A Polarbear, Eight Poets and Copious Amounts of Coffee

It sounds a bit far fetched I suppose, but that is the best way to describe our weekend in the house of Literary Terms. At the end of April myself and seven other poets had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with writer Polarbear for three days and bombard him - and each other - with poetry. It was nerve racking. It was euphoric. 

It was wonderful to have three performers representing Wrexham and the growing arts community in our town.  Over the last year or so it has been lovely to see old and new faces expressing themselves at Voicebox, and this is all down to Tim Humphreys-Jones' enthusiasm, so to go with him down South, along with Lucid was a real experience. I also learnt some 'street lingo' on our travels, and experienced a lot of different voices, both creatively and generally. Being in a new environment was inspiring. 

From there we came into contact with five of the most enthusiastic and varied poets I've met in  small room. It puts into perspective what an artistic country we have. Not only from people who were born and raised in Wales but also those who come to Wales or are influenced by it creatively. 

Whilst in Cardiff we took the opportunity to support Lucid and watch him perform at Cardiff Beatbox Championship - which was a new experience for me. We also performed at Zaru's event Response Word/Sound, I was blown away by the opportunities and talent of the City. 

 

I must admit I was really nervous to be there, after spending a lot of my time academically combing my work, it was refreshing and  energizing to fall back in love with the words in front of me, and to see the process of others doing the same. Poetry can be a lonely corner if you get wrapped up in yourself, but the weekend offered many opportunities to be part of the a collaboration. There is so much to learn from others, it was a privilege. 

It does feel like we've made some lasting connections, and strengthened some familiar ones. On top of all this it was amazing to be able to work with NTW and the Roundhouse and see the people behind the magic.

Don't be strangers,

Natasha.

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