Mother Foucault March 24 2016

Our new spoken word poetry club Mother Foucault is finally ready to launch! I am lucky enough to have been asked to curate Mother Foucault, set in Bristol Temple Meads railway tunnels, on behalf of the ever innovative creative rebels Boomsatsuma. They will be evenings of high thinking and low debauchery, set on intellectual uprising and furious dancing, and featuring the most powerful names in UK spoken word and poetry.

The launch gig gathers together the mighty legend that is Salena Godden, alongside magical Edinburgh Fringe First Winner Sabrina Mahfouz, with former UK Slam Champion Vanessa Kisuule, and myself – hosting and doing a short set.

And when the thinking is done, the dancing begins. Queen B from the Bristol underground scene will be selecting until lights out early in the morning.

Mother Foucault is a speakeasy soiree for the 21st century.

 

Last Poet Standing Film by Juliana Ramos Da Costa

Hello 2015.

You’ve been quite a year already, quietly watching me travel the South East and South West of the UK, delivering workshops and tap dancing my tongue at gigs. You passed on my number in a late night bar to the gorgeous Ledbury Poetry Festival, and I want you to know that I have seen a lot of Ledbury since. I have been your Poet in Residence for schools, pulling poetry out of teenager’s mouths in leafy lanes and Pupil Refrerral Units. Teaching books to dance.

And now you tell me that there are even more magical things in store for the year. I am writing my first one woman show in 15 years The Space Between Words;  I will be creating another hour long piece for composer Stephan Hodel that choreographer Fabien Reimar, a first soloist with English National Ballet, will create pieces that fellow ENB dancers will perform *, and have started a new novel Seven Small Books About Everything.

In between times you are sending me to North Somerset to co-ordinate a spoken word festival in schools and libraries. At the same time you are booking me into secondary schools and colleges across London for SLAMbassadors UK, while still finding a moment to make sure I can tutor and feature for the miraculous Arvon Centre. And the Royal Court masterclass has given me a certain stride useful to city living.

And if that wasn’t enough…? 2015, you have emailed me this:

*a beautiful film of Last Poet Standing created by stunning VJ Artist Juliana Ramos da Costa

 

BOOK LAUNCH 6 November 6.30pm Phoenix Artists Club

My new collection The Woman Who Was Not There on Burning Eye Books will be launched in the smoke haunted half-written Soho environs of Phoenix Artists Club on November 6 at 6.30pm.

Phoenix Artists Club

1 Phoenix Street

London WC2H 9BU

It’s been a long journey. Please come and help me make the final few steps.

A few of my heroes and linguistic revolutionaries will be coming along to show love, and the pre gig will feature the awesome talents of Salena Godden, Raymond Antrobus, Anthony Anaxagorou, Megan Beech, PACE and others. 

‘We need poetry like this. Fearless’ Benjamin Zephaniah
‘Joelle Taylor’s a shape shifter,myth maker, linguistic risk taker; poetical activist, surrealist with a raised fist. She knows how to handle a pen’ Patience Agbabi
‘A city gritted heart- beaten tattoo’ John Hegley

Free entry. RSVP joelletaylorbookings@yahoo.com

NEWS

Poetry by Heart workshop

Poetry by Heart is a national project that is inspiring young people to learn poetry from a specially selected anthology. They pick 2 poems to learn – one from pre 1914 and one from post 1914 – learn it and perform it at one of a series of events across the UK. It is an excellent way of expanding knowledge and criticism of poetry. I will be working a little on the Poetry by Heart project, leading a workshop alongs the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Roundhouse in Camden – on March 11th 2013. www.poetrybyheart.org

Festival News

I will be performing at a couple of grogeous festivals over the summer. I have just been asked to host the Poetry and Words Tent at Glastonbury Festival, and also to compere at Larmer Tree Festival – a bijou jazz gig deep in th dirty fairy lit forests of Somewhere.