This week Peter deGraft-Johnson (The Repeat Beat Poet) speaks to Hip Hop artist and former Sheffield Poet Laureate, Otis Mensah. They discuss how the concept of introspective documentarianism underpins Otis' work of building a personal identity and creative voice around artistic truth and vulnerability, through rap and poetry. There's also talk of surviving and decrying racial capitalism, and a breakdown of Otis' tenure as laureate.  
Otis reads three poems - 
17:12 - Contrary To The Intangible Grapevine

35:25 - The Thinks

1:00:00 - No Record Store Day


Download a full transcript here: (COMING SOON)
For more from Otis: www.otismensah.com



https://twitter.com/otismensah

https://www.instagram.com/otismensah/
For more from PJ: linktr.ee/repeatbeatpoet

Repeat Beat Broadcast - https://www.mixcloud.com/ThreadsRadio/playlists/the-repeat-beat-broadcast/

https://twitter.com/repeatbeatpoet

https://www.instagram.com/repeatbeatpoet/



For more from us:

lunarpoetrypodcasts.com

www.facebook.com/LunarPoetryPodcasts/

www.twitter.com/LunarPoetryPod
Order 'Why Poetry?': The Lunar Poetry Podcasts Anthology here: vervepoetrypress.com/product/why-poetry/
Episode music is an original composition by Snazzy Rat. You can find more from Snazzy here: snazzyrat.bandcamp.com 
Our production team is Mystery Planet Productions. https://mysteryplanet.net/ 


Also mentioned on the podcast - 
Rhyme & Reason (series of filmed conversations as part of Otis' Artist Residency with Sheffield University, ft. Awate, Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, and Open Mike Eagle) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKKXT6kV3PhsxOlnBZLxAg4mTWAN4IHy4 
Pen-Ting Poetry - www.instagram.com/pentingpoetry
Kid Cudi - Man On The Moon (2009)

Warda Yassin, current Sheffield Poet Laureate.  

Vanessa Kisuule's poem Hollow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3DKfaK50AU 

Ep. 127 - Otis Mensah

A series of discussions, interviews and live recordings with poets from the UK and abroad in which we examine the writing process. 

Now hosted by Peter deGraft-Johnson a.k.a The Repeat Beat Poet, the series was founded by David Turner in October 2014 in south east London.

Arts

Literature

Performing Arts

Design

Food

Fashion & Beauty

Visual Arts

This week Repeat Beat Poet is in conversation with poet, author, broadcaster, activist, and longstanding rabble-rousing doyenne of UK poetry, Salena Goddena. The pair reflect on Salena's career in poetry and literature, the inspirations behind her debut novel Mrs Death Misses Death, and have a good chat about the complications and joys of writing to and through an embodiment of Death; like how facing loss and grief can teach us how to live, love, survive, and fight for a better world. There's also chat about being a flaneuse, and writing while walking around mystical East London.
We hear two readings from Salena -
Pessimism Is For Lightweights - -0:35:19 (ISH)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW0CnTXUjfc&t;=58s
[excerpt from Mrs. Death Misses Death. The First Mourning of the First Morning - 0:11:25]
Download a full transcript here: (COMING SOON)
For more from Salena:
http://www.salenagodden.co.uk/
For more from RBP: linktr.ee/repeatbeatpoet
https://twitter.com/repeatbeatpoet
https://www.instagram.com/repeatbeatpoet/
For more from us: lunarpoetrypodcasts.com
www.facebook.com/LunarPoetryPodcasts
www.twitter.com/LunarPoetryPod
Buy the 'Why Poetry?': The Lunar Poetry Podcasts Anthology here: vervepoetrypress.com/product/why-poetry/
Episode music is an original composition by Snazzy Rat. You can find more from Snazzy here: snazzyrat.bandcamp.com
Our production team is Mystery Planet Productions. https://mysteryplanet.net/
Also mentioned on the podcast -
BBC Extra's Podcast Radio Hour (Poetry Podcast Special, 1/10/21)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00100hj

Ep. 132 - Salena Godden

Cece's Speakeasy (30th June-3rd July 2021) - https://applesandsnakes.org/project/ceces-speakeasy/
This week The Repeat Beat Poet speaks to writer, performer, creative director, and tarot-reading multi-faceted artist and activist Zena Edwards. The pair talk about navigating corporate spaces while maintaining integrity, the importance of orality and sound within self-expression, and how indigenous African peoples and systems of knowledge have guided Zena's work. The two poets also give some shine to Apples & Snakes, the UK's longstanding leading poetry organisation, discuss their involvement in the immersive climate cabaret show, Cece's Speakeasy, and highlight the artistic innovations that come from cross-artform collaborations.
We hear two performances from Zena -
Brother's Keeper - - 0:19:00
https://zenaedwards.bandcamp.com/track/brothers-keeper
Wood and Strings - 0:45:30
https://jazzrefreshed.bandcamp.com/track/wood-and-strings
Download a full transcript here: (COMING SOON)
For more from Zena:
verseindialog.com
instagram.com/zena_e_poetics
For more from PJ: linktr.ee/repeatbeatpoet
https://twitter.com/repeatbeatpoet
https://www.instagram.com/repeatbeatpoet/
For more from us: lunarpoetrypodcasts.com
www.facebook.com/LunarPoetryPodcasts
www.twitter.com/LunarPoetryPod
Buy the 'Why Poetry?': The Lunar Poetry Podcasts Anthology here: vervepoetrypress.com/product/why-poetry/
Episode music is an original composition by Snazzy Rat. You can find more from Snazzy here: snazzyrat.bandcamp.com
Our production team is Mystery Planet Productions. https://mysteryplanet.net/

Ep. 131 - Zena Edwards

The terms hard-working and “jack of all trades” get thrown around a lot, but Sarah Callaghan really embodies the two. She’s been a comedian for over ten years with shows across the world from Australia to Austria, and she made the move into poetry when she used it as a tool to work through a difficult period of her life. Poetry was a space that allowed for what comedy didn’t; a space where messages didn’t necessarily have to be funny to be let out and to be seriously received by an audience. It gave her a space to speak more openly about mental health. We also discuss the importance of creative collaboration, share some performance stories, and the difficulties of navigating the trappings of social media. 
“You’re never gonna achieve greatness in your comfort zone.” - 10:20-11:26


Sarah reads two poems - 
23:35 - Beginning
33:21 - It's Not That Deep


Download a full transcript here: (COMING SOON)
For more from Sarah: http://www.sarahcallaghan.com/ 
https://linktr.ee/sarahcallaghan
https://twitter.com/sarahecallaghan 
http://instagram.com/scallaghan1


For more from PJ: linktr.ee/repeatbeatpoet
https://twitter.com/repeatbeatpoet
https://www.instagram.com/repeatbeatpoet/
For more from us: lunarpoetrypodcasts.com
www.facebook.com/LunarPoetryPodcasts
www.twitter.com/LunarPoetryPod
Buy the 'Why Poetry?': The Lunar Poetry Podcasts Anthology here: vervepoetrypress.com/product/why-poetry/
Episode music is an original composition by Snazzy Rat. You can find more from Snazzy here: snazzyrat.bandcamp.com
Our production team is Mystery Planet Productions. https://mysteryplanet.net/


Also mentioned on the podcast -
Imaginary Millions - Spending Our Fortune Vol.1 https://imaginarymillions.bandcamp.com/album/spending-our-fortune-volume-one 
Watch Sarah Callaghan's comedy special, The Ballad Of Sarah Callaghan, on NextUp - https://nextupcomedy.com/sarahcallaghan/?fp_ref=ballad



Ep. 130 - Sarah Callaghan

This week Peter deGraft-Johnson (The Repeat Beat Poet) speaks to poet , educator, and writer Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan. The pair start by speaking about overcoming the fears of speaking your truth publicly, learning to trust readers and publishers outside of immediate live audiences, and Suhaiymah's journey discovering poetry. Next, we jump into the thick fogs of British colonialism, spend some time naming and shaming it and discussing the legacy of inequality it leaves in how histories are held and taught in our libraries, archives, and museums. Across an hour that felt like a minute, Suhaiymah also squeezes in some self-care tips, and gives another beautiful answer to the perennial ultimate question - why poetry?


Suhaiymah reads three poems - 
06:19 - Where Is My History?
35:03 - A Virtue Of Disobedience 
42:17 - Bacon, Bank Notes, Benjamins


Download a full transcript here: (COMING SOON)
For more from Suhaiymah: https://www.suhaiymah.com/ 
https://twitter.com/thebrownhijabi
https://www.instagram.com/thebrownhijabi
Buy Suhaiymah's debut collection Postcolonial Banter here, published by Verve Poetry Press - https://vervepoetrypress.com/product/suhaiymah-manzoor-khan-postcolonial-banter-pre-order-free-uk-pp-out-12-09-19/?v=79cba1185463 


For more from PJ: linktr.ee/repeatbeatpoet
https://twitter.com/repeatbeatpoet
https://www.instagram.com/repeatbeatpoet/
https://ko-fi.com/repeatbeatpoet


For more from us: lunarpoetrypodcasts.com
www.facebook.com/LunarPoetryPodcasts
www.twitter.com/LunarPoetryPod
Buy the 'Why Poetry?': The Lunar Poetry Podcasts Anthology here: vervepoetrypress.com/product/why-poetry/


Episode music is an original composition by Snazzy Rat. You can find more from Snazzy here: snazzyrat.bandcamp.com 


Our production team is Mystery Planet Productions. https://mysteryplanet.net/ 


Also mentioned on the podcast - 
Dan Hicks - The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution http://www.plutobooks.com/9780745341767/the-brutish-museums/
Ian Cobain - The History Thieves Secrets, Lies and the Shaping of a Modern Nation https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/The-History-Thieves-by-Ian-Cobain-author/9781846275838



Ep. 129 - Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan

“A lot of the ethos that I learned from the punk scene – D.I.Y politics, inclusivity, that kind of thing – I brought with me into Burning Eye Books” - Bridget Hart
This week Peter deGraft-Johnson (The Repeat Beat Poet) speaks to poet, editor, producer, publisher with Burning Eye Books, and Grease super-fan Bridget Hart. The pair start by discussing the ethos and success of Burning Eye as a leading independent poetry press in the UK, publishing spoken word artists, and Bridget shares a quick what-to-do (read the guidelines) and what-not-to-do (make transphobic jokes) when submitting. Bridget tells PJ about life as a poet in the DIY punk scene, touring in vans and playing house shows (ps - punks love Carly Rae Jepsen), and the value of emotional caretaking in the midst of the intensity of judging UniSlam - the UK's national university poetry slam & summit. Bridget also speaks about rediscovering a sense of freedom and joy in writing while working on their latest collection celebrating the campness, queerness, and playfulness we all know was the real star of the iconic teen classic Grease. (We don't speak about Grease 2 - who would?).
Bridget reads one poem -
41:12 - 1000 Bits Of Gum
Download a full transcript here: (COMING SOON)
Bridget's Links - 
http://bridgethart.wordpress.com
http://forbooksake.net
http://burningeye.co.uk/submit
PJ's Links - https://linktr.ee/repeatbeatpoet
https://twitter.com/repeatbeatpoet
https://www.instagram.com/repeatbeatpoet/
Read PJ's poem 'What Does Black Power Mean?' in the Black Anthology, Language, available to read via 1010 Press or your local independent bookshop or library:
www.sofiaamina.com/1010pressbookshop 
For more from Lunar: lunarpoetrypodcasts.com
www.facebook.com/LunarPoetryPodcasts
www.twitter.com/LunarPoetryPod
Buy the 'Why Poetry?': The Lunar Poetry Podcasts Anthology here: vervepoetrypress.com/product/why-poetry/
Episode music is an original composition by Snazzy Rat. You can find more from Snazzy here: snazzyrat.bandcamp.com
Our production team is Mystery Planet Productions. https://mysteryplanet.net/
Also mentioned on the podcast - 
Neon, by Bethany Rose. Published by Burning Eye Books. https://burningeye.bigcartel.com/product/neon-by-bethany-rose
Chips & Beans Podcast w/ Bridget & Cassie Agbenhu - https://www.instagram.com/chipsandbeanspodcast/ 
UniSlam - https://www.uni-slam.com/

Ep. 127 - Otis Mensah

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