By Yasmin Inkersole, second year English
Raise the Bar celebrates its 4th birthday with a stellar line-up at Arnolfini and shows audience members why spoken word is here to stay
Since its beginning, the spoken word movement has broken all traditional rules of what it means to be a poet, and even an audience member. To clap, click or tap along to the lines that touch you most is accepted, and even welcomed, by the performing artists.
Founded by Danny Pandolfi (Craft-D) in 2014, Raise the Bar has been credited for organising some of the best line-ups of spoken word poets the UK has to offer. And, naturally, they pulled out all the stops to celebrate the company’s fourth birthday.
Photo credit: Facebook / Arnolfini
Headline acts Buddy Wakefield, Erin May Kelly and Vanessa Kisuule perform alongside up-and-coming writers discovered through the Spotlight open mike nights. In this way the evening is a celebration of both new and established writers, as well as the different ways in which poetry can be accessed and discovered.
"Kelly’s voice is undeniably relevant to the feminist movement as well as the literary scene"
Erin May Kelly is a unique example of this; exploding onto the spoken word scene with her breathtakingly powerful poem “Little Girls Don’t Stay Little Forever,” she has amassed an incredible 30 million views on the video of her reading. The viral sensation of Kelly’s work is a clear message to any nay-sayers that poetry does have a modern audience, and can give messages pertinent to a new generation.
Kelly also gives some readings from her book, Phoenix Feathers and Dragon Scales. Focussing on traditional tropes of womanhood through her poetic re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood, then moving onto an empowering call for women to embrace their insecurities, Kelly’s voice is undeniably relevant to the feminist movement as well as the literary scene.
Vanessa Kisuule’s performance bridges the gap between spoken word and stand-up in a series of hilarious and linguistically brilliant readings from her book, A Recipe for Sorcery. A National Slam Poet and Bristol City Poet, Kisuule is clearly a very confident performer whose poems are laden with charm and personality.
In her poem ‘We Don’t Do Beyonce’ Kisuule expresses the very relatable plight of facing those DJs who see music taste as a competition for superiority. Despairing that: ‘we just wanna be soulless pop-loving automatons’ Kisuule’s sentiment certainly hits home with the audience, who cheer loudly in agreement.
But Kisuule’s comedy is not to be mistaken for a lack of sincerity. With a beautifully rhythmic control of words and syntax, her poem ‘Grandma’ shifts the atmosphere of the room. A loving account of her grandmother’s life, Kisuule despairs at ‘the handicap of this British tongue’ which prevents her from conversation in the same language.
Headline act Buddy Wakefield is a three-time World Slam Champion, and his performance for Raise the Bar leaves no doubts as to why. Wakefield’s performances push the boundaries of what spoken word is, what it sounds like, even how it can be brought onto a stage.
"Wakefield’s poetry lingers in the air long after he leaves the stage"
In-between poems Wakefield is funny and relaxed, remarking that ‘being human has been a largely humiliating experience’. But his poems command total focus, and revolve around topics such as mental health, gun violence and homosexuality. With powerfully simple lines such as ‘only women have the guts to give birth to men’ and ‘tonight I painted my apartment and remembered every life I’ve ever lived’, Wakefield’s poetry lingers in the air long after he leaves the stage.
Wakefield’s spoken word performance lifts his words off the page and brings them to life. He, alongside other spoken word artists, has brought about an evolution in poetry and has made the art form relevant for generations to come.
Feature image: Unsplash / Gaelle Marcel
Seen any particularly awesome spoken word poets recently? Let us know in the comments below or on social media.
