Hello friends!

Our penultimate episode of series three brings to Margate the ultimate legend that is Laurie Bolger! It's impossible to listen to Laurie and not have a smile on your face so get your cheeks ready and dive on in. I celebrate having a brand new book out and Laurie clebrates having two brand new books out. I also share some big news that I can't remember if I've shared on the podcast before or not. We talk pubs, pyjamas, writing clubs, sisters, sunshine, flowers, online dating, sexy knees and more. I think you'll agree it is absolutely worth the wait.

You can find more of Laurie's stuff including her new books here
You can find my new book here

Stay Brilliant x

A lovely time with a local legend!

Brigitte was on my wishlist for Something Borrowed for a while when out of nowhere I got a voice note from her asking if she could come on because she reckoned she'd be good at it - It was meant to be! Also she was 100% correct, as not only our best-dressed guest of all time, but a wonderful mix of storytelling, song, punk, vulnerability, warmth and (ethical) fireworks. Featuring singalongs, univocalisms, travel tips and of course poems, it was an absolute treat from start to finish and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did x

You can find more of Brigitte's work here
You can come see me on tour here
You can order my new book here

Happy Easter! This week I am joined by the completely wonderful Inua Ellams, a fantastic poet and playwright who I last shared a stage with in a crowded basement in early March 2020 in one of the last gigs pre-pandemic. Since then he had had his debut full collection of poetry The Actual published and it is completely gorgeous, we also talk about his RAP Party events as well as what is coming up for him, in amongst some beautiful poetry shared.

I Kick Off with something very old indeed in the form of a 17-year-old rap plucked from the archives, before sharing my new Easter poem on The Last Supper and something tenuously Blue in the form of the Chelsea kit mentioned in my poem 22! Meanwhile I borrow a Rob Auton poem and Inua borrows a Ross Gay poem to round off a wonderful episode.

I'll be taking a short break for the next while so I can focus on some writing, feel free to listen back to previous episodes in the meantime and I will speak to you soon!

You can follow Inua Here and order his new book Here
You can follow me Here, donate to the podcast Here, or donate to my Marathon fundraising Here!

Much love x

Welcome back! This week I am joined by fellow Roundhouse Poetry Collective alumni and brilliant musician Isabel. As well as a shared love for attempting covers of pop songs with cheap keyboards and mutual appreciation of Zia Ahmed, we discuss the sea and water in general, as well as the power of poetry to shift our view on the world. Izzy's Something Old is one of my favourites yet, as well as a borrowed poem 'Find The Poets' that stops us both in our tracks. Alongside poems about running and swimming, I reflect on home and the blue skies of spring ahead for my Something Blue.

In-between recording and releasing this episode I have run a marathon! You can find out more information about why (and sponsor me!) Here rather than donating for this weeks episode if you are so inclined, meanwhile, you can find Izzy on Instagram Here or listen to her new single Here (It's honestly such a banger)

I will be back next week as normal, look after yourselves x

Hey friends, we have a birthday special this week! Not only is it my birthday and sort of the birthday of the show (after first trying out the format on a little thing called Instagram live as a mini-party online because we were just entering a pandemic..) it is also the birthday of my mum, Grace, AND my fabulous guest, the wonderful Jake Wild Hall!

I begin with a birthday remix, bring the pi day/mother's day crossover the world has been waiting for, borrow a poem from friend of the show Erin Bolens and finish on a poem dedicated to four people at once, including myself.

Jake takes us on a journey via optimism and grief, with a borrowed poem On Living on the way - we talk about his Twitter world cups, the fantastic Bad Betty press, one of my favourite poetry nights ever Boomerang, as well as descending into a very specific middle-eastern pun-off. Jake always brings a smile to my face and I hope this is the same for you.

You can find him on Twitter here, as well as following Bad Betty and Boomerang.
You can find me on Twitter here or watch future episodes on Instagram here.
You can support me and the podcast here or my marathon fundraising efforts here.

It's Episode 2! This week it was such a treat to get to speak to and hear from the Wonderful Zena Kazeme - We both shared some old old poems and some new old poems, as well as borrowing some stunners from our all-time faves, before finishing on a slightly blue mood (with a caveat of hope!). We also touch on how poems can be both light and heavy, timely and timeless, and what makes a poem a poem if it doesn't have an audience (or rules!).

It's been almost exactly a year since we first went into Lockdown in the UK, and as we keep squinting for the light at the end of the tunnel it's been things like this that have got me through, so a massive thank you to Zena for coming on and to you for downloading and listening! Here's to sharing a real-life stage before too long. Stay Brilliant x

You can follow Zena on Twitter here and Instagram here
You can follow me on Twitter here and Instagram here

Zena's Something Borrowed was In the Arab world, Live by Tamim Al-Barghouti
Mine was Mary Olivers' Sometimes from her book Devotions.

More info on my Marathon fundraising efforts here.
You can support me/the podcast via my Ko-fi page here.
(Or another way to support is buying books/posters from my website !)

Tour info coming soon - look after yourselves x

We're back baby! Season 2 of Something borrowed kicking off with a bang in the form of the lizardy wizard Gecko. Since season 1 Gecko has released a new album from which he treats us to a new song, as well as a gorgeous cover, another creative response to something blue and a song I love so much he played it at my wedding, but which has found new life on Tiktok!

I kick off with my old poem Weston Super Nightmare to celebrate the winter beach times that have got me through the past few months, as well as sharing some bits from my new book, borrowing gecko himself for a collab and unleashing a brand new paper-people-esque tongue twister on the world.

You can find all things gecko including his brilliant new album at https://geckoofficial.com/
or follow him on Twitter and Instagram @geckoofficial and crucially on Tiktok @geckomusic!

You can find Labi Siffre's album Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying on Spotify Here

You can support me on Ko-Fi Here
or buy brand new posters Here
And you can find me on Twitter or watch an episode live on Instagram Here

It's the season Finale! The Incredible Rachel Long, founder of Octavia Collective and author of the brand new My Darling From The Lions joined me on Zoom and I can't think a more perfect way to bring season one to a close.

Alongside me sharing two poems on the environment 10 years apart, we talk about the shift of language and how old poems morph into new ones, I borrow something from the wonderful Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan and share another one about running, Rachel covers everything from Victoria Beckham to Apples.

Thanks everyone who has listened this far! previous episodes will stay up if you need to catch up, and I will be back with season 2 after a short break.

FURTHER READING:
You can find Rachel's Book Here and follow her on Twitter Here
And Caroline Bird's Here
And Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan's Here
You can sponsor me and my mum Here
You can support me on Ko-Fi Here
Or Follow me on Twitter or Instagram

Episode 19 brings us the unstoppable force of joy and energy and truth that is Josh Idehen. Live from Stockholm, Josh single-handedly makes up for me not having been able to perform to audiences full of people for 6 months. We have poetry wheel-ups, we discuss Arch Nemes-lines, Josh brings a new old and a new new poem as well as borrowing two that will stop you in your tracks and have you rolling like a Bristol statue. I share one of my new commissions, borrow an older piece from Kae tempest, and talk tribute acts and Marathons ahead of my latest attempt next week!

You can find Josh online Here
You can sponsor me and my mum Here
You can find out more about commissions Here
Or tune into the final episode of the series on Facebook Here on Wednesday at 7pm

Hey friends! This weeks episode was an absolute delight - Featuring the wonderful Katie Ailes, we go from flooffy cats to quakerism via Norwegian death metal and insta-poetry, there's a spontaneous story time and some one-direction Karaoke, but mainly some lovely lovely poems and warm and wise chat in-between. We shared some Jo Bell and George The Poet in our borrowed section, as well as brand new poems and increasingly tenuous interpretations of blue on my part.

Katie is part of Loud Poets up in Edinburgh, has done a PHD on spoken word poetry and was a complete joy to speak to from her tech-ed up cupboard.

You can find more of her work Here
You can see my Monopoly performance with a full band Here
You can donate to my Ko-Fi or get a commission Here
Jo Bell's Book Kith is available Here
You can find Have You Heard George's Podcast Here

Stay wonderful x

We're back baby - This week we have the glorious Hollie Mcnish! One of my favourite poets and people in general, a fellow member of Team GB slam team with myself and Vanessa Kisuule once upon a time, and all round hero.

My something old this week is the first poem I ever wrote, and Hollie kicks off with a Scottish-ish theme, we talk about the joys and shame of taking mini shampoo from hotels, Hollie borrows a cracking poem about jellyfish before finishing on a couple that are going to be in her new book (!) - I meanwhile share a brand new poem 'Unashamed' that I realise is on a theme I've always written about, and look into that in my other poems including one about how I specifically wasn't 'Cool Harry' at Uni.

You can follow Hollie on Instagram Here and Twitter Here
You can donate to the podcast Here
You can find Hollie's books (including pre-ordering her new book) on her website Here

Stay Brilliant x

Special Bonus Episode!

This week marked the release of the music video for 'So Viele Leute', a song originally debuted as the 'something new' for Episode 13 with James Kiely, and to celebrate we have the full track in its mastered glory for your ears, as well as some context on how it came about.

You can listen to the standalone track on Spotify Here or iTunes Here
Or watch the music video Here
You can see me perform it live during a poetry gig Here
and Here is a lovely twitter thread including mine and other people's favourite German words.
This is the stupid video that inspired the track
And my Ko-fi Page is Here !

We're back baby - February's edition saw the wonderful Georgie Jones come to Margate! It was our first time meeting in person but you wouldn't know because it was a vibey vibey time from start to finish. We talk slams, online vs in person performances, trying to write a poem a day for a whole month and much much more. Poems cover topics such as Gym changing rooms, The entire universe, friendship breakups, refugees, the ocean and of course Margate, as well as maybe my favourite borrowed thing yet. It was a genuine joy to share a space and the least editing i've ever done on a video because it was all just so great. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

You can find more of Georgie's work here
You can find my tour dates here

Hey Friends - Episode brings us the one and only Bridget Minamore! A brilliant poet and reluctant lockdown-gigger, it is a rare treat to be able to have Bridget share some of her fantastic poems with us, as well as talking all things Brainchild Festival, Roundhouse Poetry Collective, Rap Battles and beyond.

As well as revealing how a bacon sandwich stall stopped me having to sleep on the streets of Amsterdam, I shamelessly embrace my sourdough habits and bring a long overdue Falafel-themed collaboration with Tom Misch, Bridget shares some poems from her fantastic Titanic collection, some new stuff she's been working on, and a poem that mentions blue not once but twice !

You can support Brainchild's fundraiser Here
You can buy Bridget's collection Here
You can find Troy Cabida's Collection Here
You can find Nikita Gill's curated Slam collection Here
You can find links to all my latest stuff Here

Hey friends - This weeks episode is the first one where my guest has been in the same room as me! Introducing a man who was next door to me in halls for a year and who has been quarantined with me for the last month, It's the one and only James Kiely !

As well as sharing our seminal hit 'I love Christmas', we feature a world premiere debut of an imminent summer hit and a subtle remix of Will Smith's 'Miami' for our something borrowed. Also featuring an extended Grace interlude and a special guest intro, it truly is a special time.

You can see the official music video for I Love Christmas Here
Follow me on Instagram Here to tune in to a show live, or be the first to know when 'So Viele Leute' gets its official release.
You can donate to my Ko-Fi page Here

Look after yourselves x

Hey Friends - episode 13 brings us one of my favourite poets I've come across in the last year and my now very good friend, Helen Seymour!

Helen kicks us off with the best poem about a mammoth you will ever hear before sharing something from her new collection she is working on, then calls a taxi with unexpected consequences and finishes with a rendition of Blue's All Rise that I can only describe as Life-Changing. On any ordinary day I wouldn't be able to keep up with even one of these things but luckily I also brought my A-Game, with a rap that genuinely got me into medical school, a not-so-humblebrag about my knees and a refined version of the toilet seat poem from last week that nobody asked for, as well as revealing the exciting news I promised in Episode 10.

As if that wasn't enough we also had a lovely time cementing a friendship that I have no doubt will span the ages where we cover pertinent issues such as where to look during all of this and what to do if you forget the words. What a time to be alive.

You can find my entire debut rap album from 2009 Here
You can find Helen's website Here and instagram Here
Here is a cracking Toilet Charity and while we're at it Here is where I buy my toilet paper
Here is a link to my Ko-Fi page where you can donate so that I can pay my guests and spend any leftovers on said toilet paper.

Hey Friends! Welcome to episode 12 of something borrowed featuring fantastic poet and recent UK representative at the World Poetry Slam via Zoom screen share (!) Tyrone Lewis. We talk about how it is to have your poetry judged in different languages and what references may or may not make sense.

I share my thoughts on So Solid Crew's 21 seconds to celebrate being one step closer to BFFs with Lisa Maffia and borrow Vanessa Kisuule's new poem Hollow. Tyrone shares his brilliant new poem, 2 Black 2 Furious and finishes on a Star Wars poem, which is also a black poem. I also talk about toilet seats for a bit too long.

You can get Tyrone's book from his website here or if it's sold out from Burning Eye's website Here
You can see Vanessa reading her poem Here
You can donate to the show via my Ko-Fi page Here
Or tune in live any Wednesday at 7pm on instagram Here

Much Love x

Hey friends - this weeks episode brings us the completely wonderful Tony Walsh, one of my favourite poets in the country and another guest who I feel like I could talk to for hours. We geek out over the nerdiness of rhyme and how it can be used for the serious as well as the frivolous, we both try and capture the movement of music in poems. I share part of Dave's 'Black' from his Brit awards performance and Tony shares Sophie Hannah's 'Your dad did what?' before finishing on a beautiful new poem capturing the varied experiences of lockdown people have been having.

Recorded at a time where there are huge #BLM protests in both the UK and the US, I feel slightly clunky/raw around my something borrowed but don't want my own awkwardness to get in the way of a conversation that needs to be had, so have left as recorded.

You can see Dave's Brit award Performance Here
You can hear Sophie Hannah reading her poem Here
You can follow Tony Here and buy his book from his website Here
You can donate to UKBLM's Gofundme Here
You can donate to the podcast and guests Here
Or you can tune in live one Wednesday Here

Look after yourselves and each other x

Hey Friends - This episode brings us back firmly into the world of music with the glorious Phoebe Katis! Phoebe is a fellow fringe-r, a good friend and a brilliant musician, and her new album came out this week! We're lucky enough to hear some of the new tracks from it as well as some classic Carole King and an extra very special Something Borrowed indeed that makes me smile even thinking about it.

Meanwhile I am inspired to sing a song of my own about pudding, I've written a new poem for rescheduled life events, I borrow a brilliant poem from Hollie Mcnish and I've even got a proper thing for Something Blue!

You can listen to Phoebe's New album It's Ok To Cry on Spotify Here or search 'Phoebe Katis' on iTunes etc, and you can follow her on Instagram Here.

You can follow me Here if you fancy tuning in live any Wednesday at 7pm or seeing a picture of some bread I just made, and you can donate via the Ko-Fi page Here. Thanks everyone who has listened so far, 10 episodes feels like a mini-milestone and i think i would have probably given up my now if i hadn't got so many kind messages from around the world, so I'll keep going if you keep listening!

Until next week x

Hey friends - Episode 9 brings us the warm and wonderful Malaika Kegode! I got to know Malaika when I moved to Bristol where she now runs her fantastic Milk poetry nights which we talk about in the show, she finds something really old to share with us, as well as some poems from her new (shiny!) book and her borrowed poem being Thom Gunn's The Hug which I never knew how much I needed until I heard it.

To celebrate the Bristol link I share a poem about when I first went to Weston Super-Mare, and to honour it being national Numeracy day I talk about how I channeled my inner maths teacher to try and impress Ice Cube, as well as sharing some of the delightful Brian Bilston for my Something Borrowed.

You can follow Malaika Here and buy her book Here
You can follow me on Instagram to watch a show live (Wednesdays 7pm) Here
You can buy my book (or t-shirts and cards) Here
You can donate to the show via my Ko-Fi page Here

Episode 8 brings us one of my absolute favourite people from poetry world - the wonderful Mark Grist! Amongst other things we discuss how we went head to head in my first ever slam, the art of univocalisms, the joy of performing at weddings, and what is or isn't a poem.

For my Something Borrowed this week I share an absolute fave with Dr Seuss's Oh The Place's You'll Go and Mark shares a brilliant poem from a mutual friend of ours Tim Clare. I kick it all off with Paper People for something old and as the title of the episode suggests Mark takes his something blue in a sweary direction.

You can follow Mark Here
You can watch any episode live at 7pm on a Wednesday Here
You can donate to the podcast/acts involved in this time of uncertainty Here

Look after yourselves x

Episode 7 features one of my favourite poets I've come across since moving to Kent - Neelam Saredia-Brayley is a fantastic writer and performer and even managed to upgrade my textbook response of "come onn" to an "Oh My God!" in this episode.

We cover #NaPoWriMo, lockdown haircuts, Shrek and whales among other things - for my something borrowed I share a favourite from the Wendy Cope and Neelam stops me in my tracks with a reading of Birthday by Andrea Gibson.

You can follow Neelam on instagram Here
You can see Andrea reading their poem Here
Tune in to watch live Wednesdays on my instagram Here
Or donate to my Ko-fi page Here

much love x

Hey friends - I hope you're ready for a whole heap of heartwarming bromance because we definitely were when we recorded this. This weeks guest is the glorious musician and dear friend of the show Chris Read!

For my something old I go back to one of the first things we ever performed together, before bringing the love in our new work. I share some Pam Eyres and Chris surprises me with his something borrowed being my own poem recited back to me, we reminisce on one of our first ever performances in something blue from me before Chris really takes it left field at the end with his passion for musical children's toys. All in all it was a genuine treat to record and I hope you enjoy it.

You can follow Chris here or me here
You can donate to the podcast here
You can watch our Russell Howard performance here
You can watch our full show here

Happy New Year!

I am single handedly extending the January blues by taking 6 weeks to edit this but i think we can all agree it is worth the wait. Raymond Antrobus is a poetry legend. It has been over a decade since we first shared a stage together and it has been a joy to see his work flourish since then, and an even bigger joy to find out that he had recently moved to Margate so we could snap him up for a very special edition of Something Borrowed Live. With a range of poems covering mental health, Palestine, grief and Horses, alongside prime numbers, sticky toffee pudding, love and new years resolutions (no points for guessing who brought what energy) it felt like we could have spoken forever, and I am so pleased that we did manage to record the conversation we had. I hope you will agree.

You can find more of Ray's work here and you can find dates for my upcoming tour here!

Episode 5 brings us the wonderful poetry of Setareh Ebrahimi. We talk about the power of poetry to connect, a mutual Margate friend, and the truest interpretation of something blue yet. Also contains falafel and dinosaurs. Enjoy!

You can find Set's book here (and to be honest anything by Bad Betty is worth checking out) or follow her on twitter or Instagram. Follow Jake for the Pokémon (and soon to be crisp) world cup. You can donate to the podcast and guests via my Ko-fi page !

Hey Friends. Episode 4 brings us Edinburgh Fringe Festival best Newcomer and Star of Last Christmas - Bilal Zafar! Our Inaugural comedian on the show and an absolute pleasure at that. We discuss how Bilal almost died when we first met, our mutual love of Greenbelt festival, trusting yourself vs trusting your audience, and our favourite Pizza toppings.

I share my poem 59 for something old, and borrow some 12-year-olds responses to it without their permission, as well as my proudest interpretation of Something Blue yet. Bilal teaches me improv, name-drops Emma Thompson and humours my request for a joke about horses.

You can find Bilal's Acting School Of Excellence Videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob4czQ7JIYQ

You can donate to me and future guests here: https://ko-fi.com/harrybaker/

And you can watch a live recording any Wednesday at 7pm BST here: https://www.instagram.com/harrybakerpoet/

Stay Brilliant x

A Speakeasy special! In place of the regular night I run in Canterbury in these irregular times, the show must go on(line) - Episode 3 brings us the wonderful Birdspeed, who is the UK Triple Crown 2019 Slam champion and was a perfect guest to have on this weeks show. 

I share a fave from Mary Oliver and Birdspeed brings us some Robert Georges, I acknowledge my sadness in an uncharacteristic move that may or may not have been inspired by watching Inside-out on my Brothers Disney+ login - we discuss the importance of self-care and explore some of the deeper ramifications of social distancing. Also features headless chickens and a Michael Jackson reference.

You can find the stunning video from Birdspeed's last poem via her instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/birdspeedofficial and you can tune into next weeks show live at 7pm via mine: https://www.instagram.com/harrybakerpoet/

Donations to help support - https://ko-fi.com/harrybaker 

Episode 2 brings us the wonderful lizardy lyrical wizard that is Gecko. SOmeone I will never tire of hearing perform, he manages to mix the heartfelt and the laugh-out-loud in ways I feel we all need more than ever.

This weeks borrowed somethings include classics from the Jungle Book and Michael Rosen, we get a gorgeous acoustic version of Gecko's new single with backing vocals from Mo, as well as something Baloo and a song from my wedding amongst others.

The new video that we reference is out now here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STpYdPiUsP4
Gecko also mentions a version of Guanabana with with Harry and Chris on from our joint tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpE3d0pCN4A

You can follow Gecko on his Instagram page www.instagram.com/erinbolens and I will be doing my next live episode on www.instagram.com/harrybakerpoet at 7pm GMT on Wednesday. In the meantime if you have enjoyed and would like to donate to help support the guests or slowly improve my recording equipment I have set up a Ko-Fi page here: https://ko-fi.com/harrybaker

Thanks for listening x

Welcome to Something Borrowed - A performance/chat/general fun time hosted by World Slam Champion Harry Baker. The first ever guest is the wonderfully warm and wickedly talented Erin Bolens! Self-described in this moment as 'enthusiastic and chaotic', she is a breath of fresh air that we all need as we are not allowed to leave our homes.

We reminisce on how our first gig together has shaped the way I run gigs forevermore, she shares a delicious trilogy of Pandemic Poems, we both share a favourite poem of ours from elsewhere - mine from Lemn Sissay and hers the stunning Small Kindnesses by Danusha Laméris. This weeks something blue translates as The TARDIS, Blue planet, Blue Peter and the boy band Blue, who to be fair to them had the whole city on lockdown long before coronavirus.

Erin has posted up her new poems on her instagram page www.instagram.com/erinbolens and I will be doing my next live episode on www.instagram.com/harrybakerpoet at 7pm GMT on Wednesday. In the meantime if you have enjoyed and would like to donate anything to maybe help me buy a better microphone i have set up a Ko-Fi page here: https://ko-fi.com/harrybaker

A mildly festive version of the podcast, in that I shoehorned Christmas into a few of my poems and Will made us delicious boozy hot chocolates while we recorded. I was having so much fun with this chat that it is the longest episode we ever recorded, before being ruthlessly trimmed down to just under an hour of pure gold. I share my epic Christmas poem containing 24 years of memories in one, we have a grown up story time with Mark reading from his new kids book, we talk about school visits, rap battles and more, and mark finishes with an old fave that definitely isn't appropriate for his new child-based audience. Mark then stayed over and we played board games until about 1am. All in all a massive joy!

Surprise! We interrupt your monthly recordings for a bonus episode with the one and only Donna Ashworth - My reading of Donna's poem went viral on instagram which means I now have a new cult following of mostly American Yoga instructors, and quite frankly I am here for it. One of the many lovely things that have come out of this is me and Donna were messaging each other and despite Scotland to Margate being slightly too far for a live appearance (for now!) she kindly agreed to join me for a bonus Something Borrowed over Instagram, so we went back to the podcast lockdown roots! It was really really lovely to connect in that way but also very surreal to go back to that place mentally, so I can confirm it will be normal service as resumed next month. In the meantime why not treat yourself to a copy of Donna's fantastic book here!

Hello friends, and welcome to possibly my favourite episode we've ever done! Gemma is a fantastic poet and a warm and wonderful human, and in this episode we cover the big three Ps, Palestine, Pegging and Postcodes, as well as so much more. This episode was recorded live in Margate and you could feel the magic in the room, so I really hope is translates to the recording. You can also watch the episode on youtube if you enjoy using your eyes as well as your ears, and follow Gemma on Instagram to find out what she's up to or myself on instagram to find out about future episodes/adventures.

Hello Friends! 

The something borrowed train continues to steam ahead and this month we have on board the fantastic Neelam Saradia-Brayley! This was such a gorgeous conversation to have at a time when the rain outside seemed to reflect a general sense of foreboding about the world in general, and yet there was light and warmth within! We covered weddings, funerals, wellies, dinosaurs and much much more - I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

You can find out Neelam's latest activities (and buy her book!) here: https://linktr.ee/Neelam_the_poet
You can watch Rafeef perform her poem here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKucPh9xHtM
You can watch Caleb Femi's poem here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnUwE80wx4c
You can watch the whole episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9r3m_Mq8MA&t=2s

It's Harry and Chris! The Comedy-Rap-Jazz pioneers are reunited live on stage in front of a beautiful Margate audience. Chris shares a couple of absolute stunners, I go as old as possible for my Something Old, there is a glorious freestyle moment involving Robbie Williams, and even a spontaneous extra jazz song, something nobody has ever asked for in the history of the known universe and yet was a wonderful wonderful time. Thanks everyone who joined us live and thank you for joining us wherever you are. Hope to see you in person one day!

We're back with a live studio audience! Season 3 kicks off in my beloved hometown of Margate for what will hopefully be a monthly occurrence of being joined by a special guest to share something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. To kick off this chapter/season I've got fan fave Helen Seymour for a glorious time including a dragon's den pitch, some in-depth detective work, Wendy Cope's legendary orange poem and a garage track about Greta Thunberg. What is not to love?

Hello Friends, this episode has been a long time coming in a few ways. One, Toby Campion has been on my hit list for many many years so it was a delight to finally get him over to Margate. The last time we were on stage together was at the Royal Albert Hall (!) and this was just as magic. It has also been delayed in coming out because I've had an actual human baby so my podcast baby got put on hold. This has however inspired me to get professional help (for the podcast baby, not the human baby just yet) so we welcome Buddy Peace to the team who has mixed and edited and made it sound beautiful and also meant it's not delayed by any more months. The good news is Toby is brilliant and it is well worth the wait, and the other good news is we have already started recording season 4 so that will be following this up oh so shortly. Look after yourselves x

We kick off the new season with the wonderful Helen Heckety! We talk about her new book Alter Ego, my new baby, name changes, therapy, ableism, hobbies, Coolio, foxes, and the joy of friendship love among other things.

I can't think of a better guest to kick off with, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did

Helen's excellent book ALTER EGO is out now, and you can follow her on instagram here. I am putting togetehr a tour for next year and you can find out more about everything I'm doing on IG or my website.

x

This month we have the very excellent Theresa Lola!

Another guest whose been on my wishlist for a while, Theresa shares some poems from her wonderful new book, Ceremony For The Nameless, and we discuss the power of names personally and professionally, as well as performing at the Royal Albert Hall, writing for the page vs the stage, and much much more.

Let us know what you think and maybe even leave a review if you're feeling really lovely x

Happy Christmas! We are joined by Joshua Idehen, AKA the man of the moment AKA the multiverse African Taylor Swift for a festive special that I am absolutely fine with coming out in February. 

This was recorded on a very good day for Josh and I am sure whenever you choose to listen to it will be a very good day for you as it is an excellent time. Me and Josh go way back and we talk about our origins, Josh's move to Sweden, the art of making poetry house music, and a hearty amount of dad content thrown in the mix. There are poems on fatherhood, swimming, popcorn and Christmas and much, much more.

Filmed in London at the Bloomsbury theatre, this was our first recording on the road and hopefully not the last, let me know where you'd like to see us come next !

You can find more of Josh's stuff here and my latest adventures here

*At the time of recording the intro I truly believed Shrewsbury was in Wales and I now know that is not the case.

Hello friends! This episode brings us the phenomenal Jasmine Gardosi, and you can audibly hear the room fall in love with her from the second she starts performing. We discuss beatboxing, lockdown, rollercoasters, pushing the boundaries of performance, crying, dinosaur outfits and more. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did x

You can find more of Jasmine's work here 

You can find out what I'm up to here

It's the one and only Rob Auton! 

A long-time member of my super secret future guest wish list, we finally managed to get him back to Margate and oh boy was it worth the wait. One of the most unique and brilliant minds in comedy/poetry/the world, it was fascinating to get a glimpse into part of robs process, as well as hear his brilliant work and laugh out loud maybe more than any other episode. Thanks everyone who is still on this ride listening with us, it means the world. Please do tell your friends/keep being a legend, the world needs you x

Something Borrowed on Tour! The first of two episodes recorded at the fantastic Bath Komedia featuring fellow Poetry Team GB Alumni Vanessa Kisuule! Vanessa is one of my favourite poets and people and I could happily talk to her for hours, so it was a joy to have an excuse to do so in front of a live audience! Vanessa is constantly pushing her writing in both craft and content, and willing to tackle nuance and grey areas in a way so many shy away from, and just happens to be incredibly funny in the process. We talk about octopuses, wellies, irrepressible optimism, racist neighbours, and her new book Neverland! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did x 

We are joined this month by the one and only Maria Ferguson! For our Something Old(s) we dive back to the last time we saw each other at the Edinburgh Fringe for a heady mix of falafel and UK Garage and it just gets better from there. We go on to discuss Maria's fantastic new collection Swell, writing about the difficult bits of motherhood, a songs of praise poppadom-based warmup and much more, featuring a guest visit from the pope and a Harry Styles Cameo. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

You can order Maria's fantastic book here

You can pre-order my book (!) here

Our superstar season continues with the one and only Hollie Mcnish! Hollie is one of my favourite poets and one of my favourite people and it was a joy to have her for a live recording of Something Borrowed ON TOUR in Bath. We discuss body parts we're proud of, the bits between the poems, Hollie's editing process, friendship, parenting, reviews, and Hollie brings  a triple whammy blue poem to finish - what an absolute treat !

He's back! With a record third appearance on the show, it's everyone's favourite lizardy lyrical wizard - singer-storyteller Gecko! Recorded back in March and release just in time for his Autumn tour of his NEW ALBUM, we talk about the origins of our friendship, the difference between a gig and a show, playing at each others weddings, regional food-based misunderstandings, the process of making an album as well as some stunning songs (and poems!) in amongst it all.

I hope you love it as much as I do.

Hello friends,

It's been a long time coming but i think you'll agree it's worth the wait. Our final guest of Season 4 is the one and only Lemn Sissay ! Lemn came earlier in the year but the recordings were lost forevermore so we had to have him back. One of my absolute favourite poets, it was a joy to sit down and discuss old and new work, there being no one way to write a poetry book, challenging people's opinions of you, and the importance of letting yourself be magical among other bits. What a ride!