Can poetry change the way people see the world? Can it help men to deal with and open up about their own vulnerabilities – and help to shift ideas about manhood? We talk to 21-year-old spoken word poet Sam Browne about how it has had exactly these impacts on him, and how he is now using poetry to express his deepest feelings and struggles – and to push back against anti-feminist forces such as the manosphere. In the process, Sam’s art highlights alternative ways of being for young men centred on love, care, and connection – whilst giving voice to the pain of trying to fit into a patriarchal society in which issues such as mental health continue to be bottled up.

Sam reads out four of his moving poems, and we discuss the ideas behind them and how they connect to contemporary pressures of masculinity. Sam shares his own journey into poetry via comedy, from being an active participant in ‘lad culture’ to finding himself through the arts, and learning about then starting to speak out about gender-based violence thanks to the women around him. He articulates the liberation of ridding oneself of the shackles of gender norms, finding what we are passionate about, and not being afraid to show that we care – and the power of the arts to help us do that.

Sam is from Southend, Essex in the UK, and his performances have developed an online following of 100,000+ and tens of millions of views. He has won awards for his activism as well as numerous poetry slams, and recently featured in the BBC documentary ‘Eastenders Investigates: The Manosphere’. He now performs at conferences, summits, in schools and at some of the biggest poetry nights in the world.

• Sam’s website (including tour info)
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• TikTok

Timeline:

• Intro (00:00-02:40)
• Poem: Hinge and Harry Kane (02:40-04:33)
• Navigating contemporary dating pressures (04:33-09:29)
• Sam’s journey into poetry (09:29-15:04)
• The relationship between poetry and masculinity (15:04-20:49)
• Unravelling internalised misogyny (20:49-29:22)
• Poem: Like a Man (29:22-30:39)
• The intergenerational transmission of manhood (30:39-36:31)
• The ‘therapeutic self-destruction’ men engage in (36:31-40:06)
• Break (40:06-40:16)
• Poem: Ben’s purpose (40:16-41:17)
• The transformative power of relationships (41:17-49:40)
• Advice for other young men (49:40-52:59)
• Poem: Flowers (52:59-54:24)
• Conclusion (54:24-01:04:14)

More info:

• It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley
• Charles Bukowski
• Mumble rap
• BalletBoyz
• Billy Elliot
• Joelle Taylor

Music: 'Now is time', courtesy of Chaps' Choir and Dom Stichbury. Please note that the transcript is a rough estimation and is likely to contain errors - please do not reproduce it without permission.