‘Poetry and Performance’ is a sheerly transformative course
Wed 23 July 2025 / , / Written by Samantha Egelstaff

In July 2025, Samantha Egelstaff joined us for our Poetry and Performance weekend with Joelle Taylor, read on to find out more about the experience…

 

“Wow! What a life-changing course! Joelle Taylor was an absolute inspiration. She left nothing on the table and neither did we. We soaked up a history of spoken word from Adrian Mitchell to Linton Kwezi Johnson, from Holly McNeish, to Danez Smith, following with Selena Godden, lots more in between and then ending in Jay Bernard. 

We heard the sounds of the beats and the rhythm of the revolution. From sheer defiance to a total reluctance of never giving up. We explored the impact of poetic technique; the effect of refrain, conceit and raw narrative, and we challenged perspectives all the way.
We were additionally transfixed by the hypnotising tones of Hannah Lavery, the Edinburgh Makar! Zooming in from Dunbar, she shared some of her most recent work and we were honoured to soak it all up.
Throughout the weekend, not only did we produce and perform workshopped material, ready to take home, to develop for our own spoken word and performance poetry, but we were also privileged to have a close-up seat to Joelle’s intimate C*nto truth. Her performance on Saturday evening was astounding and raw; we were forever moved.
But, above all else, we learnt creative risk; to experiment, to be authentic and how to convey our truth.

I don’t think any of us will look at, write or perform poetry in the same way again. 

‘Poetry and Performance’ is a sheerly transformative course, that is a must for anyone wanting to take their spoken word more seriously. And, even more importantly, I made some wonderful new friends from the UK and the US, who all shared the love of words and sheer poetic expression.”