Last night saw me heading south to Bunjil Place in Narre Warren for the Littlefoot and Co spoken word night. Bunjil Place is an incredible venue. If you haven't had a chance to check it out, it's well worth the trip. They have an incredible program of events throughout the year and the building is state of the art.
It was a wonderful night of spoken word and poetry with perfomances from first time poets right through to the 2020 Australian Poetry Slam Champion, Ren Alessandra. Spoken word gigs are a roller coaster of emotion as the poets take you on a wild ride through their experiences and imaginations. What I love about spoken word and the poetry community here in Melbourne is how welcoming they are. It doesn't matter if you're a novice or a superstar, everyone gets an enthusiastic reception. Of course, part of what makes this particular event so special is its hosts, Eden and Josh.
It was only the second time I've perfomed live since lockdown ended and it was wonderful to be back on stage. For once, I didn't preplan or rehearse everything I was going to say. I wasn't even 100% sure what poems I was going to recite. I was too busy before hand to prepare so I decided to try something new and wing it!
I had a few poems I was thinking about performing but it wasn't until the gig was underway that I made my final choice. I recited My Words and The Shift which are about the creative porcess of writing a poem and I finished with Never Seen which was published in Brownface, issue 100 of Cordite.
It was interesting performing in this way – with no practice or preparation. I liked speaking off the cuff about my poems and I wasn't too nervous either. Perhaps it was because I wasn't trying to be perfect and get all the words to my intorduction right. Maybe it's because it was familiar and I've done it before. Whatever the reason, I really appreicated the feeling of being comfortable on stage and behind the microphone. I found I still knew My Words and The Shift off by heart even though it's been a while since I've perfomed them. It was like slipping into an old and familiar jumper that's cosy and warm.
The night ended with two original songs from a local songwriter and musician. This is one of the best spoken gigs in Melbourne and I'll definitely be going back for more poetry goodness!
