A monthly spoken word night for unheard and under-represented voices in Teesside.

DiVerse features special guests and open mic performers who are womxn, LGBTQIA+, visibly and invisibly disabled, refugee and artists of colour.

Featuring:

FAHAD AL-AMOUDI
In conjunction with his poetry Fahad is a part of a spoken word band called ‘The Poetry Experiment’ which blends poetry with the sounds of Hip Hop, contemporary jazz and neo-soul. He is former captain of the Durham University Slam Team, a Roundhouse Slam finalist 2019, BBC Words First graduate, Writing Squad member, and winner of the Scowl of the Year Prize three years running.

PRERANA KUMAR
An Indian spoken word artist, Prerana is the 2018 winner of the Say Owt Slam and won the Verve Poet of the Slam prize for best individual performance at UniSlam 2019. She was also a 2019 BBC Words First Finalist, and Asia House Poetry Slam 2019 finalist. She has performed across the UK, and has been published in The Writer’s Cafe, The Verve Community Anthology, and Use Words First.

SOPHIE SPARHAM
A writer and spoken word artist from Derby, Sophie’s debut poetry collection Please Mind the Gap features a foreword from Benjamin Zephaniah. She has written poetry commissions for Writing East Midlands, BBC Radio 4, The V&A and The People’s History Museum, and gave a Ted X Talk on how spoken word can improve cultural awareness. Sophie co-hosts Word Wise with Jamie Thrasivoulou, which won Best Regular Spoken Word Night at the Saboteur Awards 2019.

GEMMA FENYN
Having followed in the footsteps of her mentor Miggy Angel, Gemma now works at a charity which once offered her a lifeline. She continues to write and perform poetry, drawing on her own experience of growing up in Nottingham and introducing us to the characters she encountered on the road to recovery.

Plus the 2019 Winner of the Durham Slam – to be announced…

For open mic slots, sign up on the night.