Performance poetry is one of the fastest-growing and most vibrant artforms in Scotland’s creative sector, but its potential as a social and educational force for good may be in jeopardy, say leading practitioners.
Uncertainties over funding are affecting all of the arts in the wake of Creative Scotland’s decision to delay the announcement of its spending decisions until the new year. Things are looking more hopeful after the announcement of an increase of £34 million for arts and culture in the Scottish budget. But the spoken word category has some additional anxieties.
“We often fall between traditional funding pots,” said Kevin McLean, creative director of I Am Loud Productions. “We’re not quite drama, we’re not quite literature and we’re not quite comedy, music, dance or storytelling. But we can incorporate all of these elements into our performances.”
Open to people of all ages and abilities, the artform also sits on the borderline between participating in making work and presenting it. Often they’re one and the same thing, said Kevin’s colleague, Katie Ailes.
“Whether a child performs their poem at the end of a workshop or an adult takes a slot at an open mic night, there’s something empowering and magical about it.
“The idea that poetry is about reading alone in silence is a relatively recent one,” she added. “Through most of history, poetry has been incomplete without being shared aurally. Now it’s made this huge comeback, we don’t want to lose it again.”
Under their Loud Poets branding, I Am Loud have found spectacular success with competitive poetry slams held throughout Scotland. For the past two years they’ve organised nationwide slam tournaments, with their finals attracting audiences of hundreds at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. They’ve just kicked off their third annual tournament, which expands into England – though the final will still take place in Edinburgh.
Kevin also hosts regular showcases of performance poetry in the capital, at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, providing a platform for professional poets and inspiration for those who may be setting out on their writing and devising journey.
“The key thing is to support poetry at all levels,” he said. “As well as helping us run lots of live workshops and online tutorials, funding provides a pathway for those creatives who really want to focus on their writing and performance, helping them gain confidence and break into new areas of activity.”
A strong feature of performance poetry is that it enables people to share their experience of life in whatever ways they choose, said Katie. The benefits, in terms of personal wellbeing and the development of self-expressive skills, may be obvious but are not always acknowledged.
The poets were speaking and performing at the Smith art gallery and museum in Stirling, where they reflected on their decade-long promotion of the spoken word.
“We’re not precious in our approach,” said Katie, who is the company’s education and access director. “We’re the opposite of gatekeepers. We want people to get involved, and for the whole sector to succeed, so inclusion and partnership are vital.”
As well as encouraging under-represented voices, and promoting Scots, Gaelic and bilingual work featuring other languages, the company has used British Sign Language interpreters at events and added subtitles to its online content, which now receive a substantial uptake. The Edinburgh slam was run as part of the Push The Boat Out poetry festival. It was won by Lucas Sheridan, who goes forward to the final next year.
“We want to help maintain a strong infrastructure for this artform in Scotland into the future,” said Kevin. “Like everyone else, we’re hoping for the best.”
The next Loud Poets slam heat will be held in Glasgow on 11 January 2025.
