Stand Up and Spit

Contact: festival.writingonthewall.org.uk

‘Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people’ (Adrian Mitchell) … but not Stand Up and Spit! Speaking Volumes brings ranting poetry to WOW. Accessible, protesting, diverse, inclusive, political, working-class, humorous yet also deadly serious, Ranting poetry appeared in the late 1970s and early ‘80s. Young rowdy writers with something to shout about, it was closely allied with punk and reggae and was the vibrant precursor of today’s spoken word and performance poetry. It is the verse that appeals to all, that imagines poetry for the people, by the people. Join original Ranters Tim ‘Teething’ Wells, a teenage Ranter who stepped up between bands and at reggae nights to perform, Ginger John, a stalwart of the northern scene, and Salena Godden, a poet who came after Ranting but fully embodies its ethos and ideas. WoW’s own Blue Saint and members of Liverpool Writers Alia Boqash and Amina Atique complete the line-up. Tim Wells last performed at WoW at a hilarious event with Phill Jupitus in 2014. At that time, he had already begun to document the Ranting Poetry Scene and collecting the stories of his fellow Ranters which became the Stand Up and Spit blog (standupandspit.wordpress.com). Salena Godden is also a WoWfest favourite. In 2015 she supported Lemn Sissay and had the audience rolling in the aisles with her Voodoo poem.

http://festival.writingonthewall.org.uk/events/10-events/64-stand-up-and-spit.html

Price: £6.00 / £4.00

Time: 7:30pm