Performing at Brighton Fringe Event - Fashion Tips for the Last Days

Spring isn't really here weather wise, but I've sprung into poetry again! Last week I won the May Hammer & Tongue poetry slam at Komedia, and on Wednesday I'm very honoured to be one of the "very special guests" at Chris Parkinson's book launch.

Where? The Blind Tiger Club, Brighton

When? 8pm, Wed 9 May 2012

What?

Launch party for famous poet Chris Parkinson's second collection of poems. Featuring performing seals*, live music, party politics, missing limbs, dying swans and some very special guests. And poetry. (*possibly)

You can buy tickets here.

I'm still busy with my Swenglish project, but I've allowed myself to sneak out to take part in this very special event. To find out what I'm up to with Swenglish, please check out swenglish2012.blogspot.co.uk

Hammer & Tongue, Poetry Slam Final, Brighton 2011

Very happpy to get through to the 2nd round, worthy winner was Spliff Richard!

I won the Hammer & Tongue Poetry Slam in Brighton!

It's been a potty autumn for me ... A potty poetry autumn!
Last night I won my second poetry slam: Hammer & Tongue at Komedia in Brighton,
hosted by Rosy Carrick and Mike Parker.

I wasn't going to go out due to November Rain, but I changed my mind
and jumped on my bike to town to do a poem about trains which you can read here.

Winning the slam means that I'll be in the grand slam final on the 1st of December
battling against all the slam winners of 2011.

(if you need the toilet the potty can be found in Queens Park)

Swedish Glory on National Poetry Day

Swedish poet Tomas Transtömmer won the Nobel Prize of literature!!!

And here I am, performing as Lou Ice, one of the guests
at Hammer & Tongue at Komedia in Brighton,
warming up for another great Swede ...

Henry Bowers aka Kung Henry who told us a few things about darkness

As usual it was a great night hosted by Rosy Carrick and Mike Parker. Both me and Henry did a poem each in Swedish which went down well as there were a few Swedish people in the audience. I had recruited them when I did a performance/talk at Loxdale Language Centre last week ...

The open slam was won by a guy called Ed who did an angry poem, defending people who are wrongly accused of being paedophiles. It seemed like the slam was more intense than usual as a lot of people went over the allocated time of three minutes, caring more about the poetry than the points!

The other guest of the evening was the brilliant story-teller Wilf Merttens.

And thanks to performing I got invited to do two more gigs this autumn. Check it out here!

Upcoming Gigs

I'm performing at the following events:

Story Studio, Sunday 2 Oct, 8pm at Komedia, Brighton
Am one of the guest for the Feast & Fetish Theme, and will be reading my flash fiction story "Common Fetish"

Hammer & Tongue, Thursday 6 Oct, 7.30pm at Komedia, Brighton
I'm the local guest poet, warming the stage for Wilf Merttens - and fellow Swede Henry Bowen!

Tuesday 18 Oct, 8pm at Bombanes, Kemp Town, Brighton
An evening of music & poetry featuring Lou Ice, Jane Bom-Bane & Rosie Brown

Horseplay, Thursday 27 Oct, 8pm at the Black Dove, Kemp Town, Brighton
An evening of spoken word, music and random fun!

Something Wholly Inappropriate, Monday 7th Nov, 8pm at the Earth & Stars, Brighton
Hosted by Alice Shaw. I'll do a 20 minutes poetry est.

Ace Stories, Sunday 11 Dec, 6pm at Hotel Pelirocco, Brighton
More info TBC

Library's got talent, Saturday 18 Dec, Jubilee Library, Brighton
More info TBC

A Slammy Poem

For the first time since September I entered a poetry slam (Hammer & Tongue at Komedia) and for the first time I got really high scores, and almost won.

I came second, performing a poem called Making-over my Landlord.

Also for the first time I deliberately used rhymes which always go down well. CLICK HERE TO READ THE POEM.

Hammer & Death

Last night, about an hour after I'd been on stage as Lou Ice, my grandmother passed away. (It was expected, she'd been in and out of hospital forever.) She often said how she couldn't understand how I had the courage to perform poetry or do talks in front of a big crowd. She always pointed out how shy I was when I was little. As if she couldn't understand how I'd changed. I'm still shy, but that shyness exists off stage, not on stage. I'm more nervous after a gig then before - because that's when the judgment starts.

I don't know why I do it. I'm not talking about performing poetry or being on stage in general. I'm talking about poetry slams like yesterday's Hammer & Tongue at Komedia. Every time I do it I tell myself "never again." It's such a pathetic thing, a bit like Eurovision Song Contest where the participants get judged. But when it comes to slams it's not the love lyrics that win - you have to be political to touch the heart of the judges ...

Yesterday I did an old poem called Grace - about a midwife predicting a harsh future for a baby. One team of judges only gave me 4,9 while another gave me 7,9. It's not very often that I get high scores, but the other poets always have good things to say about me. Like I reminded someone of Patti Smith! That's a compliment and a half. So maybe that's why I keep coming back. It's not the points, it's the poetry and the poets.

And the winner? Yes, he (Elan) deserved it, doing a poem about the fashion business, mentioning child labour and all that. I also enjoyed the guest poets Ross Sutherland and Byron Vincent. The hosts Mike Parker and Rosy Carrick were charming as usual!

And here's a candle burning for my grandma.