The line-up for Day One was an impressive one on paper and it did not disappoint. Hosts Liv Torc and Jonny Fluffypunk kicked off with paeans to the family bed and coffee, respectively, both displaying virtuoso linguistic ingenuity and great humour.
The poets that followed were an eclectic bunch. Some were high energy, populist, feelgood poets like Elvis McGonagall, with his mix of razor sharp standup, excoriating political commentary and witty rhyme, Jackie Juno, who had the whole audience chanting along with her, and Alexander Rhodes, who drew on hiphop rhythms to give us his rapping nan and took us on a Megabus journey.
Some had powerful political messages, like Birdspeed, whose urgent pieces about intersectional black feminism were delivered with such a charisma and vivaciousness that the whole audience fell in love with her.
Others were more lyrical – both Malaika Kegode and Shaun Hill gave quieter, thoughtful, assured sets dealing with issues such as young men’s mental health and Black Lives Matter, but were no less powerful, for their more reflective tempo. Both used language stunningly.
Kei Miller’s set combined intelligent, literary content (his first poem riffed wittily on the etymologies of words, dazzling with multilingual puns) with a hypnotic, rhythmic delivery and evocative use of imagery that transported the audience to Jamaica as he explored the obscenity of colonialism.
Joelle Taylor blew everyone’s minds with her storming headline set, exploring her own working class background and experience of child sex abuse in startlingly potent imagery and a performance shaking with passion. The audience were moved to tears and were brought to their feet at the end.
How can tomorrow and Sunday top this?
melaniebranton 