Guest Poet, Andy Breckenridge delivered a powerhouse of poetry made even more evocative by his wonderfully rolling accent.
Reading both new material and from his excellent collection, 'The Fish Inside', Andy was simultaneously wry and otherworldly, both offbeat and oh so familiar.
The Night You Were Born was deeply poignant as Andy spoke the words, 'where you broke the surface, came ashore' creating an involuntary inward breath from our audience. From the technical precision of an April nonet where 'fat droplets plummet' to the quiet reflection of emptying the house of a lost loved one in, 'Heavy Lifting'
An altogether fabulous reading from Andy. His collection can be purchased from Flight of the dragonfly publishers and is without doubt, a glorious read.
The evening was filled with yet more tremendous spoken word from our open mic slots; there were just too many to list here - but that's an oversight on my part that I'll correct in future posts. But some stand-outs for me were Amanda Hills' lines including 'Islands of the mind flowing free' Keith Wilson's 'Imagine being a poem' and 'Beethoven for Elephants' as thought provoking as they were entertaining, always with back story placing you right there next to Keith's muse. SooDoe, with an equally entrancing burr as Andy, gave a beautiful reading and first time open Poetry cafe mic-er Mimi, thrilled with a depth that belied her years, 'smiling inwardly at his own greatness' - 'We: my magpies and I'
Join us on April the 9th where we will share the poetry love all over again!