Sarah's poetry: Heartfelt and Hopeful in Equal Measure

With an authenticity and an openness about vulnerability, Sarah's relatively new foray into poetry could not have been less evident. A really touching set about family - and of course, as promised - about dogs, made for an excellent evening of deep and deeply moving poetry that had our audience laughing and 'ahhhing', often at the same time.

From her first ever performance poem, 'I Accidentally Gave my Gran away to Charity' Sarah set the tone of comically inviting us into a world of poignant truths about life and love and the ties that bind. The loss of a mother, the loss of a father were beautifully explored with very human, very relatable lines that introduced us to individuals that were real and almost known to us.

Sarah told of the literal dogged behaviour of a pet that 'cried so loud' that 'so now, every morning we wake head to head'. We were let into the angst of puberty with an 'inverted nipple', told of the day she fell in love after she only 'popped out for a pint of milk'. 'Why don't you have children?' resounded with the nonsense of the realities of living with the choice to have children and the intrusive prejudice faced by those that choose not to. We even had an early rendition of Sarah's upcoming Hammer and Tongue entry on the topic of sibling rivalry and admiration.

We could not have asked for a better evening of stories, of life and of fabulous poetry. If you'd like to hear more of Sarah, catch her at the Hammer and Tongue Grand final at the Brighton Fringe, 15th of May or look her up on her Instagram page

Our open mics did a grand job of highlighting the local talent here in Eastbourne. Jazzy Poet wrote of the feelings after a suffering a small stroke, Rich from Seahaven Poetry read a little of a fabulously powerful poem on a storm 'frenzied beyond its own control', David A read about how 'many a journey beckons', Paul Rafferty declared 'Scientologists don't want me.', Keith Drake gave us much to think of on 'politicians and their privileges' having 'too much power and glory', our own Nicki W raised the technical bar with Tankas, Haiku, Cinquains and Nonets and Limericks, Nicky L got a rousing reception with her poem on menopause and how it is 'so frustrating!', Denis gave a poignant poem on the effects of dementia, Roller Roy followed appropriately with a shout out for his dementia fundraising, Mr John told about looking up an old flame and feeling like the fox in the hen house with 'dirt on his paws'! Jackie H read her always beautiful lines on the natural world that never cease to wow, 'whose warble day turns dark' and a poem on Hattie McDaniel, the 1936 Oscar winning actress who was forced to sit segregated from her co-stars due to the colour of her skin, 'all fluff and ruffle', Mark D spoke of the 'torment of a broken soul', Abir who read without reading from the page! urged us 'sunsets don't die, live life again', Di Hills told us of Richard the rat who was 'sexy and cool', and revealed that 'I keep my boyfriend in my bag', Richard told us that he was dreaming of a world where 'the broken are not discarded' and where there is 'time to remind us us we're more than shadows', Charles Anthony asked 'is it enough to believe that if falling, we'll be caught by an angel'. Plus our first timers: Suzie Flynn who told us of a 'King's Road Punk' , Lena highlighted 'Freedom' and 'Propaganda', Alex asked are we 'polishing the turd of what other people think I should be?' and Chantelle raised the issue of parenthood in a poem exploring a biological vs a true father.

As you can see.... we have a knockout time at our monthly open mics - join us if you can!!