ConVerse

"Every conversation is a form of jazz. The activity of instantaneous creation is as ordinary to us as breathing."  (Nachmanovitch, S.,1990. Free Play, Improvisation in Life and Art.)

What happens when we apply the rules of jazz improvisation to performing poetry? How can we achieve music through poetry and words? When does poetry become music? Through the application of techniques coming from jazz improvisation and contemporary music I explore improvisation within spoken word performance. I aim to reveal the poetry between music and spoken word, to push the boundaries of poetry performance, to bring poetry to new audiences and to change perceptions of what “performance poetry” can be.

The exciting ground shared by hip hop, rap and spoken word has been generally acknowledged, but there are other, less explored ways in which music and spoken word can feed into each other. For example, what happens when we treat performance poetry as a form of jazz improvisation? Can the poet expand their possibilities by applying aspects of singing and acting techniques? Can technology aid us in pushing the boundaries of spoken word performance? How can the kind of vocal experimentation expounded by Luciano Berio influence the performance of poetry? Can we move poetry beyond its boundaries so that it is equally at home at jazz, pop, contemporary music, poetry, dance, and theatre festivals…?

Rather than improvising the content of the text itself, as in Freestyle rap, I first learn the text and then use a structure within which I have the freedom to play with aspects such as the order of the words, the break down of words themselves, pitch, rhythm, timing and use of the voice.  To hear, or watch an example please go to poetcasting, or watch "Improvisation on Overheard Conversations." on youtube. I will be performing work from ConVerse in London, in November, see Home for further details.

City Fragments

"City Fragments" is a solo poetry performance.  Influenced by my visit to Japan, living for three months in Berlin, two years in Amsterdam, and visits to Mexico city, the poems explore the drama contained within cities in constant demolition and destruction. Poems cover subjects such as the prostitutes in Berlin (who in the winter, wear puffer jackets with corsets on top!), and the shifted reality of Mexico city where it can be safer to walk on the side of the street with the gang than the police and includes poems made from the graffitti on Berlin's walls. The forty minute set (also offered as an acoustic 20min set) includes simple, acoustic poems as well as virtuosic explorations of articulation and the materiality of language. I often work with soundtracks composed with music and layering of voices, sounds recorded from the streets of Berlin and other cityscapes.

Technical requirements: Microphone and a CD player, [PA system]

To watch a demo of some of the work included in City Fragments CLICK HERE

[The text for "City Fragments" is also inspired by the writing of Stephen Barber, in particular, Fragments of a European City, which I highly recommend.]