You know those wesbites that pick your most-used words? Here's mine, Facebook and Twitter
So- if you know me- if you're reading this- you know about Boxedin, and you know it's something I, and everyone involved in it with, cares about quite a lot. The past two years have seen it become something bigger than we intended, with most of our events having over a hundred people coming to watch open mic poetry (Krehzeh!) We love the vibe it brings, but also know that there's something in these big nights that gives an advantage to 'bigger' performers. People who can throw out flashy lines, make jokes, or who can rhyme on beat- they have an advantage over smaller performers... or poets that don't fancy themselves as performers at all. We understand that we can't change the momentum of our main night, and in order to cater to these writers as well, we've created a new night,
Boxedin-timate
A night that hopes to the the yin to Boxedin's yang, at Caravanserail, bookshop less than five minutes away from Boxpark, in a space that holds no more than 45 people with the aim to create a slower, more relaxed evening of poetry that focuses less on the performance and more on the writing.
It's also six pounds for entry, which is new for us, as Boxedin as always been a free night (and that will never change) but we believe that for the features we'll deliver each month and for the length of their sets, three quid for each performer is more than worth the money. While we're here, lets look at the features for this month!
Jamal Mehmood
Thumbnail of a Boxedin night cos I'm shameless
I first saw Jamal at a Boxedin- he was incredible- one of those times where you want to book someone as soon as you see them, and it definitely helped that as soon as his poem finished I had Omar Bynon whisper into my ear "Yo you need to book that guy" to me as well. A lot like our feature for last month, Troy, we haven't been able to get him a feature at Boxedin, but having this night I think will serve his writing so well. His book, Little Boy Blue, is really fucking beautiful. Dealing with shame and pride, there are few pieces in this collection I can't wait to hear.
Maria Ferguson
Here we go with some Vintage Ferg. I met Maria way back, before Boxedin, on the Roundhouse course back in 2011. She's got a voice that can fit into every corner of the poetry/spoken word space, featuring at James Massiah's Spaeking to Bang Said the Gun and everywhere in between. In the past couple of years she's focused on theatre, creating her show Fat Girls Don't Dance, which has since been published by Oberon, and is now working on her new show, Essex girl. It's been a while since I've seen her read, and I'm really looking forward to hearing it.
The night is on the 9th of January. This is still a new night for us, and it'd mean so much to have you show support for our first event of the year.
Thanks so much,
Sean