about.  I have always been a writer, and some of my poems were very honest.  Sometimes reading a very personal poem out in public is similar to baring all.  I have been to clothed events.  The difference is with the naked poetry I have to get an extra shower about an hour before I go out, and watch out for not eating beans on toast.  More seriously though, I think with the naked poets the trust, the level of trust and the level of respect has to be so much higher.  That is not to take away from the friendship and comradeship I have encountered at clothed poetry events.”

Then there is Brenda: “I suppose I should have gone to the clothed poetry events beforehand, shouldn’t I, but I never have done.  The first few times I did naked poetry I didn’t know whether to be more nervous about reading the poem, getting the poem right, worrying if the poem was any good, or worrying about being stark naked.  I would read the poem, and my hand would be shaking, and then the applause would come, and then I would think, oh good, they liked that poem, what a relief.  Then I would think, oh God, I almost forgot, I’m naked as well, aren’t I?  I was so busy worrying, concentrating about the poem.  I think that happens to the audience as well.  During one of the breaks, it was obvious that one man had taken a lot of notice of my poem.  I thought, so he did listen to my poem then, he wasn’t just looking at my breasts. To be honest, I was a bit disappointed. He was so focused on my poem, I thought he was overdoing it a bit.  I mean, obviously you don’t want the men ogling your breasts, that’s what you worry about.  But on the other hand, I do like people to notice that I am actually a woman.  Sometimes I have come off the stage thinking, well, is there any point in being naked?

“I know the poetry is supposed to be the main thing, but part of it for me is about coming to terms with my own body shape and my imperfections, something I have battled with all my life.  I feel it is acceptable to be appreciated as a woman, without it crossing the line into anything dirty or shameful or unhealthy.  I have spoken to other women about this in the group as well.  They say the men are almost paranoid about complimenting you in any way as a woman.  It is as if they are pretending you are fully dressed. They have gone too far the other way.   You don’t have to take the little bit of a thrill out of it altogether, completely whitewash the hint of the sexual.”       

What would you say to others who might be wondering whether to join? Brenda replied: “Well, when I finally stopped turning my car round and driving home, and thinking I will never be able to do this, I did do it.  If I can do it, believe me, anyone can do it.  I had an interest in poetry, and I had long written poetry.  But for me this was far more about confidence.  I don’t think it might be everyone’s cup of tea, but for me, well it was, and still is, so empowering.  It is such a sense of triumph over your insecurities and doubts about yourself, about your body.   To get on stage and read a poem with no clothes is a huge hurdle, but once it’s down, by God you’ve done it, it’s down and it stays down.  So many women will think I am out of my mind to do this, but once you do it, you will understand.  There’s a woman at the place I work, every week she asks me about it.  She’s dying to do it, but she says she couldn’t, she daren’t.  She says, are the men honestly real gentlemen, are they really that restrained and matter of fact, and I say, yes, too much so!  And we both have a bit of a giggle.”