Biography

Based in Manchester, UK, Tony Walsh is a poet with a growing national and international reputation.

" Very, very clever.” John DeLucy, The British Library
“ Tony Walsh – truly the Gods’ Pollocks of the spoken word!” Jeremy Myerson, The Royal College of Art
" Tony Walsh jest jednym z najbardziej obiecujacych talentów sceny slamowej w Wielkiej Brytanii." The British Council, Poland
“Tony is a versatile performer, who proves that there is no such thing as language barrier in poetry” Wojciech Cichon, The British Council, Poland
“F*****g loved it!” Actor, Keith Allen (Lily’s Dad!)

Exploding onto the Manchester scene in 2004, Tony was soon being invited to guest nationally and has since performed everywhere from Glastonbury Festival to The British Library, from the huge main stage of the stunning Lowry arts centre to Her Majesty’s Prison Styal.

Along the way Tony has been invited to perform at Manchester Poetry Festival, Liverpool Poetry In The City Festival, Manchester Comedy Festival, Manchester Irish Festival, Salford Film Festival, Manchester Comedy Festival, Manchester Science Festival, Bridport Literature Festival, Latitude Festival, Wychwood Festival, Cheltenham Literature Festival, Electric Picnic Festival (Ireland) in addition to several hundred performances in theatres, pubs, clubs, universities, conferences and festivals throughout the UK. In March 2008 at the invitation of The British Council, Tony was the headline act at a national event in Warsaw to mark the 5th anniversary of slam poetry in Poland.

Photos at: http://www.writeoutloud.net//public/galleryview.php?galleryID=157

A confident performer with a direct, accessible style, Tony’s live set takes audiences on a rock and rollercoaster ride from comedy to tragedy, from the deadly serious to the seriously deadly.

Whilst known to some for his humorous or slam-style pieces, Tony regularly moves audience members to tears with his insightful and raw urban folk tales informed by his own working class, Anglo-Irish upbringing and by twenty years spent working with some of the most deprived inner city communities in the UK.

“Manchester heart and northern soul – Tony Walsh is a bloody fine poet.”
John G Hall, editor, Citizen 32 magazine.

"Tony Walsh has that rare quality in performance poetry: the ability to be poetic, empathic and comedic in equal measure. His work has the direct honesty of someone who needs to communicate and communicate he does - in abundance. You must see him live." Chloe Poems.

“One of the best in the North West” The late, great Hovis Presley, 2005.

"Tony Walsh rocks. And indeed he rolls!"
Elvis McGonagall UK and World Poetry Slam Champion 2006

"...the towering wildfire that is Tony Walsh..." Spiel Unlimited

From winning the first slam that he entered - Manchester’s inaugural Apples and Snakes “Seconds Out” Poetry Slam at the city’s Contact Theatre in September 2004, Tony has since won or been runner up in many fiercely contested slams regionally and nationally. This included finishing a close second at the Glastonbury Festival Poetry and Words slam in 2007 to John Berkavitch who was crowned UK Slam Champion the next weekend. Tony was also a member of the all conquering Love team which emerged as 7-0 victors in the Commonword “Love versus Lust” Northwest team slam tour in Spring 2007. Tony's recent successes include winning the Big Love slam at the Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham, winning the slam at the Electric Picnic Festival in Ireland and finishing runner-up in the Uk Allstars Poetry Slam at the Times Cheltenham Literature Festival.

Whilst remaining a regular at WOL events, Tony has also:

* Performed at Latitude Festival 2006 sharing a bill with Patti Smith, John Cooper Clarke, Saul Williams, Lemn Sissay, Aisle 16, et al.

* Appeared for Apples and Snakes in London with North American Slam Champion Shane Koyczan, billed in the capital as “Tony Walsh - Colossus of the Manchester Slam scene.”

* Rocked the house in a warm up slot for the Hammer and Tongue “Four Continents Slam” tour on their WOL-hosted local visit.

* “Totally tore the roof off” at Manchester Comedy Festival 2006.

* Compered and performed commissioned poems at Reel Mcr community film premieres in front of 300, 500 and 1300 people at Bolton Albert Halls and both main stages at the stunning Lowry arts complex, Salford Quays.

* Followed chart sensation Jamie T onto Glastonbury's Strummerville stage to a great reception.

* Performed in front of 500 people in the magnificent Great Hall of Manchester Town Hall at the launch of Manchester Irish Festival 2008

* Appeared at more than 60 different venues across the UK including Manchester’s Urbis museum, Liverpool Everyman Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre, Bolton Octagon theatre , the Lowry, etc

* Been published alongside Roger McGough, Adrian Mitchell, Benjamin Zephaniah, Simon Armitage, Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk, etc.

* Been a frequent daily winner and twice weekly winner of The Guardian's daily topical haiku competition. Once with a haiku in (pidgin!) French.

In November 2007 Tony performed a 20-minute commissioned poem “Zeroes and Ones” at The British Library, London in front of 400 delegates to great acclaim.
“…undoubted highlight…stunned audience…essential reading…” Joanna Bawa, unwired.com review
“….fabulous feedback…brave and ambitious….” Philip Ross of Unwired Ventures who commissioned the piece
“…Magnum Opus…a work of genius” writeoutloud.net news feature

Taking the audience from The Big Bang to some of the biggest questions of our age via all points inbetween - the pdf text and full audio streaming can be found online at http://www.unwired.eu.com/WT07review.html

Publications have included Orbis, Citizen 32, The Ugly Tree, 80/20, Survivors’ Poetry "Running Away From Bus-stops" anthology, Uclan’s "Taste" and "Home" anthologies, Wildgoose’s Doing December Differently anthology, Poetry Now, and the acclaimed "Echoes Down Corridors" HLF-funded project (Commonword/Lime Arts) which was showcased at both the British Museum and Tate Modern as "Best of British."

Tony is currently finalising his first full collection - “Happy Families.”

A former poet of the month, Tony is a featured artist on the Apples and Snakes website at
http://www.applesandsnakes.org/artists.php?contact_ref=37408

Now a freelance writer and performer with a burgeoning CV, Tony is available for performances, conferences, workshops and commissions and would love to hear from you at tonywalsh03@aol.com

* “ You could have heard a pin drop…as moving a theatre experience as you can imagine” Eric Allison, Guardian correspondent.
* “Excellent entertainment” Carole Baldock, editor Orbis magazine
* “ One of a kind” Segun Lee-French, Apples and Snakes NW
* “One of the best hosts I’ve worked with” Niall O’Sullivan, “Temptation” poet and host at the Poetry Café, Covent Garden
* “Poems that make big hairy men cry…” Dreadlock Alien, Poet Laureate of Birmingham
* “Hilarious…managed to make a rowdy audience even louder…” bbc.co.uk review
* “Tony Walsh is a real talent to watch out for.” Chris Gribble, Director. Manchester Literature Festival
"If poetry is the new rock and roll, Tony Walsh proved it..." Official Glastonbury Festival website review
* “Moved me like few artists before” Matt Hill aka Quiet Loner (No1 album – UK Americana chart)
* "Tony Walsh is a poet with a special way with words. In Nigeria, he would be hailed as 'olohuniyo' the honey tongued one." Bolton-based Nigerian poet, Abi Idowu.

* 'Tony Walsh added an important creative dimension to the Partnership Convention and crafted people's thoughts, reflections and visions using powerful poetic performance.... Captivating, charismatic, constructive - Tony Walsh is an architect of words." Chris Wyatt, Arts and Festivals Manager, Wigan Culture and Leisure Trust

* "Your performance is the talk of the town!" Dennis (Just Dennis), Words From The Wicky, Nantwich,

* "Manchester poet Tony Walsh championed the Festival this year....He featured in two festival events, and was very popular with audiences." Evaluation report, Leigh and Wigan Words Together Festival 2007.

* “The breadth and depth of Tony’s talent - in both his writing and performance – is amazing. He’s so good it’s almost rude.” Sean Kelly, Pure and Good and Right, Leamington Spa

How can someone be so damned funny then turn on a sixpence and make my cry? Dick Leith, Pure and Good and Right, Leamington Spa


* “Our audience loved him and you will too!” Brendan McPartland, host, Wicked Words, Leeds.

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