Amy Brangwyn
Describe yourself in 3 words… wend / weft / weave What inspires you? The fluidity of possibility for change. The way injustice builds a fire in our belly so that flames froth from our mouths in a fierce torrent. The paradox of being human and bearing witness to so much beauty and so much suffering….
Eryn McDonald
Describe yourself in 3 words… Anxious, angry, gentle. What inspires you? Emotions and observations. I am outwardly not the angriest of people but I channel a lot of my rage into my work. I am inspired by the people around me, by kindness, resilience, and weird interactions. More recently I’ve been inspired by the seasonal…
Lauren Temple
Describe yourself in 3 words… Eccentric. Honest. Passionate. What inspires you? Whatever makes me feel really excited! People, places, things… as long as they give me those pins and needles of excitement, it’s like lemonade fizzing through me. Often I feel inspired by the residents at the care home where I work and by the…
Valentina Huxley
Describe yourself in 3 words… Curious, dream-oriented and my housemate just said ‘spunky’ haha What inspires you? REVOLUTION! When I chat to people about changing the world, I zoom out of myself and into collective consciousness- this is such an authentic sweet spot to create from. I am also obsessed with queer ecology and mythology….
Dan Loops
Describe yourself in 3 words… Humorous, Versatile, Insatiable What inspires you? The cliche, yet true answer is life. I find moments inspiring, from insurmountable sadness to boundless love. Tell us about your worst ever gig? I once played a gig in a pub to just the sound man, not a single punter entered during the…
Bhumika Billa
Describe yourself in 3 words… ‘Alive’, I think. Close friends call me a ‘hustler’ (I asked only the ones that like me these days!). My aspirational description would be ‘kind’. What inspires you? Anger on most days, at how unjust the world is. On better ones, beauty of all kinds—in places and people. Tell us…
Amy Langdown
Describe yourself in 3 words… Quirky – Vibrant – Stubborn What inspires you? This, I suppose, is an answer of contradiction. What inspires me to write does not inspire me. Often I write because of the feeling that I must – I often write about the current political climate (which is not what I would…
Goodbye 2023
Whilst 2023 was an amazing year for Apples and Snakes, full of celebrations for our 40th anniversary, it ended on a sad note as we said a heartfelt farewell to the inspirational poet, activist, human-being and friend Benjamin Zephaniah. Benjamin first performed with us at our second gig back on 9 October 1982 and has…
Elena Chamberlain
Describe yourself in 3 words… I asked one of my best friends to help, here’s the product: “ginger, approachable, and you’ve got an artistic mind” (Thanks, Nell) What inspires you? People. I feel most inspired when I’m seeing, listening or reading from/about people who are really passionate about their craft, watching art that holds really…
Polis Loizou
Describe yourself in 3 words… Creative, talkative, irritating. What inspires you? History, culture and weird lore. I’m also very inspired by mediocrity. Part of me thinks, “Well, I can definitely do better than that,” which fires me up to do my thing. Tell us about your worst ever gig? I’ve only done a handful of poetry…
Poetry under Occupation
By Shareefa Energy. I was invited to The Freedom Theatre in Jenin Refugee Camp in the West Bank in Palestine as lead facilitator for the 2022 ‘Through The Eyes of Women – Feminist Theatre Festival,’ to deliver poetry and creative writing workshops, alongside performing poetry in Jenin and Ramallah. I last facilitated poetry and public speaking…
The Pause – Field Lab
Early this year I was invited by Team London Bridge, in partnership Apples and Snakes, to put together a day of interactive exercises that would inspire a different spin on talking about the climate and ecological crisis as part of the epic In A Field by A Bridge Festival. Since 2018, I’ve had many conversations in climate and environmental…
The Death of Eddie
In 1999, Eddie Steele Rosen – son, brother, friend and very much his own true self – died. He caught meningitis. He was 18 years old. It was a shock to all who knew and loved him and now, nearly 25 years later, he’s very much remembered and loved. We think of him every day,…
WORDCUP : An Overview
Each poem owes gratitude to other poems and poets that went before it. Poetry is a communal, collaborative act. Sometimes we fall into the trap of spotlighting the individual, whoever’s creative genius steals our breath. And yet we know that everything exists in a continuum. Each poem owes gratitude to other poems and poets that…
Tatenda Matsvai
Describe yourself in 3 words… Playful, Enthusiastic, Sporadic What inspires you? I am inspired by life the beauty the weight, the flow of it all through music movementbreath, it moves me, makes me feel present, real unreal at times and like magic, My family,my mother the story teller, my father the spokesperson, my sister and…
Apples and Snakes changes lives. Apples and Snakes changed my life.
It’s a bold claim but it’s true, Apples and Snakes really did change my life. Reaching me just at the right time and showing me that poetry wasn’t/isn’t exclusively written in the drawing rooms of the privileged, that community work was not of lesser quality and that art really can change lives in a way…
The Path from Shadow to Poet Coach
WORDCUP ’14 – ’23 The Woods of Writing As a poet who has reached a decade into this line of life (I’d call it work, but poetry is something lived, isn’t it?) I have found myself reflecting on the journey, the path from Shadow to Poet Coach. Over this decade, I have facilitated poetry in…
Linden McMahon
Describe yourself in 3 words… Just a hopepunk hobbit What inspires you? At the moment I write a lot about the ecosystems we’re part of; my relationships with land, plants and animals. I’m also facilitating nature connection sessions, and I’ve been veering more and more towards projects which combine ecology and creativity. I’m working on…
Apples and Snakes Takeover and All Stars Gig
Apples and Snakes Takeover & All Stars Gig On a sunny Saturday 3 June 2023, we hosted our special Takeover and All Stars gig at the Roundhouse in London. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Apples and Snakes in style, the day featured live performances, creative workshops, podcast recordings and talks. This epic birthday bash was…
Bits of a Poet
Bits of a Poet “Understanding comes in different forms, and poems are not riddles.” – Bohdan Piasecki We build poems out of bits of language. Words, and groups of words, and ways in which words interact. We each amass a different set of these bits, and even the ones we ostensibly share we imbue with…
Goodbye 2022
Hello from Apples and Snakes, and goodbye 2022! A momentous year for us as we turned 40 on 2nd October 2022. Wahoooo!!! It’s amazing! What was started by a small collective of poets Mandy Williams, Pete Murry and Jane Addison in a room at the Adam’s Arms, on Saturday 2nd October 1982 is still here, going strong, 40 years later…
Muskaan Razdan
Have high standards. Be brave. Try everything. Give up on some things. There is food at home. Describe yourself in 3 words… Future fun grandma What inspires you? The women in my life. The company of creatives. The desire to anger the aunties. Tell us about your worst ever gig? It was a small audience….
Apples and Snakes: The Podcast
Tune in and listen up. Join Award winning British-Nigerian writer Yomi Sode for Apples and Snakes: The Podcast. You probably have heard of our host, he is our regular at every Jawdance, and has been doing incredible work lately. Yomi has won critical acclaim for his works published by Penguin (Manorism), is a Jerwood Compton…
The Educational Poet
Its September. School bells are calling in students to begin a new academic year, and for many writer teachers like me, we’re trying to find the balance and earning a living and honouring their creative endeavours. I’m a part-time English lecturer working in Further Education (FE), teaching GCSE English Language resits to learners who didn’t…
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