Describe yourself in 3 words…
I asked a few friends this, which was an interesting exercise! The words naughty and adventurous were recurring themes. One friend said surprising which I rather liked. Think I’d have said “down to earth”.
What inspires you?
In terms of poetry: the little things – the everyday; the commonplace; the minutiae of behaviour. In terms of life: the big things – mountains; the sea; the sky.
Tell us about your worst ever gig?
There was one at Bath Spa Uni when it rained so hard on a flat roof that I literally couldn’t hear myself. It was an absolute deluge and extremely distracting! Without wanting to tempt fate, every open mic or spoken word opportunity has been a learning experience and most have been enjoyable and heartening! This says more about the wonderfully supportive poetry community I’ve met, than me. I am so grateful to them.
What’s your number one poetry pet peeve?
When poets give a long introduction telling you what their poem is about rather than letting the words speak for themselves.
Whose words do you love at the moment?
Having recently shared a stage with Kim Moore, I am devouring “All the men I never married” with delight!
What piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
Start writing and performing spoken word earlier (I came to all this very late and think there was a golden era in the nineties I would have enjoyed!).
If you could explore a famous person’s home, who would you choose and why?
Totally stumped by this one, but maybe Boris Johnson (or substitute for other dubious characters) – looking for skeletons in the cupboards!
About Jo Eades
Jo performs regularly on the Bristol spoken word scene, and has been a feature poet at Milk Poetry and Raise The Bar events. In 2023, she performed on the Milk Poetry stage at Valleyfest and was selected as one of eight emerging poets from the South West to be part of Apple and Snakes Future Voices project. In 2024 she won both the Bristol Lyra Poetry Festival Grand Slam and the Hip Yak Poetry Shack Slam at WOMAD Festival, and recently appeared at Clifton LitFest alongside Kim Moore. She has also been featured four times on BBC Radio Bristol Upload.
Insta: @joeadespoet