Forget boozing, it’s all about ballads. Well, apparently: if the recent Saatchi Yates gallery poetry night is anything to go by, Gen Z is getting its kicks with nights dedicated to the spoken word. Want to join them? Here are three of best. Limericks may or may not be welcome.
Out-Spoken
Southbank Centre, SE1, southbankcentre.co.uk
In lieu of drinking, Gen Z’s are turning to poetry nights for entertainment. It’s the cool kids, too, not just the bookish sorts in oversized tweed blazers. The Southbank Centre’s Outspoken series is the place to start, offering both three-hour classes suitable for beginners and experts alike, and evenings full of music and rising poetry stars challenging the form. Both are monthly.
Genesis Poetry Slam
Genesis Cinema, E1
93-95 Mile End Road, Bethnal Green, E1 4UJ, @genesispoetryslam
Where else but east London for London’s only free, three-round poetry slam? Bethnal Green’s much-loved Genesis cinema hosts this one on the first Thursday of every month, with a simple enough premise: poets get up, and the audience scores them (loudly) out of 10. The winner stays on, with low-scorers ruthlessly cut from proceedings. Which means the audience is boss, and the evenings get surprisingly raucous. Those taking part don’t pay, for the audience it’s a quid.
Firepit Tales
Firepit, SE10, @firepit.tales
Poetry nights come and go but Firepit Tales endures. Details are kept under wraps — by design, it is very deliberately offline — but expect an evening of introspective but largely uplifting poetry during an evening hosted by Lana Mercury (also known as @uncle_londonn). The nights run at various venues, but always on the last Wednesday of every month, and the name is no joke — there is almost always an actual firepit involved. Can’t fault the vibes. Usually about £5 for entry.
