Introducing: Fay Roberts, blogger

Performing for the first time with us is Fay Roberts, 12:05-12:30 Sunday. If ze’s new to you/ you’d like a reminder, read on:

In zir own words:

“Born in 1975, Fay is a classically-trained singer from Cardiff who has been getting on stages since the early ’80s. Ze was finally bitten by the performance poetry bug in Spring 2006 in, of all places, Milton Keynes, after a favour to a friend turned into a place in the final of a poetry slam. These days ze describes zirself as ‘a performance poet and peripatetic percussionist who by day pokes projects and by night projects across a microphone…’

“Ze has been involved with the Cambridge chapter of Hammer & Tongue since 2010, hosting it since January 2012; and frequently performs across Central and South-East England. Ze set up Cambridge arts label Allographic in 2011, hosting live events and producing poetry anthologies, pamphlets, and books. Ze has been the Artistic Director of Spoken Word at The Free Fringe in Edinburgh since 2013, and host of critically-acclaimed Fringe show Other Voices Spoken Word Cabaret since 2012. In 2014, ze ‘won’ the Edinburgh Fringe Anti-Slam (where the worst poem and performance with the lowest points wins a terrible prize), as judged by Mark Grist, Rachel McCrum, and Oh Standfast. In 2017, zir first solo show, The Selkie, was shortlisted as best spoken word show of 2016-17.

“Ze still sings – it’s actually practically impossible to stop zir…

“Zir work has been described as: ‘lyrical’, ‘engaging’, ‘scarily good’ and, memorably: ‘too many words… I got lost…’ Zir voice has been described as: ‘musical’, ‘mellifluous’, and ‘mesmerising’.

“Fay has performed poetry in: pubs, clubs, theatres, tents, shopping centres and stately gardens; in open mic, showcases, features, support, collaboration, competition and costume. Sometimes ze bangs a drum, and sometimes ze performs in silence, while the words flutter in front of zir…”

Reviews:

“We need more poetry like this… funny, confident, modest and a really bloody good poet to listen to” Hollie McNish

“Her poetry combines lyrical flair with a solid emotional core… there is no one quite like her” Tim Clare

“Gorgeously sensuous” SabotageReviews.com

“Known to us as ‘The Welsh Whisperer’, Fay Roberts has the ability to bring a room to total silence, her mellifluous tones sending her audience into a dream like trance… cannot recommend her highly enough.” – Paul Eccentric, speaking part of The Antipoet

Fay’s Scott’s words:

As Fay has been exquisitely bigging up the rest of us, I decided as a Poetry Blogging Alum to say a few words about zir.

With the calm of a Summer pond and the voice of an ASMR specialist, Fay is a velvet cushion of a poet, threading words together with the weft and warp of a witch with a PhD in word crochet. We first met many years ago at the now no-more Jibba Jabba spoken word night in Newcastle where ze was headlining and I was main support. I was doing my usual ‘well if I’m not headlining I’m going to be amazing and storm this to make the headliner work for the top slot’ load of bollocks, Prima Donna thing. No one need have worried, not only did ze deliver a beautiful, layered set but ze’d actually written a poem during the course of the night celebrating the best lines and sentiments spoken on stage that evening. I was extremely impressed.

Not only is ze a wonderful, respected poet in zir own right, an hilarious send-up of the archetypal Somerset hippy as zir Anti-Slam alter-ego, Melody Starchild, but ze’s also an amazing Hammer & Tongue Host, an unwavering, stoic advocate for Spoken Word and a voice of calm reason in a sea of artistic temperaments. It’s no wonder ze’s been asked to be Poetry Blogger this year for the world’s most iconic outdoor festival. And I reckon ze’s already doing a better job than I did. And I stormed it. Amazing, I was. People still talk about it 😉

Sneak preview:

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Introducing: Scott Tyrrell, illustrator

Back to perform with us is Scott Tyrrell, 15:05-15:30 Saturday . If he’s new to you/ you’d like a reminder, read on:

In his own words:

“Scott has been a poet and performer since the turn of the century. An award-winning comedian, creative director and multiple slam-winning poet (including the BBC Slam and UK Anti- Slam), he has performed his work at Glastonbury, the Edinburgh Fringe, the Prague Fringe, STAnza, WOMAD, Larmer Tree and the Cheltenham Literature Festival. He has written for TV, radio and performed for Radio 4, Radio 3’s the Verb, Sky Atlantic, ITV, BBC4 and BBC Arts. His most recent poetry collection, Honest, is published by Burning Eye Books. He lives in Newcastle with his wife, son, a goldfish, a one-eyed cat and a small fluffy dog.”

Reviews:

“Scott Tyrrell is one of the best comic poets there is.” – Kate Fox, poet and presenter

“A writer who has always had a singular voice of resilience, humour and self-knowledge. Scott is a poet who understands what it is to be uncomfortable in your own skin, and how the gaze of others can compound that feeling, but he’s also a poet who can find the funny bone in anything and everything.” – Beccy Owen, Singer Songwriter

“Brilliant” – Phill Jupitus

“Scott has a weird kid’s cynicism and wonder, an artist’s eye for the telling detail, and a stand-up’s guts when it comes to stating the truth in all its ugly, miraculous glory.” – Tim Clare, Author

“Scott is one of those rare poets who can have you belly-laughing one moment before stunning you with some powerful poignancy the next. He is a super-engaging performer whose charismatic stage presence is backed up by a depth and diversity of high quality writing.” – Dan Simpson, Former Canterbury Poet Laureate

Fay’s words:

The first time I saw Scott performing was in Newcastle. I was nervously perched at the back of the auditorium, knowing no-one but the person who’d booked me, who’d had to leave early. I’d maybe met the host of the event once, in a darkened open mic at Edinburgh Fringe. I was doing that thing I do when I’m nervous, which is pick up bits of the poems I’ve seen through the night and weave them into a tribute for the performers. The format of the open mic was organised chaos, where the artists flung themselves onto the stage without order, setup, or introduction, and somehow it worked wonderfully. (Jibba Jabba was a wonderful night – a moment’s silence, please.) Then Scott, the other booked performer, came up and I nearly dropped my pen. In a self-deprecating but incredibly authoritative manner, he spun out some of the most gorgeous poetry I’d heard in possibly ever. And then had me rocking with laughter the next minute, before proceeding to have me dab surreptitiously at my eye. This was a man who turned every feeling – rage, dismay, love, pride, frustration, exasperation, embarrassment, and joy – into unforgettable imagery, so tightly crafted there was no room to slide so much as a sheet of paper between them. And then I saw him spank the BBC EdFringe Slam into submission as people cackled and cooed, and we had to somehow judge it. And then he toured Hammer & Tongue and held our often cynical Cambridge audience right in the palm of his hand and sold out of books quicker than I’ve ever seen anyone do there.

And then it turns out that he’s a ridiculously talented illustrator, who’s literally mapped the UK & Ireland spoken word scene and several years of Glastonbury Poetry&Words. It’s going to be wonderful seeing that deadpan wit and wisdom shine at the Festival next month! In addition, he’ll be live illustrating each day’s performances.

Sneak preview:

Introducing the Chroniclers

Hello there! How’s 2019 shaping up for you so far?

Applications for this year have closed and, while the rest of the team are busy picking some of the best spoken word artists out there for Glastonbury Poetry&Words, we thought we’d take this opportunity to introduce you to two of the other people whose job starts well before June in chronicling what’s to come and the weekend itself.

Images

Did you know that Glastonbury Poetry&Words have our own illustrator and on-site artist during the Festival? Scott Tyrrell will be rendering the artists into art as he has done for the past several Glastonbury Festivals. Here’s some more about him:

Scott has been a poet and performer since the turn of the century. An award-winning comedian, creative director and multiple slam-winning poet (including the BBC Slam and UK Anti-Slam), he has performed his work at Glastonbury, the Edinburgh Fringe, the Prague Fringe, STAnza, WOMAD, Larmer Tree and the Cheltenham Literature Festival. He has written for TV, radio and performed for Radio 4, Radio 3’s the Verb, Sky Atlantic, ITV, BBC4 and BBC Arts. His most recent poetry collection, Honest, is published by Burning Eye Books. He lives in Newcastle with his wife, son, a goldfish, a one-eyed cat and a small fluffy dog.

Words

And joining him to document the long weekend in words (and the occasional photo), and to let you know what’s coming up via this site, is Glastonbury Poetry&Words 2019’s blogger, Fay Roberts. Here’s some more about, well, me (hi):

Fay Roberts is a peripatetic, percussive performance poet by night, and a professional projector by day. Ze runs the Cambridge branch of the Hammer & Tongue slam series, and zir own poetry label Allographic (which functions as a small press and a platform for performers), along with directing the Spoken Word section of The Free Fringe in Edinburgh from 2013 to present. Ze is a classically-trained singer, a self-taught drummer, a bit of a mumbler sometimes, and speaks with zir hands. In 2014, ze “won” the Edinburgh Fringe Anti-Slam (channelling the spirit of Melody Starchild). In 2017, zir first solo show, “The Selkie”, was shortlisted as best spoken word show of 2016-17.

(I promise to keep this “writing about myself in third person” stuff to a minimum! ☺)

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