It's been a long and rather disheartening wait, but after years spent shivering on the cold fringes of poetry, spoken word is becoming more acceptable as an art form. Unconvinced? Consider the Arts Foundation Award this year to Tim Turnbull of £10,000 to develop his work as a performance poet. So perhaps not only more acceptable but shifting rapidly upwards - a socially mobile leisure activity? - away from the spit 'n' sawdust Club & Slam scene of the 90s, into the more lucrative playground of professional middle Britain.
Last night I went to a new Hammer & Tongue poetry event right in the centre of Oxford, held at the rather swish QI Club in Turl Street on the third Tuesday of every month. The QI Club is a private members' club - yes, even they will have to ban smoking soon - with leather sofas, antique-look wooden floors, subdued lighting, and gourmet food on offer from handsome and rather engaging staff - one of whom, George, even managed to drum up some impressive poetry for us between orders.
Some poets arrived in suit trousers and jacket; one actually read at the mic from his laptop. In other words, not your average poetry venue.
But what is an average venue now? We seem to be doing it - if you'll pardon the expression - anywhere and everywhere these days. Libraries, bookstores, tea shops, foyers, outdoor public spaces, and now even a private members' club whose annual membership fees cost more than my car. OK, my car's falling apart and was minus an exhaust when I bought it, but you get the general idea. Spoken Word is on the up and up - and as the standard of venue rises, the standard of poetry appears to be rising with it, if last night's excellent line-up was any reflection of a national trend.
In performance here, Kat Francois was the dynamic feature act this month. Travelling up from London to appear at Hammer & Tongue, Kat is a consummate performer and was one of the nominees for this year's afore-mentioned £10,000 Arts Foundation Award for Performance Poetry. Soon to launch her ambitious one-woman show, of which she gave us a quick taster, Kat is gradually moving away from her roots as a dub poetry artist - combining heavily rhymed sung lyrics with spoken word - to a more complex, character-based approach. She also brought a CD of her work to sell rather than a paperback collection - something that's increasingly happening at live poetry events like this.
On the open mic, we had Peter Wyton's sharp tongue and even sharper eyes, a great observer of life's dark ironies. Alison Brumfitt from Didcot (pictured above) gave a superb account of herself at the mic, bristling with wit and energy. I can't wait to hear more from her at future events.
Steve Larkin (above) was our accomplished compere; those who have seen him in action will appreciate how slick and smart and funny he can be, those who haven't need to get themselves up or down or across to Oxfordshire to find out for themselves. There was a great lament with the refrain 'Old Stone' from Dave Todd. Plus many more names worthy of mention, and if I had remembered to write them all down, I'd be able to tell you what they were. Here be photos instead.
You can sample the delights of Hammer & Tongue at the QI Club yourself by turning up on the third Tuesday of the month at about 8pm; the club is above the QI Bookshop in Turl Street (the lane which runs between the High Street and Broad Street) directly opposite the cashtills - so no excuse for arriving without the £5 entry fee! Free to QI members. Come to listen, come to be entertained, come to drink each other under the table, but especially make sure you come with a poem or two for the open mic.
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