It seems very fitting that I got to shoot a first-time event for the first edition of our new series. And what a wonderful event it was. Jenny Fould's Home Poetry was a dream. A beautiful night spent creating and sharing work with fast friends.
a home to write, free
minds moulding into one heart
beating, unison!
Why did you start the Poetry Night?
Jenny Foulds, Home Poetry Founder:
I started Home because I wanted to make a warm inclusive space that welcomes folk with open arms and that supports new writing. I wanted a place that poets could come and make new work and then share what they have written to a warm audience on the night. In my experience of attending and running writing workshops, there’s something incredibly freeing about sharing new work like that, you have to shed perfectionism and ego around your words. There’s nothing quite like writing a new poem to share with an audience. It makes you feel productive. It makes you feel like the writer you are. It unsticks you. There’s an exciting energy in that.
Jenny Foulds - Image copyright: Tim Foley: @writespeakrecover
I also wanted to be able to curate magic line ups with the best of the best in Poetry. Not only to see how they do it but also to give up and coming poets a chance to do feature sets whilst sharing a stage with some of their heroes and to be paid for their poems while they’re at it. There’s nothing quite like the first time you get paid to perform a set of poetry that wasn’t there before you made it. Thoughts becoming things. As well as making opportunities for poets and giving audiences opportunities to hear amazing poetry, I also get a chance to host, which I love. It makes me a better performer in my own work and I like to think that I’m a safe pair of hands to bring people along for ride. And to add, it gives me more motivation to make new work. It’s wins all round really.
How would you describe the vibe of your nights?
I’d like to think that Home (and my other night Rebel Soapbox in Brighton) feels full of life and brings people close, like having a cup of tea with an old friend who can make you laugh, break your heart and leave you feeling cuddled by the stories they tell. People should feel entertained, held, seen and feel connected by the end of the night.
Image copyright: Tim Foley: @writespeakrecover
What do you love most about the poetry scene?
I love the diversity, I love the heart and vulnerability. I love the honesty. I love the connectedness. I love that you can walk into a room on your own and not feel like you are alone. We need more of that in the world.
Jenny, may you please share a poem with us?
big bad brian
after little red riding hood
crimson splatters walls
fur wet with matter
heartbeat whirring
like a woodpecker pecking
the girl in the scarlet cloak
now rests silently in his
belly with the elderly one
he looks at himself in the mirror
for fuck sake brian, he thinks
you’ve really done it this time
a career low for him
his reflection looking back
some middle aged lupine
with a doily on his head
looking like one of their mothers mothers
the sun beams through and lands
on the wall next to the crime scene
the basket, with emptied contents
decimated from the struggle
he notices the medicinal wine
pops the cork and glugs many glugs
wondering where it all went wrong for him
and how the hell he was going to get himself home
- Jenny Foulds
Useful Links
TBC
Home Poetry
Jenny Foulds
Bradley Taylor
Kristal
Big shout out to, and thank you to all the poets not featured here, please take it as a compliment that I was too into your poetry to get a decent shot! - Tim
We're always up for checking out new and established poetry, spoken word and open mic nights. If you run one, or go to one that you want to shout about and get us to cover it, then chat to Tim.
We're constantly on the look out for new artists, creatives and initiatives to feature in TheNeverZine - so if you are, or know someone who is going their own way and doing their own thing on their own terms and would be a good fit to feature please smash that button below and get in contact. By talking to each other, and sharing our journeys, ideas and insights on creativity, art, mental health and resilience we can all create, share and thrive together. Nice thought that.
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