Blackpool and Fylde College is a bastion of education. Not only does it teach the next generation academic knowledge, artistic expression, and vocational skills, it also lays the foundations of altruism, critical thinking, and social responsibility.
Combining all these facets is no easy tasks and takes quality tutors backed up with extra curricular events to truly expanded the minds of students. This is why on January 26 at 6:30pm in the Gallery building at the Palatine Road site, B&FC will be hosting a night with European Poetry Slam Champion Miko Berry to help raise much needed funds for the Blackpool Food Bank. It is a crying shame and a stain on this great country to say we need such things as food banks, but here we are, and the people who work there are unsung heroes of society.
Who said you can’t eat art? This fantastic event will help put food on the tables of those who need it the most, and that is a wonderful thing.
I managed to get a few words with Enhancing Employment Skills Officer, Steve Stroud, who has been the principle organiser for this event.
Colin: So Steve, you’ve organised something quite exciting at the college that is going to help raise money for the food bank. Tell me more?
Steve Stroud: As a college we’ve had a strong association with poetry ever since our Students’ Union President, Lisa Bower, asked Mark Grist to perform a few years ago. After graduating, Lisa went on to form the Pub Poets group with English lecturer, Ashley Lister. They’ve been bringing some quality performers to their monthly event at Bootleg Social on Topping Street and it’s there that I first saw Miko perform. He blew me away so I immediately asked him about coming to B&FC in January to help cheer everyone up around Blue Monday time. [Colin: Blue Monday is the pseudo-psychological day of the year where everyone is apparently at their most depressed.] The Food Bank aspect is something I’ve been doing with the Students’ Union for a few years now. We volunteer with them a lot and in the current economic climate they need more help than ever.
C: Wow! So Miko Berry, the European Slam Champion is coming to Blackpool. How much is it going to cost to see him?
SS: That depends on what you can afford. We’re going on a ‘pay what you feel’ model, which means entry is free but we would encourage you to pay either what you think the performance is worth, or what you can afford. Alternatively we’re encouraging people to bring non-perishable food items as an entry fee. I’m confident that once people have seen Miko in full flow they’ll be donating quite a bit.
C: Sounds like fantastic opportunity to see one of the best performance poets on the circuit, even if you’re a bit strapped for cash. So is it just Miko?
SS: Absolutely not! I’m really excited about the undercard. It’s being hosted by the Pub Poets and will be featuring some really talented local poets. A number of these, such as Tasha Dagger and Joanne Bracewell, are current students of B&FC but there’s a mix of alumni such as Lisa Bower, as well as current staff such as Ashley Lister and Dean Park who will be performing. I might even do a bit myself, seeing as I’m a B&FC graduate and all that.
C: So what is about performance poetry that gets you so excited?
SS: Before I discovered performance poetry, when anyone mentioned the term, ‘Poetry’, I pictured Shakespearean sonnets, lots of pretension, snobbery and elitism. Very academic and closed off from reality. Performance poetry is the complete opposite. It’s live, loud and in your face; as much about the personality and delivery of the person on stage as the writing talent. I often compare it to stand-up comedy in the sense that it’s inclusive: heckling and audience participation is part of the vibe – particularly up north and specifically in Blackpool. People’s personalities really come out and it’s been amazing over the last few years to see some really strong voices emerge locally. For me, performance poetry is about inclusion – it’s for everyone, not just the Oxbridge set.
C: And now you’re using it to help those excluded by the economy. With the current state of things do you see poets as being an important part of the social commentary, a way of making sense of things?
SS: Some of them, definitely. I think anyone who sees Monkey Poet’s Nigel Farage poem definitely would come away with a warm fuzzy feeling! Any form of expression can be judged in those terms, but not everyone who gets on the mic is about politics. Take Trevor Meaney for instance, who writes about how much he loves chicken or his dramas with Just for Men gel. Sometimes having a good laugh is as good a way of making sense of things as deconstructing the political climate in five stanzas – if you get what I mean?
C: A great antidote to the chaos. Do you think the mix of serious and comedy is why Spoken Word is seeing such a rise at the moment?
SS: You know I think it’s seeing a rise for exactly the reasons I said before – it’s a new form. People can come and be entertained in a relaxed atmosphere where there’s ideas being shared, jokes being made, boundaries being pushed and genres being merged. There’s a strong argument that the strongest driving force for poetry in recent years has been Hip-Hop and you can definitely hear that genre-bleed in a lot of performance poetry. MiKo is a classic example. His delivery is astonishing and so fast-paced and precise. Having said that he can also have you in bits with some of his slower stuff. I think spoken word is on the rise for a number of reasons but the most important one for me is that it’s just hugely entertaining
C: You mentioned that you perform spoken word, so who are your main Influences?
SS: MiKo Berry! Hahaha. Loads of people. Saul Williams was a big influence early on. As I’ve gotten to know people I have to say MiKo is definitely something to aspire to. I also think Shane Koyzan is something else. There’s some serious talent locally though. People like Rose Condo (ok she’s Canadian but she’s local in my eyes) Trevor Meaney and Big Charlie Poet are all fantastic performers. The most important thing for me though is attending Pub Poets and getting inspired by whoever else is there. Oh and Scroobius Pip! Don’t leave out Scroobius Pip!
C: What advice would you give someone who is thinking of attending an open mic event?
SS: Just come as you are. Oh, can I add Kurt Cobain to my influences as well?
C: Ok, the floor is open. Tell everybody why they should come down to the college on the 26th?
SS: You’ll see some amazing local talent, as well as one of the best performance poets on the continent, get to enjoy a glass of wine or a beer whilst helping a local charity and having a bloody good time.
C: Thanks Steve, one last question. What book are you currently reading?
SS: Religion for Atheists- Alain de Botton. Or should I say I’m trying to read it – I’m writing more than reading at the moment.
So get down to the University Centre Main Theatre at 6:30pm on January 20 to enjoy what looks to be a fantastic night of spoken word entertainment.
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