Or why you should visit The Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden and the Rich Mix in Shoreditch.

I am just now easing my way into the poetry scene here in London. Upon recommendation by Inua Ellams I visited The Rich Mix for Jawdance hosted by Apples & Snakes last month. Jawdance is a free event on the third Wednesday of every month. (This month’s event is tomorrow. If I can manage to write a Christmas piece you might just see me there). These events include feature artists as well as an open mic section for new and existing writers. In addition, they showcase poetry shorts which is just too cool. This event seemed especially for spoken word artists. There is a time limit on the open mic slots which I think was 3 minutes. I would highly suggest it to anyone who wants to listen to some great spoken word!

Recently, I came across an open mic night event called Poetry Unplugged at The Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden. The event occurs weekly on Tuesday nights. (Keep in mind this event costs 5 pounds to the audience and 4 pounds to readers and cafe members.) Now this event is much more of a “page poetry” event. That is not to say that I didn’t totally enjoy it, but it is something to think about when you head out to this event if that is not what you came for. This is a totally open mic event. Each reader is allotted 5 minutes and the host will cut you off if you go over this 5 minutes. With that being said, the host was fantastic. Be sure to get there early -before 7 for sure!- if you would like to read that night. There were some great readers the last time I was there so consider attending even if you prefer spoken word.