The Word Cafe: Recent Episodes

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JO BELL

Jo Bell is an award-winning poet working across the UK with poetry talents from Ian McMillan to Brian Patten and Gwyneth Lewis. A performer, playwright, project manager, programmer, producer and a few things that don't begin with P, Jo is former director of National Poetry Day, sometime programmer for Ledbury Poetry Festival and others, and occasional broadcaster. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter for a poetry news service.

Jo lives on a narrowboat and is the Canal Laureate of the UK, appointed by the Poetry Society and Canal and River Trust. She devised the immensely successful online poetry group 52 - part of her mission to use social media as a stimulus for good poetry.

Series Editor - Billie Eliot

Music - ’This' by Wax Machine

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NICK DEGG

Nick Degg is a Multi Slam Winning Performance Poet, with a Comedic mouth and Rock n Roll feet. His repertoire takes in subjects as diverse as Crisps, Socialism, Allotments, Rubber, Bingo callers, and he’ll even perform a Poem without any words.

He is also passionate about his home City of Stoke on Trent, which allows his work to find the light and shade of a place that has suffered terribly in the last few decades, but he’ll address this with great tenderness and humour.

As well as the regular Poetry scene, Nick is equally at home supporting Rock bands, Festivals, Comedy clubs, Arts Centres, Schools & Colleges, Libraries, Radio, TV, Functions and even pre Match entertainment at Football games.

RACHAEL CLYNE

Rachael is an author and poet who enjoys performing with others, including Glastonbury trio Strange Sisters. She writes also self-help books, and articles in the Glastonbury Oracle.

Series Editor - Billie Eliot

Music - ’This' by Wax Machine

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ROBERT GARNHAM

A revved up raved up rocket propelled Poundland Pam Ayres, a randy raunchy rhyming buy one get one free bargain bucket Alan Bennett, Professor of Whimsy, consumer of biscuits, spoken word artist and comedy poet Robert Garnham has been performing all over the UK for the best part of the last ten years, at fringes and festivals, poetry nights and comedy cabarets, bringing his own brand of LGBT whimsy and humour to audiences anew.

Wordplay and silliness combine with social sensibility in poems that have been honed and crafted over the years, accompanied by jokes and japes and all manner of high jinx.

Series Editor - Billie Eliot

Music - ’This' by Wax Machine

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SIMON WILLIAMS

I've been writing poetry for the last 50 years or so, Although I studied engineering at a university of technology, we were lucky enough to have writers in residence, first Roger McGough and then Pete Morgan, who acted as mentors to a small group of us, getting us writing and performing our work.

Since then, poetry has been a passion and I've been lucky enough to have had support from several publishers and to have performed widely at festivals and events around the country. As well as regular readings of my work, I've collaborated on many multimedia shows with my wife, the poet Susan Taylor, and other writers and musicians.

Series Editor - Billie Eliot

Music - ’This' by Wax Machine

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LIV TORC

Liv Torc is a spoken word artist and producer who plunders the vast caverns and dormant volcanoes of the human and planetary condition. A Radio 4 Slam Winner, a former Bard of Exeter, host of the Rainbow Fish Speakeasy and current co-host of the Hip Yak Poetry Shack. Liv is lead artist in Take Art’s long running social prescribing and poetry project Word/Play and she specialises in facilitating spaces for vulnerable adults. She runs Haiflu, the Hip Yak Poetry School, Hot Poets and the spoken word stage at WOMAD.

CHRIS REDMOND

Chris Redmond is a writer, musician, producer and front man / host of Tongue Fu shows. A regular at music and literature festivals both nationally and internationally, he’s been featured on BBC Radio 1, 2 and 4, XFM, CBBC and Sky Arts. Chris’s book, Let The Pig Out is published by Burning Eye. As a musician Chris has toured extensively with many bands. In theatre he has worked as accompanist for Improbable, songwriter for ice&fire, sound designer for Cecilia Knapp and most recently musician/performer for Sole Rebel. He has composed music for EMI/KPM, BBC One, ITV + more. He leads a course called Creative Thinking and Theatre Making at St Mary’s University, London.

Series Editor - Billie Eliot

Music - ’This' by Wax Machine

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HELEN IVORY

Helen Ivory is a poet and visual artist. She edits the webzine Ink Sweat and Tears and is tutor and Course Director for the UEA/National Centre for Writing online creative writing programme.

SUSAN TAYLOR

Susan Taylor has eight published poetry collections. The most recent is Temporal Bones published by Oversteps Books. Her work has also appeared in many anthologies, pamphlets and magazines.

She spent many years as a shepherd on her family farm in the Lincolnshire Wolds. Now living on Dartmoor, where she draws much inspiration from the natural world. She’s still fond of sheep but, in best trickster fashion, her latest work is a poetry show walking in the path of wolves.

Series Editor - Billie Eliot

Music - ’This' by Wax Machine

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JONNY FLUFFYPUNK

An economic refugee from the home counties, Jonny began his ‘career’ spitting vicious political verse between bands at punk gigs until cured by a West Country shaman. Now he ‘does’ poetry that deafly fuses bittersweet autobiography, political disillusionment and surreal whimsy in an act which has established him as a firm favourite at festivals, arts centres and housing benefit offices up and down the country.

JACKIE JUNO

Jackie has performed poetry at festivals, cabarets, nightclubs, fayres, schools, churches, weddings, funerals, birthday parties and on the street! In recent years she has won several Poetry Slams, including the official Glastonbury Festival Poetry Slam 2017, Green Gathering 2016, and Plymouth Lit Fest Oct 2017.

Series Editor - Billie Eliot

Music - ’This' by Wax Machine