By Clarrie Terleph, Second Year English and Classical Studies
Back and bigger than ever, this year’s Lyra Poetry Festival has stormed through Bristol, captivating the city with a spectacular array of events over ten days. I attended the Slam Poetry Grand Finale, hailed as a landmark event in the festival calendar, and can safely say it did not disappoint.
Walking into Arnolfini’s Main Theatre five minutes after doors opened, the room was already alive, busy with excited chatter and quickly filling up with revellers clutching pints. This year's Slam Poetry Grand Final, hosted by familiar faces Saili Katebe and Cal Wensley, opened with raucous applause and thumping feet before the contestants had even been introduced. First started in 2019, Lyra’s slam poetry is an audience favourite and was preceded by three qualifying heats held on World Poetry Day in March earlier this year. The competition was fierce and following a quick introduction and compelling poem delivery from Bristol’s City Poet, Sukina Noor, the performances began.
The first half began with ten finalists taking to the stage, each delivering an entirely original poem with no props for maximum impact. Spanning genres encompassing political commentary, identity and queerness, the competition was as compelling as it was competitive. The first poet, Astrid Solace, humourised the cost-of-living crisis to a more than obliging crowd, while poets Enzie and Zakariye covered questions of contemporary politics, colonialism and modern-day media coverage with poignance, reaching the audience through cutting lines; ‘my borders are lost and drowned’. Hester Zelle explored queer identity through a discussion of definitions, and Jonathon Ayleft fought to reframe his autism; ‘It’s a superpower, not a cage’. Ihsan’s poem was born out of a hike and intertwined nature with pain through personification, while Jaidah’s poem was a beautiful reminder that love is everywhere, telling the audience there are ‘a million and one ways to be in love’, closely followed by Edalia Day who explored the effects of grief with earnestness and vulnerability. Chloe Tenesha brought the crowd to a standstill with imagery of conflicting light and darkness, and then finally the first half was closed by TJ Howard who used the stage to deliver an intimate poem on the struggles of trichotillomania, asking piercingly, ‘how much of me is missing?’.
With such an impressive array of poems, the audience were given the interval to vote, with a QR code system implemented this year making everyone feel both immersed in and integral to the result. During this break, last year’s reigning champion, Ben Vince, delivered a set of his poetry, spanning ecology, queerness and faith, and brought to life through expressive movement and tonal shifts, it appeared no surprise he took the title home last April.
The second half commenced and the three poets still in it to win it were announced as Chloe Tenesha, Zakariye and Enzie. Tenesha was up first; her poem began with the birth of a boy and follows him as he grows, culminating in a moment of tense silence as he stands on the Clifton Suspension Bridge asking the stabbing question, ‘Should he keep burning?’ Zakariye followed with a poem too tall to be contained; playing on his height and poking fun at the questions and comments tall people are constantly faced with. Using different volumes as he moved away from the microphone and kneeling part way through, his final poem was entertaining and received many laughs from the audience. Finally, Enzie closed with a sharp and concise piece about the pressures placed upon women by society to be ‘nice’ and ‘kind’; pressures faced by women of colour especially.
All three finalists did an incredible job, yet ultimately only one could take the trophy out the hands of Ben Vince and the Arnolfini Theatre. While the votes were counted and anticipation grew, the audience were treated to performances by British author, podcaster and musician Musa Okwonga, and actor and poet Caitlin O’Ryan.
At this year's Lyra Poetry slam final, Lyra has introduced for the first time a new award: the Glenn Carmichael Award. Celebrating his pivotal role in bringing slam poetry to Bristol and decades of dedication to the art form, the award was presented to its first ever winner, the talented Enzie.
After much applause, the room finally fell quiet for the last and most anticipated award of the night. After a tense pause that held the room in suspense, Chloe Tenesha was announced as this year’s Slam Poetry Grand Final winner. Easily deserved with raw and unflinching lyricism, deeply moving imagery, and heartfelt compassion, she left the room speechless across both performances. Awarded the trophy and a paid for trip to Berlin to perform poetry, she was left beaming alongside a very satisfied audience.
Featured image: Lyra Festival / Sam Cavender
Will you go to the next Lyra Poetry Festival?
