by Anita Foxall.
Write a Note brings monthly poetry and spoken word at the MAST, in the heart of Southampton. In Common poetry editor Anita Foxall runs and comperes the event. In a monthly article she shares highlights of the evening.
Fourteen poets and spoken word performers graced Write a Note’s July open mic with their amazing work. It is such joy to have regular faces coming every single month, others that came once and then promptly became regulars too, but obviously it is very flattering to be the welcoming stage for a first time performer.
The Village Boy is a wonderful example of a poet who attended Write a Note for the first time in June, and enchanted everybody with his poems.
The Village Boy
Born in the UK, The Village Boy (main image) is a written and spoken word poet of Sierra Leonean descent. Inspired by the power of words as a medium and his love of music he integrates the two, often with producer RojBeats to create a journey through the emotional psyche.
“It takes a Village” is a saying often used in Sierra Leone reminding us that no man is an island, we all need support. The Village Boy takes this sentiment to heart and is named such to remind him of his village (be that a place or state of mind) and those who helped him along his current path.
He has graced small stages – classrooms and university events – to larger ones such as the Barbican in London and the Portsmouth Victorious Festival.
For more poems by The Village Boy-https://linktr.ee/the.village.boy
Kindness
Sometimes,
all we need, is kindness.
An assurance that we are more than burdens.
That we are loved.
To feel that we are seen,
to know we mean something.
A little acknowledgement goes a long way.
Arguments
Anger bubbles dramatically like cauldrons where magic lives
Trouble follows quickly hoping to make a scene
I hate feeling small so I scream
you hate screaming so you yell
My words are lost in my feelings and sorry becomes jeering
any reaction will do
It doesn’t sound it but I hate being angry at you.
When I think of love
When I think of love.
I think of you.
How your mahogany glows in afternoon sunlight
and the lightness of your voice as notes billow through our home and colours it with music.
I think of days deep breathing through labour,
early mornings woken by cries and coughs,
and the weight of Joy on my chest where tiredness once lived.
You have given me all that Love promises.
Multiplied all I have given you and gifted me a home.
and so when I think of love.
I think of you.
Haribo
We also had new poems by our regular poet, Haribo, who can take us on journeys to a more sci-fi universe, brought us two poems of a more critical nature about the world we are now living. Haribo describes himself as “born in the wilds of Dorset, raised in the menacing shadow of Portsmouth, broken in the dungeons of Sussex, thrown back in the mercy of Portsmouth. From his self-imposed exile in Southampton his war of revenge against the world begins.”
The party that parties
No matter what
The party that parties
That’s part of the rot
The party that parties
The piss they do take
The party that parties
Perhaps by mistake
Oh yes
By mistake
Oh yes
Manager 1 to team 4
Manager 4 to team 3
Promote new manager to team 1.
Give manager 4 a new office
and call them an operations manager.
Give team 2 a new role.
Preferably one they are not trained for.
Send manager 4 to take over team 1.
No longer call them an operations manager.
Demote new old manager to team 1
deputy assistant auxiliary lead.
Promote manager 3 to head of department.
Close the department.
Open the department.
Preferably in a different building.
Manager 1 to team 1
Manager 2 to team 2
Manager 3 to team 3
Manager 4 to team 4
Suspend all teams
Rename them commands.
Re-designate them teams A to D.
All managers are now localised executive enablers.
Investigate mysterious plummet in staff morale.
Disregard results of investigation.
Move department to original building.
Demolish original building.
Steve Lowis
Steve Lowis, our music guest, has been a constant support to Write a Note, having played for the event a few times before and attended many times. It was a joy to have him back singing for us.
Steve is a folk/pop singer songwriter who lives in Southampton. His latest album, Chapters, was released in the form of a beautifully designed photo and lyric book, which has the CD album and download code included. It has received a great response since it’s release, as it was selected to be included in the National Library’s audio vault and has regular airplay on Bulgarian, local and national radio.
Steve is currently working on his new Ep Second Hand Books which will complete this collection of works.
Here’s a short photography movie he did to promote his album Chapters (you may see a few familiar faces there):
And this is one of my favourite songs ‘Day One’:
You can find his work on all social media. Don’t forget to support our artists:
https://www.instagram.com/stevelowismusic/
https://www.youtube.com/user/stevelowis
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