by Anita Foxall. When poet Andy Buchanan first moved to Southampton, he thought this was a city with a lot of unrealised potential. Even with its large population, being a university city, many parks, and amazing venues, he felt there was still the opportunity to do more. And in...
Poetry
On being a mother to my trans daughter – how poems helped say what needed to be said
by Claire Dyer. There’s a poem in Yield called ‘Trans’. It imagines travellers from another planet who, on reaching Earth, see for themselves some of our ideas around gender stereotypes. There are two types of mother in this poem: and there are those they call mother who sometimes...
Portrait of a poet: Henry Baroche
by Anita Foxall. Henry Baroche is a well-known name to the cultural community of Southampton, though you may know him better as Mad King Ludwig from Mad King Ludwig and the Mojo. That’s right, Henry is an incredibly multi-talented human, and is a beloved musician, but what a lot...
Write a Note – how the Southampton poetry night started and where it is today
Write a Note is a cornerstone the Southampton poetry scene. We look at how it all started and where it is today. by Issa Loyaan Farrah and Anita Foxall. Write a Note – how it all begun by Issa Loyaan Farrah. I set-up Write a Note in 2016. I...
Talented Southampton poet contributes to first global covid-19 inspired anthology
by Ben Biddell. ‘Together: An anthology from the COVID-19 pandemic’, is a true collection of the many voices of humanity during the hard time that has been and still is in 2020, curated by Dutch researcher Dr Pauldy Otermans and social educationist Dev Aditya from London. The 444-page book,...
Lock Write Down poetry helping Black Minds Matter and NHS
by Charlie Hislop. Covid-19 Lockdown has affected everyone differently. Some people thrived, some struggled, some worked and some people wrote about it. And someone decided to collect some of that into a book. Lock Write Down is a poetry anthology curated by Robyn Hislop, produced as a way of...
Portrait of a poet: Estelle Phillips
by Anita Foxall. Poetry has been part of Estelle Phillips’ life since she was a small girl. Today she is a single mother of four who “is really bad at a lot of things and swears a lot, but can bake cakes.” Furthermore, she has made poetry a solid...
Portrait of a poet: Matt LT Smith
by Anita Foxall. “When I think about how I was as a kid, I feel like writing was inevitable. My brain was just always very busy and teeming with imagination and I didn’t have any outlet for it, so when I got older and toys and willing participants on...
Portrait of a poet: Jayne Ede
by Anita Foxall. Southampton- based spoken word poet Jayne Ede, who was born in Brighton, says that words are her “favourite and sharing them a bonus.” Jayne is a very familiar face to regulars at the Art House, where she has worked as a volunteer, where she became a...
Portrait of a poet: Ash Brockwell
by Anita Foxall. Ash Brockwell is a multi-talented artist in various areas, but most recently you may have become acquainted with him as the editor of the poetry anthology ‘TransVerse: We Will Not be Erased’. His artistic talents started at a four or five, when he drew on the...