Slamchester – 53two
If there’s one thing I’ve learnt in the past 24 hours, it’s that Manchester has an absolutely electric slam poetry scene - not only Slamchester where I was lucky enough to be a guest last night, but also through the many, many, many dates of events that charismatic host, Kieren King peppered through the night.
Slamchester itself is a passionate evening of competitive poetry, where 8 incredible poets have 2 rounds of 3 minutes each to show off their spoken-word work to a raucous crowd and 5 judges. It was amazing to see how full the venue was on a rainy Sunday in February, and the atmosphere was really supportive.
The night kicked off with Kieren King explaining the rules and warming up the mic with one of his own poems about his wife. Kieren was a warm host, who clearly cares a l...