Tatenda Matsvai
Describe yourself in 3 words… Playful, Enthusiastic, Sporadic What inspires you? I am inspired by life the beauty the weight, the flow of it all through music movementbreath, it moves me, makes me feel present, real unreal at times and like magic, My family,my mother the story teller, my father the spokesperson, my sister and…
Apples and Snakes changes lives. Apples and Snakes changed my life.
It’s a bold claim but it’s true, Apples and Snakes really did change my life. Reaching me just at the right time and showing me that poetry wasn’t/isn’t exclusively written in the drawing rooms of the privileged, that community work was not of lesser quality and that art really can change lives in a way…
The Path from Shadow to Poet Coach
WORDCUP ’14 – ’23 The Woods of Writing As a poet who has reached a decade into this line of life (I’d call it work, but poetry is something lived, isn’t it?) I have found myself reflecting on the journey, the path from Shadow to Poet Coach. Over this decade, I have facilitated poetry in…
Linden McMahon
Describe yourself in 3 words… Just a hopepunk hobbit What inspires you? At the moment I write a lot about the ecosystems we’re part of; my relationships with land, plants and animals. I’m also facilitating nature connection sessions, and I’ve been veering more and more towards projects which combine ecology and creativity. I’m working on…
Apples and Snakes Takeover and All Stars Gig
Apples and Snakes Takeover & All Stars Gig On a sunny Saturday 3 June 2023, we hosted our special Takeover and All Stars gig at the Roundhouse in London. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Apples and Snakes in style, the day featured live performances, creative workshops, podcast recordings and talks. This epic birthday bash was…
Bits of a Poet
Bits of a Poet “Understanding comes in different forms, and poems are not riddles.” – Bohdan Piasecki We build poems out of bits of language. Words, and groups of words, and ways in which words interact. We each amass a different set of these bits, and even the ones we ostensibly share we imbue with…
S2 Ep 6 | Does your curiosity feed your creativity?
Reaching “hard to reach” audiences: what that work demands with Kenny Baraka and John Bernard
S2 Ep 5 | Let’s talk the tings
Continuing on engaging labelled “hard to reach” communities.
S2 Ep 4 | This me being quite polite
UK poetry through disability: experiences and access with Josephine ‘Realitie’ Rollins and Adrian B
Goodbye 2022
Hello from Apples and Snakes, and goodbye 2022! A momentous year for us as we turned 40 on 2nd October 2022. Wahoooo!!! It’s amazing! What was started by a small collective of poets Mandy Williams, Pete Murry and Jane Addison in a room at the Adam’s Arms, on Saturday 2nd October 1982 is still here, going strong, 40 years later…
S2 Ep 3 | If I say I’m good, I’m lying.
How disability shapes the work and live performance with Josephine ‘Realitie’ Rollins and Adrian B
Muskaan Razdan
Have high standards. Be brave. Try everything. Give up on some things. There is food at home. Describe yourself in 3 words… Future fun grandma What inspires you? The women in my life. The company of creatives. The desire to anger the aunties. Tell us about your worst ever gig? It was a small audience….
S2 Ep 2 | Dust yourself off and try again.
Artist wellbeing, self‑made spaces, and safeguarding boundaries with Be Manzini and Tanaka Fuego
S2 Ep 1 | Hey, How you doing?
Starting season: turning care inward; setting your own boundaries with Be Manzini and Tanaka Fuego
Season 2 Ep 0 | What we have coming up.
Season preview: what’s in store this time – with host Yomi Sode and sound producer Drew at Lab Studios
Apples and Snakes: The Podcast
Tune in and listen up. Join Award winning British-Nigerian writer Yomi Sode for Apples and Snakes: The Podcast. You probably have heard of our host who regularly hosts our performance poetry night – Jawdance
The Educational Poet
Its September. School bells are calling in students to begin a new academic year, and for many writer teachers like me, we’re trying to find the balance and earning a living and honouring their creative endeavours. I’m a part-time English lecturer working in Further Education (FE), teaching GCSE English Language resits to learners who didn’t…
Apples and Snakes X The Verb
This week on The Verb we’re celebrating the birthday of Apples and Snakes, who’ve been pioneering spoken word poetry for 40 years.
Helen Seymour
There’s no such thing as a ‘slow reader’, just read books in your own time and don’t feel like you’re ‘too slow.’ On a similar theme, running is over-rated. Describe yourself in 3 words… Worried little mole What inspires you? People who don’t take themselves too seriously and do their thing with a lot of…
The Beginning of Young Identity
Young Identity started life as Inna Voice. In 2006, we entered Apples and Snakes’ national poetry slam “Word Cup” at Warwickshire University. It was extremely exciting and we had no idea that we would end up with a project that has now become a micro charity. After Word Cup, we started running weekly workshops in…
A Poet Walks Into a Bar
The first poem I ever performed in public was in the basement of a Starbucks. It was something sweet, innocent and poorly written about holding hands (we don’t all burst onto the scene masters of the Craft). As I compared notes with the other budding performers afterwards however, I slowly realised that my earnest poem…
From Callout to Publication
How it Worked For me – Sundra Lawrence I love Apples and Snakes callouts – the news neatly folded in my inbox, a truthful subject header – Callouts, courses and mentoring opportunities – and the unlatched thrill of hope. A few years ago, I’d decided to take my writing practice more seriously. This included reading…
Iroro Azanuwha: Not a typical poet
Some people might say that I don’t look like a typical poet. I’m ok with that.
Not Feeling Like a Poet
“I’ve never really seen myself as a writer, more somebody who happens to write. I didn’t grow up dreaming of being a poet. I always saw my body as a more likely avenue to success than my brain.” I was good at football and running; I captained my Sunday League team and ran for my…
End of content
End of content
Insert HTML here