Love Poetry at Latitude

Posted July 19, 2010 by Carmina

For my first time at Latitude, after a long journey of around  six hours, I headed straight for the neon ’Love Poetry’ sign.  I arrived as the arena’s curator Luke Wright was compèring the first section.  Having seen him perform previously at Norwich Arts Centre, I knew the day was off to a great start.  As I spent most of the day in the poetry tent, I shall stick to a few choice performers.

The first, Sabrina Mahfouz, I remembered from the Feminist Midsummer Party I went to exactly a month ago.  She was labeled one of the ’New Voices’ and she not only displays a way with words and rhythm, but is a confident performer, sure to return next year.  As Niall O’Sullivan took the stage it hit me that I was right and it was him I seat swapped with on the train, having booked the two next to each other, yet our camping gear taking over the carriage amongst other festival-goers.  Having only met once at Poetry Unplugged, the open mic night he hosts, I couldn’t be sure it was him until then.  His set was entertaining and funny, as he mused about his love of the greasy spoon cafe, a love I also share. 

Hannah Walker is a poet who particularly impressed me, as I have seen her perform several times in Norwich and feel she has progressed since then into someone I count amongst one of my favourite acts.  Clare Pollard (photographed above) had a subtle style of performance yet she captured your attention and made you listen to the words, which were touching on both a personal and global level.  If you want to catch her, come to this event at Aubin & Wills.

The next compère was Ross Sutherland (photographed below), author of Things To Do Before You Leave Town, and began with his own set of poems.  He also started a poem with the line ‘Bob Geldof did not cry when…’ and passed it round the audience, of which I was in prime position and wrote the next line ‘when his daughter fell into the river’, only remembering who his daughters were after writing it!

Kate Tempest couldn’t be left out of this, evolving from her band Sound of Rum, she has spent years performing at Latitude proclaiming she is not a poet, yet this time, she proudly held out her new book fresh from press.  She gathered a large crowd, and was the only poet to get requests shouted out.  She is not only a skilled performer, but has the power to make you laugh and cry in the space of a breath. 

The next three poets I knew from my frequent visits to Farrago Poetry events.  Firstly, Josh Idehen, who started the section section of compèring, took it upon himself to liven up the audience.  A skilled performer, he mixes the comedic with the sombre.  Hollie McNish was next, performing with honesty and emotion, whilst adding the odd line of French – you can’t help but be impressed.  Inua Ellams (photographed below) not only put on a great show of beautiful poetry, but also came across as a really nice guy, and nothing could express this better than his poem dedicated by Corinne Bailey Rae, who was also performing at Latitude that weekend.

By the time Brigitte Aphrodite took the stage, the tent was bursting with people.  Of the acts that incorporate music into their poetry, she was one of the ones that thankfully leaned more towards to poetry side.  Her set was fun and glittery, and her joy exuded into the audience.  The crowd grew more so when Tim Clare took to the stage, largely focusing on the comedic, with long preambles that entertained the mass of people in front of him.

Overall, it was a fantastic day with lots of talented poets, poetic-musicians and poetic-comedians.    This is proven by the fact that I was at the poetry arena for around 13 hours, only taking breaks for food, drink, toilet trips, and one moment where I returned to my tent in a panic that it had blown away (it didn’t).  I just wish I could have experienced the whole weekend. So, if there’s one festival I attend next year, it will be Latitude.

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Bookshelf Porn

Posted July 13, 2010 by Tom

I can’t believe I haven’t spotted this already.

Bookshelf Porn is a fantastic blog for literati and bookish types. I love bookshelves, even the rather conservative ones I own. The famous Billy range, from Ikea, seeing as you asked so kindly.

It’s one of the reasons the printed book will survive the digital revolution. People like stacking shelves. Reading as display. Although I notice that Apple’s iBooks app gives you a ’virtual’ bookshelf to store your downloads. Nice call to nostalgia, that.

Thanks to Chris Gribble for drawing my attention to Bookshelf Porn.

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