Write to Speak at Hull Truck - Ten by Ten - Wednesday 24th November 2010
By Michelle Dee. Photographs courtesy Cilla Wykes
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The second Write to Speak Larkin25 on 22nd November was another success. The small team that organize these nights prove yet again that you don't need committees, event management and marketing teams to get things done.
This evening, 24th November, Write to Speak invited a poetry collective from the North East to Hull to perform alongside their own workshop poets.
The visitors perform under the name 10 x 10 which refers to the number of poets and the length of time each is allocated to perform (Ten poets, ten minutes each).
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Tonight, Master of Ceremonies duty is given over to Jeff Price; the man behind 10 x 10. He promised a night of verse with a variety of poetic and performance styles. He opened with a piece extolling the virtues of the string vest followed by one about a poet's apparent prowess in the sack.
In a first for Write to Speak, Newcastle poet Simma employed an iPad instead of loose sheaves or a well thumbed notebook.
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He compared and contrasted the poetry world with that of a singer songwriter; both of which he calls home.
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Beverley's John Fewings came next and his set got me thinking: Pole Position, a punning title, he read with a Polish accent. More unusual accents were to follow from 10 x 10 with West Indian, American and African voices employed, adding layers of character to the verse.
Highlights of these international flavours were the Rastafari wisemen in the nativity themed Shirley Temple Jesus and the sharp eyed reporting of an African journo in the North.
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There was a line by Amanda Baker; '... tangles of social spaghetti', that reflected the multicultural mix perfectly.
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Our poets voices were sandwiched between the visiting poets. Gary Clark gave us Undeserving Heroes, filled with poignant observation; Julie Corbett sculpted poetry from tiny moments of the day with Café Mocha .
The recently published Mike Watts brought us a tale about a girl with a thing for firemen and hoax calling.
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'What is it about his poems?' I'm thinking, as he delivers them for the umpteenth time, never missing a beat, word perfect ... it's because he writes the way he speaks, I note down.
That strong, familiar Hull accent that we have been celebrating, holding up to the light and examining throughout the Larkin Anniversary and throughout thisisUll.com.
It's true that 10 x 10 had their fair share of local vernacular which they too were eager to share with the Hull ones. What made 10 x 10 stand out, more memorable maybe, were those who chose a different tongue in which to read. Maybe Write to Speak will go on to create an exotic poetry platter of its own. Who knows?
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Many of the poems tonight can be seen on thisisUll.com or by way of the new iPhone and iPad apps
developed by thisisull; iPoetry and Larkin25.
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| What's Happening? |
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| Chill Out |
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