Since moving to Nottingham for university in September 2021 I have been lucky enough to be really involved in Nottingham’s flourishing creative and literary scene. Slams, however, are still a relatively new thing for me. In fact, I started with open mics and they remain my favourite type of event to attend. I have now been to so many open mics around the city and every single experience has been wonderful and so welcoming. It was hard at first but I cannot stress enough how absolutely essential open mics have been for my confidence and belief both in myself and my writing.
What was your experience of participating in Slamovision?
Slamovision is an annual competition held between Cities of Literature across the world. Each city selects their champion in local heats and then they get put through to the grand final.
In 2023 I was selected to be Nottingham’s representative at the UNESCO’s Slamovision. My poem ‘Father’s Daughter’ was written for the competition but despite this I had no expectations going in – I just wanted to take part and have a bit of fun. The heats were a great experience, where each competitor gets a 3 minute slot to perform their piece. I was lucky enough to be selected as Nottingham’s representative. I competed at the final in December and despite not winning it was such a brilliant night and celebration of the talent in the cities of literature around the world.
What was next after Slamovision?
This year, as part of the Nottingham Poetry Festival 2025, I competed in the Notts vs. Derby slam. It was really such a fun evening. I arrived at the Old Cold Store and met my team and the Derby competitors; this was so lovely because I got to meet a group of fellow young creatives and vibe with their energy too. Each team had four competitors and each team member picked a piece of paper with a number on it. I picked number three. The two competitors that picked number one went first and a coin was flipped to see if the Derby or the Nottingham team would start. Nottingham won the coin toss so the competitor from the Nottingham team who chose number one went first. Then the Derby number one. Then Nottingham number two and so on. We reversed the order for the second half. We were treated to a story and some poetry from the lovely Derby host and even the chef from the venue itself came up and read some of their poetry. It was such a brilliant welcoming atmosphere, I almost forgot it was a competition! But the scores were counted, the results were in and… *drumroll*… NOTTINGHAM WINS!!
If you are someone who is drawn to Nottingham for its flourishing arts scene, I implore you, check out some open mics. Listen, enjoy and if you can, perform.
Interested in having a taste of an open mic? Check out Speak Easy, our youth led spoken word collective.