Bespoken Word

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

20080716

20090318 (R4)

Featuring Polar Bear, Felix Dennis and Scroobius Pip.

Performance poetry

20080723

20090401 (R4)

Broadcast in tribute to the late poet Adrian Mitchell who, shortly before he died in December 2008, recorded an appearance for the series. One of the great performance poets, Mitchell was widely known as the 'Shadow Poet Laureate' and was described by Kenneth Tynan as 'the British Mayakovsky'. He was famous for political poetry and love poetry, and the programme features one of his best loved pieces in the latter category, the delightful A Puppy Called Puberty. Also appearing are two of the country's best young performance poets, Luke Wright and Ross Sutherland.

Featuring the late Adrian Mitchell, the man dubbed the Shadow Poet Laureate.

Performance poetry

20080730

20090408 (R4)

Highlights from the Latitude Festival in Suffolk. Performers include Kat Francois.

Performance poetry

20080806

20090415 (R4)

From this year's Latitude Festival in Suffolk. Featured performers include Dockers MC.

Performance poetry

20080813

20090422 (R4)

From London's Troubadour Coffee House. Featured performers include Murray Lachlan Young.

Performance poetry

20080820

20090325 (R4)

Featured performers include John Agard, Poeticat and shortMAN.

Performance poetry

20090701

20091223 (R4)

Featuring a reading by the late Adrian Mitchell of his poem, To Whom It May Concern.

Performance poetry

20090708

20091216 (R4)

Scroobius Pip gives his update on a classic theme with his poem Mr Otis Regrets.

Performance poetry

20091126

20100409 (R4)

Special edition of Radio 4's performance poetry show from Cardiff University. Featuring Brit School graduate Laura Dockrill, who regularly gigs with Kate Nash and has just published her second book, Ugly Shy Girl, which looks at the experiences of the sixth-form loner girl, the kind who feels 'like a tiny speck of dust that the Hoover has forgotten to suck up'. Plus the winner of the Radio 4 Poetry Slam competition Dizraeli, who makes you listen to rap with new ears, and Siadwell from the TV comedy series Naked Video.

20101027

~Bespoken Word returns for a new series with a bang.

The first episode features current star performance poet, Kate Tempest. It's not hard to see why this former winner of the Nuyorican Poetry Slam in New York and who has been the hit of festivals Glastonbury, Latitude and Big Chill in 2010 is the name on everyone's lips in performance poetry. Her unique style blending incredible lyrics with hip hop rhythms is a hit with all age groups across the country.

She shares the Bespoken Word bill with Martin Visceral of the Pen-Ultimate Collective based in Manchester, which is being specially featured in this series.

~Bespoken Word was the first programme on British radio or television devoted to performance poetry. It's now in its seventh year.

Producer: Graham Frost

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.

Performance poetry with Mr Gee, featuring festival favourite Kate Tempest.

20101103

Molly Naylor was already a successful up-and-coming writer and performer when she, together with her boyfriend, was on a London Underground train which was blown up on 7 July 2005. This was seven-seven, and coming so close to such an outrage would change anybody.

With a poet, particularly one with the talent of the young Naylor, it resulted in a period of going off the rails followed by a deepening of her creativity. Her appearance on Bespoken Word includes a piece inspired by the experience.

Molly has performed at events and festivals all over the world including Latitude, Glastonbury, Palabra y Musica, The Big Chill, Poet in the City, Edinburgh Fringe, Hull Truck, Purple Ronnie's Stand Up Poetry Club, Shunt, Soho Theatre and many more. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia.

Her solo spoken word show- Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think Of You is produced by Sarah Ellis and Apples & Snakes.

~Bespoken Word is Radio 4's performance poetry series. It was the first programme on British radio and television devoted to performance poetry, and is now in its seventh year.

Producer: Graham Frost

A Somethin' Else Production for BBC Radio 4.

Performance poetry, this week starring Molly Naylor who was on one of the 7/7 trains.

20101110

Radio 4's performance poetry series, this week featuring performance poets Chris Redmond and Niven Ganner.

Chris Redmond (aka Ventriloquist) works in spoken word, music and theatre. Gigs have included London's Southbank Centre, Shepherds Bush Empire, Comedy Cafe, Cargo, Jazz Cafe, and at festivals - Glastonbury, Big Chill, Latitude, Camp Bestival, London Word Festival and many more.

He is performing as part of The Spoken Word All-Stars tour with Kate Tempest, Kat Francois, El Crisis, Oneness and Jason Yarde. A trained musician and producer he's played drums in dozens of bands and written music for theatre, dance, art installations, and various TV networks. He runs workshops and teaches music and poetry throughout the UK. Niven Ganner is a member of Manchester poetry collective, Pen-Ultimate.

Producer: Graham Frost

A Somethin Else Production for BBC Radio 4.

Radio 4's performance poetry series, featuring Chris Redmond and Niven Ganner.

20101117

~Bespoken Word, Radio 4's performance poetry series, this week features one of the most unusual performance poets on the scene: Metis - rapper by night, international banker by day.

His topics are 'conscious rap' and include attacks on racism, attacks on the selfishness of money, self-realisation and the values of the young, but also include a lot of light/humourous/romance material.

Also on the bill are former winner of the Radio 4 Slam Competition, Ben Mellor; and distinguished bard Alfred Lord Telecom.

Producer: Graham Frost

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.

Radio 4's performance poetry series, this week with special guest star Metis.

20101124

Michael Horovitz is one of the great British eccentrics, always guaranteed to entertain, with his distinctive plastic trumpet (which he was playing long before vuvuzelas came on the scene), and his own imitable poetry performance style. Now aged 75, but still as witty and politically excoriating as ever, he is one of the last living links to the beat generation.

He became widely known upon his appearance at the International Poetry Incarnation at the Royal Albert Hall on June 11 1965, alongside Allen Ginsberg and Alexander Trocchi.

Also on the bill is comedy Norfolk poet William Cake, with a poem about - guess what - Norfolk.

Producer: Graham Frost

A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.

Radio 4's performance poetry series, featuring Michael Horovitz.

20101201

~Bespoken Word, Radio 4's performance poetry series, this week features two incredible women: queen of the salacious, Hastings poet Salena Godden, plus one of the most exciting new talents, Indigo Williams.

Salena Godden is the most mischievous of today's female performance poets. She has travelled the world performing and writing, as well as television and radio presenting. As the title of one of her best known pieces 'Hunger is the Best Sauce' suggests, she's the queen of the salacious. Her performances are legendary, from London's Book Slam to festivals around the country where she regularly performs her showstopper 'Lick It'.

She has hosted workshops in schools across Britain and in New York to inspire teenagers to write fiction and/or poetry. She hosts The Book Club Boutique, Soho's hippest literary salon, celebrating all things 'Books, Booze and Boogie-Woogie', featuring poets including Laura Dockrill, John Hegley, Niall O'Sullivan, Aoife Mannix, Francesca Beard, Paul Lyalls and Kate Tempest. As a writer she's been published in a myriad of both mainstream and art-house literary magazines and anthologies.

~Bespoken Word was the first programme on British radio or television devoted to performance poetry. It is now in its seventh year. The guest presenter this week is Whitbread winning author Patrick Neate.

Producer: Graham Frost

A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.

Radio 4's performance poetry series, featuring the queen of the salacious, Salena Godden.

20101208

~Bespoken Word, Radio 4's performance poetry series, this week comes from the Cheltenham Literature Festival, and features a special guest appearance by Fran Landesman, funky octogenarian, poet and lyric writer for some of the greats of popular music.

Fran Landesman was born in 1927 in New York City. She was married to the late Jay Landesman, publisher of the Beat Generation poets. They ran the 'Crystal Palace' club, a very successful St Louis performance venue.

During this time she started writing lyrics. One of her best known was 'Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most'. and during her career artists for whom she wrote lyrics include Alec Wilder, Steve Allen, Tommy Wolf, George Shearing, Richard Rodney Bennett, and Dudley Moore. She has published several volumes of poetry. In 1996 the BBC received a number of complaints when Landesman appeared on Desert Island Discs and requested a supply of marijuana as her luxury item.

Also on the bill is performance poet - David J.

Producer: Graham Frost

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.

Radio 4's performance poetry series, coming from the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

Episodes

First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
20080716	20090318 (R4)	Featuring Polar Bear, Felix Dennis and Scroobius Pip. Performance poetry
20080723	20090401 (R4)	Broadcast in tribute to the late poet Adrian Mitchell who, shortly before he died in December 2008, recorded an appearance for the series. One of the great performance poets, Mitchell was widely known as the 'Shadow Poet Laureate' and was described by Kenneth Tynan as 'the British Mayakovsky'. He was famous for political poetry and love poetry, and the programme features one of his best loved pieces in the latter category, the delightful A Puppy Called Puberty. Also appearing are two of the country's best young performance poets, Luke Wright and Ross Sutherland. Featuring the late Adrian Mitchell, the man dubbed the Shadow Poet Laureate. Performance poetry
20080730	20090408 (R4)	Highlights from the Latitude Festival in Suffolk. Performers include Kat Francois. Performance poetry
20080806	20090415 (R4)	From this year's Latitude Festival in Suffolk. Featured performers include Dockers MC. Performance poetry
20080813	20090422 (R4)	From London's Troubadour Coffee House. Featured performers include Murray Lachlan Young. Performance poetry
20080820	20090325 (R4)	Featured performers include John Agard, Poeticat and shortMAN. Performance poetry
20090701	20091223 (R4)	Featuring a reading by the late Adrian Mitchell of his poem, To Whom It May Concern. Performance poetry
20090708	20091216 (R4)	Scroobius Pip gives his update on a classic theme with his poem Mr Otis Regrets. Performance poetry
20091126	20100409 (R4)	Special edition of Radio 4's performance poetry show from Cardiff University. Featuring Brit School graduate Laura Dockrill, who regularly gigs with Kate Nash and has just published her second book, Ugly Shy Girl, which looks at the experiences of the sixth-form loner girl, the kind who feels 'like a tiny speck of dust that the Hoover has forgotten to suck up'. Plus the winner of the Radio 4 Poetry Slam competition Dizraeli, who makes you listen to rap with new ears, and Siadwell from the TV comedy series Naked Video.
20101027		~Bespoken Word returns for a new series with a bang. The first episode features current star performance poet, Kate Tempest. It's not hard to see why this former winner of the Nuyorican Poetry Slam in New York and who has been the hit of festivals Glastonbury, Latitude and Big Chill in 2010 is the name on everyone's lips in performance poetry. Her unique style blending incredible lyrics with hip hop rhythms is a hit with all age groups across the country. She shares the Bespoken Word bill with Martin Visceral of the Pen-Ultimate Collective based in Manchester, which is being specially featured in this series. ~Bespoken Word was the first programme on British radio or television devoted to performance poetry. It's now in its seventh year. Producer: Graham Frost A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4. Performance poetry with Mr Gee, featuring festival favourite Kate Tempest.
20101103		Molly Naylor was already a successful up-and-coming writer and performer when she, together with her boyfriend, was on a London Underground train which was blown up on 7 July 2005. This was seven-seven, and coming so close to such an outrage would change anybody. With a poet, particularly one with the talent of the young Naylor, it resulted in a period of going off the rails followed by a deepening of her creativity. Her appearance on Bespoken Word includes a piece inspired by the experience. Molly has performed at events and festivals all over the world including Latitude, Glastonbury, Palabra y Musica, The Big Chill, Poet in the City, Edinburgh Fringe, Hull Truck, Purple Ronnie's Stand Up Poetry Club, Shunt, Soho Theatre and many more. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Her solo spoken word show- Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think Of You is produced by Sarah Ellis and Apples & Snakes. ~Bespoken Word is Radio 4's performance poetry series. It was the first programme on British radio and television devoted to performance poetry, and is now in its seventh year. Producer: Graham Frost A Somethin' Else Production for BBC Radio 4. Performance poetry, this week starring Molly Naylor who was on one of the 7/7 trains.
20101110		Radio 4's performance poetry series, this week featuring performance poets Chris Redmond and Niven Ganner. Chris Redmond (aka Ventriloquist) works in spoken word, music and theatre. Gigs have included London's Southbank Centre, Shepherds Bush Empire, Comedy Cafe, Cargo, Jazz Cafe, and at festivals - Glastonbury, Big Chill, Latitude, Camp Bestival, London Word Festival and many more. He is performing as part of The Spoken Word All-Stars tour with Kate Tempest, Kat Francois, El Crisis, Oneness and Jason Yarde. A trained musician and producer he's played drums in dozens of bands and written music for theatre, dance, art installations, and various TV networks. He runs workshops and teaches music and poetry throughout the UK. Niven Ganner is a member of Manchester poetry collective, Pen-Ultimate. Producer: Graham Frost A Somethin Else Production for BBC Radio 4. Radio 4's performance poetry series, featuring Chris Redmond and Niven Ganner.
20101117		~Bespoken Word, Radio 4's performance poetry series, this week features one of the most unusual performance poets on the scene: Metis - rapper by night, international banker by day. His topics are 'conscious rap' and include attacks on racism, attacks on the selfishness of money, self-realisation and the values of the young, but also include a lot of light/humourous/romance material. Also on the bill are former winner of the Radio 4 Slam Competition, Ben Mellor; and distinguished bard Alfred Lord Telecom. Producer: Graham Frost A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4. Radio 4's performance poetry series, this week with special guest star Metis.
20101124		Michael Horovitz is one of the great British eccentrics, always guaranteed to entertain, with his distinctive plastic trumpet (which he was playing long before vuvuzelas came on the scene), and his own imitable poetry performance style. Now aged 75, but still as witty and politically excoriating as ever, he is one of the last living links to the beat generation. He became widely known upon his appearance at the International Poetry Incarnation at the Royal Albert Hall on June 11 1965, alongside Allen Ginsberg and Alexander Trocchi. Also on the bill is comedy Norfolk poet William Cake, with a poem about - guess what - Norfolk. Producer: Graham Frost A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4. Radio 4's performance poetry series, featuring Michael Horovitz.
20101201		~Bespoken Word, Radio 4's performance poetry series, this week features two incredible women: queen of the salacious, Hastings poet Salena Godden, plus one of the most exciting new talents, Indigo Williams. Salena Godden is the most mischievous of today's female performance poets. She has travelled the world performing and writing, as well as television and radio presenting. As the title of one of her best known pieces 'Hunger is the Best Sauce' suggests, she's the queen of the salacious. Her performances are legendary, from London's Book Slam to festivals around the country where she regularly performs her showstopper 'Lick It'. She has hosted workshops in schools across Britain and in New York to inspire teenagers to write fiction and/or poetry. She hosts The Book Club Boutique, Soho's hippest literary salon, celebrating all things 'Books, Booze and Boogie-Woogie', featuring poets including Laura Dockrill, John Hegley, Niall O'Sullivan, Aoife Mannix, Francesca Beard, Paul Lyalls and Kate Tempest. As a writer she's been published in a myriad of both mainstream and art-house literary magazines and anthologies. ~Bespoken Word was the first programme on British radio or television devoted to performance poetry. It is now in its seventh year. The guest presenter this week is Whitbread winning author Patrick Neate. Producer: Graham Frost A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4. Radio 4's performance poetry series, featuring the queen of the salacious, Salena Godden.
20101208		~Bespoken Word, Radio 4's performance poetry series, this week comes from the Cheltenham Literature Festival, and features a special guest appearance by Fran Landesman, funky octogenarian, poet and lyric writer for some of the greats of popular music. Fran Landesman was born in 1927 in New York City. She was married to the late Jay Landesman, publisher of the Beat Generation poets. They ran the 'Crystal Palace' club, a very successful St Louis performance venue. During this time she started writing lyrics. One of her best known was 'Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most'. and during her career artists for whom she wrote lyrics include Alec Wilder, Steve Allen, Tommy Wolf, George Shearing, Richard Rodney Bennett, and Dudley Moore. She has published several volumes of poetry. In 1996 the BBC received a number of complaints when Landesman appeared on Desert Island Discs and requested a supply of marijuana as her luxury item. Also on the bill is performance poet - David J. Producer: Graham Frost A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4. Radio 4's performance poetry series, coming from the Cheltenham Literature Festival.