Rosy Carrick
Interview with Rosy Carrick,
MC@Hammer & Tongue
Thursday 22nd Jan hails the sixth all-mighty annual Poets vs MCs night in Brighton so if you’re into your verse – vicious or flowery, appreciate the finer points of syntax or are just into an Eminem-stylee play off, head to the Komedia for a guaranteed night of cool wit and wordiness. We talk to the lovely co-MC and local wordsmith extraordinaire Rosy Carrick to find out lots, lots more…
So what can we expect from the night?
Like all poetry slams, it acts essentially as a platform for poets and MCs to perform their work to a far broader audience than normal; the competitive context seems to appeal to our more sadistic side, I think!
There’ll be around eight poets and eight MCs, who will battle it out over three rounds, after which the audience decides which team wins. The atmosphere is amazing; there’s a real competitive edge, both on and off the stage, but only superficially; we’re all friends in REAL LIFE.
How long have the monthly Hammer and Tongue events been going on for?
H&T started about three years ago in Brighton, and has always incorporated the slam element. It was started in Oxford by Steve Larkin five or six years ago and is getting bigger all the time.
There’s one due to start up in Bath at the Komedia there, and there’s also one in London now, though the Brighton one tends to be the biggest.
Who or what was behind it? Are you one of the founders?Steve started it, and it was Sam Berkson who used to run the Brighton H&T nights. I moved here a couple of years ago and it was one of the first spoken word events I came to, so I infiltrated its existence and took over!
Have you and Jonny Fluffypunk always hosted the event?
No. Sam left for Liverpool a year or so ago, so Jonny and I have taken the reins since then.
Is the slam aimed primarily at wordsmiths or?
Well, the slam rules include a no singing, no props, no music element, so yes, unaccompanied spoken word in whatever poetic genre it takes is what we’re aiming for. UK slam poetry being born out of the US hip hop slam battle tradition, inevitably a lot of the slam poets we get veer towards a more hip hop style, but we get all manner of other poetry too.
What difference does the three-minute rule really make? Will it apply at the big annual slam?
Yes – I think it makes a real difference. The performer is forced to consider what they have to say in a far more concise way, and the judges in the audience have a more focussed performance to judge from. Not to mention the fact that, if a poet is bloody awful, the audience can rest assured that at least it’ll all be over pretty quickly!
Poets vs. MCs is a little different. The time allowance tends to be more relaxed, and it’s judged the old fashioned way – with claps, whoops, cheers and stamping, instead of the scoring cards we use at the regular monthly slams. This means that everyone gets the chance to be a part of the judging, and generally makes for a far more
raucous affair!
Is there anything unique about H & T compared to other wordy events?
There are some brilliant spoken word nights in Brighton; I think we’re really lucky here. Hammer and Tongue is great because we’re able to include a range of poetic experience, style and locality in one event.
For example, we have up to eight poets in the slam, some of whom come from surprisingly far afield, a 10 minute slot from a local poet at the start of the night – who has usually been spotted
as a previous slam performer, or at another local open mic night – plus two high profile guest poets. On top of that, we have DJs, programmes and chocolate eclairs – what more could any sane person ask for?!
Are there any regular acts to look out for at the slams or annual event?
Local poet Spliff Richard, who won the Hammer and Tongue Grand Slam Final in both 2007 and 2008 is definitely a favourite. He’s brilliantly elastic in his poetry, and a great performer.
Tips for newbie or wannabe performing slammers?
It can feel pretty scary to compete in a slam so, firstly, accept that a certain degree of terror will inevitably be present! Other than that, be nice to your audience, know your work – it doesn’t matter if you don’t know it off by heart, but practice it through so you feel confident about what you’re saying. And relax!
Don’t worry about what people will think; you wouldn’t be doing it if you didn’t think your poetry had something to offer, so, as Nike is so fond of telling us, JUST DO IT! And if you fuck up, say “Oops, I fucked up, just gimme a second and I’ll find my place”. Everyone fucks up sometimes…
Past faves and ‘memorable’ H&T poets, and Poets Vs MC finalists?
We’ve had some excellent poets. Personal H&T favourites have been Rhian Edwards – one of my all-time favourite poets, John Hegley who was, as ever, a fabulous performer onstage and total loon off, Tim Clare and Byron Vincent from Bristol, who are both brilliantly talented and odd, and the ever-drunker Brendan Cleary, whose poetry I just love. As for Poets vs MC finalists, last year’s winner for me was poet Robin Lawley, whose “Humble Ode to the Great MC”
was perfect.
Any future syntactical treats to look out for in 09?
Something Jon and I are doing with H&T this year is broadening the scope of our invited artists. It would be very easy to always have hip hop-style performance poets on the bill and, in the past, this has tended to be the case.
This year we’ve been more eclectic in our bookings. “Performance Poetry” is different to “Poetry Readings”, and we’re certainly not moving away from the importance we recognize in the performative element, but we will add poets who are not traditionally associated with ‘slam’ poetry.
People I’m most looking forward to are the incredible and yet also very credible Keston Sutherland, avant-garde poet and critical theorist, and the surreal and lyrical Nathan Filer, whose short films of his work have won the BBC Best Short Film Award in the UK, the Zebra Poetry Film Award in Berlin, and many others too.
Anything else peops should know about the slam that night and generally?
For Poets vs MCs I’d advise coming early, as it’s a very popular night. For the regular nights, if you’d like to take part in the slam, also come early! We only have 8 places and there’s nothing worse than preparing yourself mentally to perform, only to find that there are no slots left.
Other than that, just come along! I’ve known people who felt quite intimidated at the thought of what a slam night would be like. In reality, it’s open, friendly and above all, great fun. All the poets will be milling around too, so it’s an excellent way to meet your favourite performers and pick people’s brains about what’s going on.
See brightonpoetry.co.uk for all spoken word events in Brighton and Hove, Hammer and Tongue Brighton on facebook or email the lovely Rosy at info@rosycarrick.co.uk
Rosy was interviewed for The Hussy by Monica Perdoni.
read more about Rosy at www.rosycarrick.co.uk
Written by Monica Perdoni
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January 18th 2009 | 1
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