The year has been a great one so far for the London poetry scene. Events are bigger and better than ever and we had the opportunity to catch up with the trio behind London based event VERSES. Jak, Nathan, and Nash have created a wonderful space over the years that has seen many poets grace their stages across a variety of London based venues. Now they’re taking the formidable Roundhouse by storm this Summer and we had to get the inside scoop on why they love what they do.
The VERSES team launched their first poetry event in 2018. What they believed would be a one off gig has now turned into one of the most popular nights for poetry lovers in London. Nathan and Jak were both youth workers at the time, with Nash working within the hospitality sector when the idea to create a safe space for people to express came over a few drinks at a local pub. As creatives, we all know a great plan can hit at any time and what started as an idea was then turned into a reality. After that first leap of faith the rest was history.
Providing a safe space and a platform for creatives and poets is really important to me. We hope that VERSES has become that space.
Jak – Verses Team
When the pandemic hit, the momentum certainly slowed down, we had a regular night every two months and a summer special planned for 2020 and that all had to be cancelled. We were lucky enough to run two online events, platforming and showcasing over 20 poets but pursuing our efforts in an online world was tricky. We love the physical emotions and feelings of our events and that was hard to translate to a Zoom call.
The biggest challenge for us is curating our line ups as there are so many amazing and talented people we want to put on!
I love the quote by Adrian Mitchell that is ‘Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people.’ – essentially the arts and spoken word need to be inclusive and accessible in order to achieve engagement and participation.
Nathan – Verses Team
In collaboration with The Last Word Festival, VERSES has a stellar line-up for their upcoming Roundhouse takeover on the 13th June featuring Woodzy, Caitlin O’Ryan, and Repeat Beat Poet. Staying true to their ethos of facilitating inclusive events,they will still have a number of open mic slots available on the night. This gives new and established poets and creatives a great opportunity to perform at one of the best arts venues in the city. This surely isn’t one to be missed.
I started performing 10 years ago at ‘Spoken Word London’ regularly. While I don’t create much poetry now, VERSES is a place where I can facilitate the journey for others.
Nash – Verses Team
With the art of spoken word becoming more prominent both in London and beyond we think it’s important to shed light on the people behind the events that are helping this art grow. Jak, Nathan, and Nash fuse their quirky personalities with the joy of expression which has taken them from a one-off event to a curated event at the Roundhouse. VERSES have made a positive impact in the lives of many creatives that share their words to be heard, and we’re always here for positive vibes. We look forward to seeing what’s next for this talented trio on their VERSES journey. Be sure to follow them and see what the hype is about for yourself.
Credits:
Creative Director: Tannika Taylor – @tannikataylor
Writer: Tannika Taylor – @tannikataylor
Photographer: Seun Sontana – @seunsontana
Verses Team:
Jak – @jak_th
Nathan – @natz1990
Nash – @nash_ldn