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Dear Commonword
Writer,
Welcome to our July newsletter! This month we bring you details
of our: renewed NPO status, upcoming Superheroes of Slam competition,
Writer of the Month interview with Zodwa Nyoni and Young
Identity events.
Happy reading!
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Commonword has received renewed NPO
status from Arts Council
Commonword
announces the wonderful news that its bid to receive funding under
the Arts Council of England’s National Portfolio Organisation (NPO)
programme has been successful. We at Commonword thank Arts
Council England for continuing to support our work.
Julia Davis,
Commonword’s Chair says: “"We are delighted with this news which
will underpin our continued commitment to new writers. We look
forward to developing our creative programme of workshops, digital
innovation, conferences and cross sector partnerships."
Commonword’s
Chief Executive, Pete Kalu states: “This represents a ringing
endorsement of our diversity and innovation focused approach to
literature development and specifically our five strand plan to help
more new writers become successful over the coming years.”
Read more about our five strand plan
for 2018-2022 here.
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SUPERHEROES OF SLAM
In the quest for the ultimate slam poet, Commonword
presents
Superheroes of Slam 2017.
The Superheroes
of Slam 2017 Final will take place on the 12th of
October at Three Minute Theatre. This year finalists from Berlin
(Germany), Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester,
Newcastle, Rochdale and Sheffield will be battling it out for the
title of Superheroes of Slam Champion 2017. Alongside the title, the
winner of the slam final will receive £250 and an Arvon Course
of their choice (subject to availability).
Contestants have
3 minutes to rock or shock the mic and are judged by audience
responses and guest judges. Previous winners of the slam include:
Dominic Berry, Mark Mace Smith and Joy France.
Upcoming Heats
For updates on locations and times of the slams, please follow us on Twitter
and like us on Facebook.
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Our July Writer of the Month: Zodwa Nyoni
This month,
Charlotte Maxwell interviewed Zodwa Nyoni about her new play Ode to Leeds, the
success of her recent play Weathered
Estates and advice she could offer to emerging young
poets and playwrights.
Tell me about
you, as an artist. How do you define art? What art do you make?
I am a writer. I
create stories that examine human behaviour. I am fascinated by
people and how they interact with each other. People are complex
beings and take from them, and put characters in various situations
and ask what does this story say about who we are, where we are
coming from and are going. This is my art.
Your new
play, Ode to Leeds has just completed its debut run
at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. What inspired you to write
this piece? How has the process of creating a play with so many
additional audience engagement elements been?
Ode to Leeds was
inspired by my time as a member of Leeds Young Authors (LYA). What I
took away from LYA was a safe space to write and relationships with
young people during a time (adolescence) when we were all trying to
figure out who we were and our roles in society. The poetry was our
common ground and our tool for expression. We each brought our own
histories to the group, learnt from each other and the workshop
leaders and, left feeling transformed.
In the play, you
have five characters for whom this confluence of poetry, young
people, Leeds and live stories lead to unexpected shifts in
relationships, a questioning of self and the purpose of the art form
in their lives.
Audience
engagement is key. Not only during the run but in how the play is
marketed to them and what they gain after the production has ended.
What was important for Ode
to Leeds was celebrating the poetry and the people
of Leeds. This speaks to all ages, genders, races and
ethnicities.
Khadijah Ibrahiim
(Artistic Director of Leeds Young Authors) and West Yorkshire
Playhouse developed a programme called The Movement. It
allowed for the city to engage with the poetry in different ways. Be
it, writing their own poetry on the walls of the West Yorkshire
Playhouse, attending an open mic night (The Sunday Practise),
artists’ development weekend (The Takeover), community workshops and
Q&A’s with LYA alumni, director and cast.
This level of
detail is important, especially with new writing. It enables the
audience to build a relationship with new work and artists. When a
theatre or organisation is supporting new work, they act as bridge
between the work and the audience. It is crucial for them to
establish honest and sustainable relationships on both sides.
Read the rest of
her interview here.
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New Release: Sounds That Exceed 80
Decibels
- sui anukka - col bashir - hafsah aneela bashir -
jane bradley - maeve clarke - dipali das - afshan d’souza-lodhi -
christina fonthes - bethany hermitt - charlotte maxwell - yolanda
mercy - heena patel - deborah sabina - shahireh sharif - naomi
sumner chan -
Sounds That Exceed 80 Decibels is now available to
purchase as an ebook online or
physical copies can be ordered via admin@cultureword.org.uk.
sounds that
exceed 80 decibels is an anthology that contains
poetry, monologues and performance pieces written by 15 women. It
raises the voices of women of diverse heritage and identity, who
are often marginalised in mainstream British Society. All the
writers in this anthology are women of colour, and/or identify as
LBT.
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YOUNG IDENTITY
Big Lottery
Awards - Vote Young Identity
Young Identity
have been shortlisted for the Big Lottery Awards Education category.
If they win, the project will be awarded £5K of funding.
To cast your
vote, click here.
Upcoming
Events
Ode Pon Road,
Oddest Bar, Thursday 29th June
Ode returns to
its spiritual home for a one off full bloom June of an event on
Thursday 29th June 2017. Featuring one of Peepal Tree
Press' acclaimed authors Desiree Reynolds reading from her
stunning debut novel, Seduce.
We'll also be welcoming Roma Havers, a poet who spits fire with a
smile and is learning her craft as a member of the impressive Young
Identity.
Complimenting live lit and spoken word is a dynamic range of musical
offering from host Chris Jams new incarnation – Zero Days, blending
soul tones, broken beats and acidic beeps. Alongside Nabb Gang
a UK Hip Hop collective whose lyricism saves synapses and music
kisses souls.
Performance at
Contact Summer Launch,
Friday 7th July,
5pm til late
Young Identity
poets will be showcasing their poetry at Contact's summer launch. A
great night is planned with DJs and pop-up performances. It's a
chance to meet the artists, and hear from the artistic director Matt
Fenton and Contact's Young Programmers about Contact's fantastic
Autumn season.
Please RSVP to edwardcox@contactmcr.com.
Young Identity Flexn performance
In association
with Manchester Literature Festival,
Tuesday 11th
July, Contact, 7pm
Reggie 'Regg Roc'
Gray, director of MIF: FlexN, returns to Manchester for a unique
collaboration between a group of young dancers and local spoken word
collective Young Identity to explore new ways of telling stories
through words and movement.
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Audience Finder
Survey
As always, we ask
that you complete our Audience Finder survey if you have attended
events/workshops at, or run by, Commonword. We are very grateful for
the time that is spent completing this survey and we love to hear
from you. This feedback is important to us and helps us to
ensure that we are doing a good job.
The link directs
you to Audience Finder, a tool which enables us to understand,
compare, apply audience insights across the UK, and benchmark
ourselves against other organisations.
The results, of
course, are all anonymous.
Please
forward this link to any of your friends and family who may have
attended workshops or events with you.
Many thanks, in advance
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Identity Writers
Group
Monday Night
Group
Young Enigma
Young Identity
Open to all young
people under 25 for spoken word poetry workshops.
Young Identity HOME 7-9pm Fortnightly, check HOME website
for details.
Contact 6-8pm and 7-9pm
Longsight library 6-7:45pm
email reece@cultureword.org.uk
for more info about other workshops or visit www.youngidentity.org
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