From artist opinion pieces, to behind-the-scenes news, our blog offers insight into all things spoken word.
If you have an idea for a blog post you’d like to see, please send suggestions to info[at]applesandsnakes[dot]org and watch this space for more articles.
Lesbian history is obscured by centuries of misogyny, homophobia and class difference. As a consequence, much of the material available refers to upper and middle-class women, in the form of diaries, artworks and analytical texts.
Please don’t call the police, but I was thirteen when I first watched the fifteen-rated, 2002 version of The Ring. I was at a sleepover with a girl who had once announced: ‘If you’re not wearing a bra by year nine, there’s something wrong with you’, and I was as desperate for her friendship as…
Beth Calverley, founder of The Poetry Machine, has seen the positive effects of poetry through her work within health and wellbeing contexts, both before and during the pandemic. Yet she has found her own inspiration levels rising and falling unpredictably during the past five months. In this blog, Beth explores why poetry can be helpful…
Written by Ming Akila with an introduction from Talia Randall A+S: Could we start with each of you giving us a bit of background about yourself and your practice? Ming: I’m still trying to get used to answering this question with ‘I’m a storyteller’, even though most of the time it still doesn’t quite make…
What is the role of the artist in moments of historic, social, or political importance? Is there a responsibility to act as social commentator, interpreter, record-keeper? We asked, Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa, Neelam Saredia-Brayley, Kirsty Taylor, JulianKnxx, and Shaun Hill, the five spoken word artists on our Poetry in Performance Programme supported by Jerwood Arts, how…
28 May 2021 In response to Black Lives Matter, we have started to embed equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging (EDIB) thinking and action across all our work. Here’s an update of the things that we have done in the past 12 months and will be doing: Programming We have strengthened our commitment to programming Black…
Could it be that there is too much poetry in spoken word? There can be no props, costumes and stage personas if we absorb the assumption that poetry is not a performing art.
In these extraordinary times, we’re trying something new! Beginning on Wednesday 15 April, Apples and Snakes @ Home is an uplifting (and experimental!) five-episode series of one-hour live streamed spoken word gigs, culminating in an exciting grand finale (TBA). Incorporating performance and conversation and bringing together leading spoken word poets from across the UK –…
The majority of the Apples and Snakes team have now returned to our office at The Albany in Deptford. You can reach us on 020 8465 6140 or via info@applesandsnakes.org. The office will be staffed from Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. Some members of the team will continue to work remotely or combine home and office hours throughout…
From our first event in the Adams Arms in London back in 1982, Apples and Snakes has grown into a national organisation at the forefront of the poetry and spoken word sector. Over the years, as spoken word trailblazers, we have supported incredible artists to develop work, created inspirational experiences for audiences and participants, produced…
Poetry and nature writing have often gone hand in hand. African-American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar wrote beautiful poems in the late 1800’s inspired by nature like Spring Song celebrating that longed for season… ‘And ever in our hearts doth ring This song of Spring, Spring!’ and Seedling… ‘As a quiet little seedling Lay within its…
We asked Clive Birnie from independent publisher Burning Eye Books a few questions about the world of publishing and the dos and don’ts of submitting your work. When setting up Burning Eye Books, why did you choose to focus on platforming spoken word artists in particular? I didn’t. It is not a term that I…
We are delighted to announce that we have been successful in our application to the Jerwood Development Programme Fund. Jerwood Arts | Apple and Snakes Poetry in Performance is a unique opportunity for ten spoken word poets from across the country to explore the performative potential of their work. Selected artists will participate in a residential…
Facilitator, mentor, and writer Jacob Sam-La Rose and poet and curator Rachel Long discuss the merits, importance, and challenges of establishing, maintaining, and participating in creative communities. The following is a transcript of a conversation between Jacob and Rachel, edited lightly for readability. J: Had you been involved in creative communities before Burn After Reading…
Facilitator, mentor, and writer Jacob Sam-La Rose and poet and curator Rachel Long discuss the merits, importance, and challenges of establishing, maintaining, and participating in creative communities. The following is a transcript of a conversation between Jacob and Rachel, edited lightly for readability. J: What, for you, is the difference between a community and a…
Owen Craven-Griffiths Apples and Snakes’ Producer for the Midlands When it comes to spoken word it can sometimes be hard to define success. For many poets one indicator can be winning a major slam title. This was the case for me. In 2007 I won the UK Slam Championships at Stratford Theatre Royal under my…
Binary. It basically means one thing or the other, right? But if you trace the word back it actually stems from the Latin word bini meaning ‘two together’. So when first appropriated into the English language its meaning was closer to that of ‘duality’ as opposed to the idea of mutual exclusivity we’ve become familiar…
We spoke to North East poet and creator of Door-to-Door Poetry, Rowan McCabe, about poetry, kindness, and Brexit Britain… What is Door-to-Door Poetry? Door-to-Door Poetry is a project where I make a nuisance of myself by knocking on stranger’s doors and writing poems for them, for free, on any subject they like. When they answer…
Jawdance host and Apples and Snakes favourite Yomi Ṣode has been selected as a Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellow alongside Hafsah Aneela Bashir and Anthony Joseph. Each of the recipients receives £15,000 plus a year of critical support and mentoring with no expectation that they produce a particular work or outcome. Yomi sat down with our London Producer and newly…
SPINE Festival – a free, annual spoken word and cross artform festival taking place in libraries for children, young people and their families My local library was a special place to me as a child, I’d visit every week to discover new words, pictures and prized pieces of knowledge, it was peaceful and it smelt…
How were we to know/ that when we were cleansing/ we were erasing our whole existence – CUNTO, Joelle Taylor My whole life has been a protest, and my body a political placard. My body has also been a battleground and a bar room, a tourist spot and a cemetery, a haunted house and a roadside…
DigiPoets British Council Cultural Exchange: Podcast and Poet Blog Between 19 and 23 March 2019, three artists from Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia visited the UK as part of the British Council’s Southern Africa Arts programme #SouthernAfricaArts. Hamilton Chambela, Kgotla Molefe, and Jordan Lusaka participated in a week of cultural and creative excursions including trips to…
No Word Unspoken means be bold, speak out, there is power in what you have to say. Poetry helps us make sense of the world. At weddings we read poetry to celebrate, at funerals it helps us to grieve. Tony Walsh’s This is the Place and Ben Okri’s poem Grenfell Tower, June, 2017 are recent…
Banner image left to right: Somalia Seaton, Chris Thorpe, Casey Bailey, Lanaire Aderemi, Adaya Henry, Sujana Upadhyay, Jasmine Gardosi & Chris McLoughlin. “We are excited about how the richness of poetry and the narrative of theatre can work together to tell stories in new ways. The industry needs to enable new creative dialogues – we are…
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