I recently heard that a venue that has been supporting not only up and coming Spoken Word artists, but also indie music acts, was due to close down. I was shocked.

There has been a resurgence recently in Spoken Word performance poetry, and to some degree this has been acknowledged and even celebrated. We can see this more recently in a couple of huge developments within the spoken word poetry scene:

In March Kate Tempest appeared on American Network television - on NBC's 'the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon'. She performed her poem 'Europe Is Lost' to millions. This is just the kind of exposure spoken word poetry needs. 

I delved into the continued success of spoken word poetry in making it out to a conventional audience in my blog piece: "Sell-Out or Sell-In?"  Where spoken word artists are partnering with various organisations to help put their work and their words out into a mainstream audience.

While we sat enjoying an evening of spoken word poetry at the March Out-Spoken Live event, and annual awards night, we were informed that the venue, the Forge in Camden - London, was due to close and that this would be the last time that Out-Spoken would be there. It was emotional and made the entire audience gasp. 

It's a sad reality that this is happening.

All around us venues are closing their doors or are unable to accommodate facilities needed to put on an entertaining night of spoken word poetry. 

Reported by the BBC in October 2016: "And music venues do not fare much better. Of the 430 that traded in London between 2007 and 2015, only 245 are still open, research by the London Assembly suggests.​"

Is there a green light in store for this? Well, according to London Mayor Sadiq Khan, there is. He is looking to appoint a 'Night Tsar' to work across London who will work as “a key driver of economic and cultural regeneration, and a magnet for domestic and international visitors” across the capital.

Their role will look to provide increased protection for music venues and nightclubs, working with developers to find new sites. A new approach will mean that the responsibility will now be on developers to ensure special steps are taken, such as soundproofing new residential properties in the areas where music venues or nightclubs are already established. Or likewise, if a nightclub opens in a residential area, it will be responsible for safeguarding residents’ peace, thus creating a harmony among cultural enthusiasts and local inhabitants.

This is great, but it only looks to address the issue in one location across the UK. However, I suppose if this is a success then it can easily be replicated across the country in order to stop our unique cultural night-life from being lost and forgotten.

My fingers are well and truly crossed that the continued success of the Spoken Word artists will be followed up with a rejuvenation in provisions for allowing this art form to be seen and flourish.

Folks - only time will tell. ​

Recently, and more specifically, in the last 12 months there has been a plethora of advertising utilising spoken word artists and poetry. Is this a problem?

Personally speaking, I like them. What I like about them is that they are putting spoken word and poetry in front of a wider and more mainstream audience, which can only benefit the art of poetry and spoken word.

Well-known spoken word artists such as, Hollie McNish, Sabrina Mahfouz, Amy Acre and Matt Abbott are just some that have taken part in this form of advertising (see below), using their work alongside corporate branding and organisations.

There are some, however, that have not found this a good way to 'promote' our art-form. Instead they are signposting it as fellow poets and lyricists selling out in order to make money - see video below from poet and spoken word artist, Luke Wright.

What is clear is that these poets are being paid to do a service, but what I ask you is to please look deeper. Yes, they did get paid to produce these pieces, but it is THEIR words, not the corporate companies they are deemed to be promoting.

The words spoken in these ads come from them and they are powerful, poignant and reminiscent. What they are doing is opening up spoken word and poetry to a whole new audience, which can only benefit the art.

I honestly do not see how this can cause any harm.

Poetry is more than anger and promoting the fight against 'the man' - obviously this still has it's place, but like with anything it has grown and evolved into a much wider medium.

So, well done to these poets for reaching out and taking a risk to promote their words and the art they love.

I'd been away from the spoken word/poetry scene in London for quite a few years, but on Wednesday the 22nd of February 2017 I was reintroduced to it in a big way.

Out-Spoken Live is an intimate night filled with hard-hitting and powerful poetry from some of the capitals up & coming and established poets and spoken word artists.

​It was a surprisingly intimate event where the audience were all huddled together, which was unpredictably due to the almost sell-out crowd of 110. At one point my knees were in the back of the person in front of me and I could feel the breath of the person behind me on my neck.

But this was great - it meant that the energy supplied by the acts flew into the audience, which only helped to captivate us even more.

The venue even had the outdoors inside (left) - with foliage adoring the walls it felt like we were outside in a courtyard rather than a bar in Camden.

So it's that time of year once again when the shops are open late. the skies become darker and the weather is colder.

This has opened the debate once again about the need to phyiscally 'go out' to do your annual Christmas shopping.

​Personally speaking - I haven't gone out to the high street and done my Christmas shopping this year - and I have found it a lot less stressful!

What's making them take to their laptops, tablets and smartphones instead? Is this a cultural shift away from traditional to a more 'digital' solution or is this just another fad/craze that will fade in time?

Well, simply put it's an extremely clever marketing strategy by online shopping and ecommerce sites. Online companies like Amazon have employed a very ingenious sales and marketing strategy to compete with the shops in the lead-up to Christmas.

What they have done is to drive competition with high-street retailers by significantly reducing the price of items on their sites, down to even 20% of the original price in some instances - for one whole day.

Yes, they do. But can the consumer do that from being on the move and from the comfort of their own home? No they can't.

So, intrinsically what they have done is they have exploited the laziness of the consumer. And really you can't blame them.

A slight issue that has been raised about online shopping is the 'being around to accept delivery' worries.

However, we know that this is on the radar of the big online sellers as they have introduced things like Amazon Locker whereby there are designated and convenient locations (usually available for the best part of most days) where the delivery can be stored safely and securely (using a personal pin unique to you in order to access it) until you are able to pick it up.

Well, I think as we are becoming more digital in our day-to-day lives and the need to 'go to the shops' will deminish.

This has been seen in the growth in sales in online sellers like Ocado, Amazon and all major supermarkets, like: ASDA, Tesco's and Sainsburys - to name just a few.

​What this means for retailers and businesses for the future is that more time, energy and creative resourcefulness is needed around online options - to capitalise and compete with online and ecommerce sellers.

This will be an interesting shift from the high-street to digital solutions.

But inevitably, I'm looking forward to putting my feet-up and continuing to shop online.

Ladies and gentlemen, the new 'President Elect' of the United States of America - Donald Trump!

I never in my wildest dreams imagined the possibility that this would happen. A man so enriched in rhetoric and propaganda that he himself cannot even remember what he has essentially 'promised' his electorate - it's maddening.

​On Wednesday the 9th of November Americans woke up to the news of their new 'Commander in Chief' and the drama of the evening previously unfolded upon them like a bad dream.

Since, not only America, but the world - has been left in shock at the result with numerous protests from celebrities, politicians and the general public. But one thing remains - he has won!

What this means is that his messaging was remembered! This gave him the edge when it came to voting. 

But what type of messaging? I challenge you to ask any American what his policies are and it will be a simple and superficial answer that you will get in return:

• "Build a wall."
• "Make America Great Again."
• "USA, USA, USA, USA!"
• "Hilary is a liar!"
• "Hilary is a criminal."

What really infuriated me about this campaign was that there was no political focus, instead it became more of a 'popularity' contest between the two front-runners.

This is where Hilary Clinton lost the election. She got drawn into the verbal sparring with Trump. She played his game - and lost.

Hilary also used the more traditional marketing and campaigning approach of lobbying, canvasing and traditional media outlets, which did nothing against the celebrity force that is Donald Trump.

Celebritization has brought Donald Trump into power - not his political prowess or knowledge. Rather, he has no political acumen and he will have to look to his advisers to steer him throughout his term in the White House.

I do not see this being the most successful Presidency in American Political history. 

Good luck America!