Yesterday we had the privilege of attending a truly memorable poetry event at Spotland Library.
In spite of a clash with some blokes kicking a ball at the Spotland stadium which caused traffic and parking issues there was a full house of audience and performers (two of the poets were held up in the jams but last minute changes to the running order meant everything ran smoothly).
After introductions and an opening poem from Rochdale Laureate Sammy Weaver the first guest poet to read was Rochdale Young Poet in Residence – Alende Amisi. Originally from Congo, Alende is an incredibly busy man with lecturing, studying for his PHD and writing being just a part of his work. His poetry, informed by his own experiences was thoughtful and powerful. Alende’s delivery was calm, almost belying the strength of his word and those words were very well received by the audience.
Sid Calderbank, an award winning Lancashire dialect specialist and a Rochdale favourite entertained with a rendition of “Bobby Grundy, a village shop” written by Benjamin Woods. How Sid remembers the words to these old dialect poems is something of a mystery – but the reactions of those listening to his hilarious renditions are not, the room was full of laughter and I’m sure a few new (old) words were learned.
Yasmin Hussain is a relative newcomer to poetry and part of the Riverside Writer group and also attends the Heywood Scribblers monthly sessions. Those in the room at Spotland would be forgiven for believing that Yasmin has been doing this for ages as she took the microphone and delivered two poems with great delivery and composure. Her poem “Woman” really struck a chord with not only the women in the library but also the men, some of whom might have found her themes enlightening. A great performance from a local woman who continues to grow in skill and confidence.
Yasmin was followed by another award winning poet, Hafsa Aneela Bashir, from Oldham. Hafsa is a mother, an aunty and a grandmother and her poetry delivers her messages and emotion straight to the heart. Her performance in Spotland was no exception. “Cummin Seeds” about a childhood visits to the cash and carry really captured the essence and atmosphere of those places, whilst “Tap on the roof”, also from her collection “The Celox and the Clot” is a really powerful and heartbreaking poem about the terrible things happening to Palestinians over so many years.
Mike Garry is without doubt one of the leading poets of the North. He has an hoary doctorate and has brought his poetry to university students, teachers, schools, prisons and so many stages in so many rooms. He has toured with John Cooper Clark and worked with many musical talents from New Order to Philip Glass. His poems are delivered in a high speed, energetic and absolutely authentic voice as he moves around the room and even breaks into song on occasion. For me his poem about the primary school teacher who told him it was OK to dream and the eulogy for his mother were incredibly moving and there were tears in eyes around the room. Safe to say that Mike gained some new fans in Spotland yesterday and there can be no doubting the appetite for live poetry in the borough.
This event was one of a series being hosted in libraries by Sammy Weaver and the remaining events will be at Darnhill on 14th February, Middleton on 5ht March and a final event and anthology launch at Rochdale Central Library on 21st March.
These events are all free of charge – tickets are available online at Rochdale Creates
