Bath is known for its literary scene, but what about about its poetry? Maria Robinson dives into the open mics and reading groups that the poets of this city frequent.
Bath is built from books. With a city as entrenched in its own history as much as its romance, you would think Bath would be a hotbed for poetry. Surprisingly, Bath’s poetry scene is often overlooked. One of the reasons for this oversight is that Bath is caught between two poetry powerhouses; Bristol and London. But you would be remiss to leave Bath out of the count. For all of its literary festivals, celebrations of famous authors and Bath-based works, the spoken word is alive and well here too. You just need to search a little deeper.
Still recovering from lockdown’s legacy, young poets and spoken word performers now want to replenish the poetry nights that were lost to the pandemic. Bath balances its appeal between a young, constantly changing student population and an older, more established demographic.
Poetry has a reputation for being inaccessible and even pretentious to some, while spoken word is seen as loud and sometimes crude. Both of which are massive generalisations of the mediums. Poetry is an artform that has gained a rising interest in the past few years, thanks to social media showing the variety of styles and subject matter poetry can cover.
All this has led to a rise in poetry events across the country. Bath is teeming with potential and love for the form. So it’s no surprise that its poetic heart is beating stronger than ever.
Chiming in
Held in the back bar of the lively Bell Inn is Chimes. Once a month the room fills up with poetry hopefuls and supportive friends. Chimes prioritises community. The venue itself, the Bell Inn on Walcot Street, is a publicly owned establishment. Chimes was started in July 2023 and has been going strong ever since, continuously bringing in exciting headliners, who come from across the country to perform. These headliners are a great way for people to learn about prominent figures in the spoken word/performance poetry space.
The idea of going to an open mic is scary for performers. The fear of judgement, of a room full of people who will look down on you or your work stops many people from pursuing their interest in live poetry. Chimes breaks down that fear. No matter the subject of the poem, style or delivery, all is welcomed in the venue. Open mic sign ups are at the door before the event and available during the interval.
Speaking with Manganaro, one of the founders of Chimes, they emphasised the importance of community: “The Bell believed in us, giving us our first few nights without charge.”
Letting these nights find their footing and establish themselves is crucial in having successful and long running poetry events, especially taking into account how much the academic calendar affects the numbers of attendees.
Further out, in the University Theatre of Bath Spa University is Poetry Spa. Hosted by university alumni & students, the open mic is not only for students, but all who express an interest.
This night is a great way for university students who are just getting into the artform or to meet students who are also interested in performing their writing. Having a venue that isn’t a pub can feel more comfortable for some people, not that the other events demand drinking. Whether that be discomfort around alcohol or being new to open mics.
This, accompanied by the UniSlam team, which year after year makes it to the semi-finals, shows the strength of young poets in Bath.
Poetry in motion
With two universities, Bath has a constantly renewing source of students. This cycle provides the city with new poets each academic year. Bath Spa University also has a strong writing programme.
The way poetry is taught in schools can lead to many people writing poetry off as self-serious, or pretentious. I spoke with Lucy English, who first brought spoken word to the UK universities curiculum and is currently a lecturer in poetry at Bath Spa. She said that local events “show the community aspect of poetry, and how we can connect to each other through the form.”
When discussing the future of the poetry scene, Lucy suggested that the boundaries between art practices are breaking down, with film, performance and spoken word blending together. This will lead to more people dipping their toes into the poetry waters, and continuing to push their practices and forms of expression. Lucy did express concern with the rigidity that some Bathonians hold: “Some people in Bath don’t take kindly to change. The ideal, picturesque city that it has always been, and poetry can disrupt that postcard idea they have.”
At Bath Spa, there’s a large emphasis on encouraging people to try the form out. Kathryn O’Driscoll, alumni and current coach for the Bath Spa UniSlam team, expressed the ways in which the university helps young poets flourish: “Bath Spa University has always been very supportive of poetry in Bath. They’ve run poetry readings, they fund the majority of the costs of the Bath Spa UniSlam team, and they have celebrated alumni’s success,” it is also one of the few universities in the country which formally teaches Spoken Word.
Booksmarts
Not everyone wants to be a poet. That’s an obvious statement. Not everyone who enjoys poetry wants to perform their own work, or listen to others recite theirs, either. Sometimes you just want to discuss a book of poems with a group. Preferably in a nice building over drinks, maybe some snacks too. Have no fear if this is your predicament. Just a stone’s throw from Bath Abbey is a hotspot for this type of event.
Housed in the old Quaker building on York Street, Topping & Company Booksellers is a popular bookstore choice for both Bathonians and tourists alike. The team hosts many reading groups, varying on topics, age groups, and themes. The Poetry Reading Group was established in July of this year. Laras, the host, was inspired by the other groups and wanted to create a space where people could gather and discuss the form. Focusing on contemporary poets, and introducing new voices to people, the Poetry Reading Group meets monthly. The group has attracted a large mix of people, from those just starting to read poems to established poets, and the inaugural meeting has laid out a path for people to engage with the form in ways they hadn’t thought about before.
With so much love for ancient and historic works, it makes sense for poets to be drawn to the city; to quote Laras: “Poetry is tradition, Bath is tradition.”
Other than just keeping on top of the trends in the publishing space, the Poetry team, Grace and Laras have expressed the need to promote and platform voices of those from minority groups. “Poetry is a really good opportunity to amplify certain topics which struggle to be heard,” says Grace. They do so with the titles they bring onto shelves.
They mentioned how since Covid, there has been an influx in younger people coming to poetry events and taking an interest in the form. “I always try to have a couple of shelves dedicated to showcasing local poets’ work and publications from smaller presses. Because if people haven’t heard of a poet or press, they might not reach for them otherwise. So it’s always good to have them easy to see and pick up.”|
Despite the smaller percentage the Poetry events make up in the bookstore’s event calendar, they continue to have impressive turnouts. Topping & Co. has a constantly revolving door of customers, with the students and tourists who pass through balancing each other out depending on the time of year.
A home for poets?
Bath is a small city. Venues are a finite resource that are constantly sought after. And poetry isn’t always as profitable as events like concerts or shows from popular speakers and comedians. It’s an unfortunate truth that the main issue poetry nights face is securing a venue and making a profit.
The city’s architecture lends itself to beautiful venues, from pubs to bookstores. The perfect setting for poetry to be read, spoken and heard. Artists in this city deserve to perform and relish in their craft here. The only way for this to happen is that venues and council members see good turnout. Kathryn points out, “my experience in spoken word is that everycity has a distinct voice and audience type. Bath deserves to grow that in itself, but with no arts organisations supporting that mid-career growth here, we are starting to see the effects of artists who only get the career progression opportunities they need in other cities. And we will lose those artists to those cities over and over again.”
The Bath poetry scene is growing, but we need to nurture it, and the artists within it, as much as we can. Attending local events, supporting Bath poets’ work, engaging with host venues and even venturing on your own writing journey (whether you’re brave enough to share it on an open mic or not) is just the beginning.