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Hammer & Tongue poetry slam and spoken word at the Old Fire Station

10 April 7.30 pm

40 George Street, OX1 2AQ Oxford, Oxfordshire[/vc_column_text][vc_separator el_width=”50″ css=”.vc_custom_1506437403429{padding-top: 30px !important;padding-bottom: 30px !important;}”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row gap=”10″ equal_height=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1506093457395{margin-right: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1506437353638{padding-left: 20px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”1756″ img_size=”large” alignment=”right” css=”.vc_custom_1522947492958{padding-right: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

Hammer & Tongue


Zena Edwards
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James Webster
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The Open Poetry Slam

Zena Edwards

One of the most popular guests we have had at Hammer & Tongue, Zena is as at home on a music stage as she is on a spoken word one. You may have been lucky enough to see her touring with jazz legends Hugh Masekela & Larry Willis in recent years and if you haven’t seen her deliver one of her impressive spoken sets yet you’re missing out.

Raised in Tottenham, North London, Zena has become renowned for her beautiful voice, skillfully written verse, and versatile acting ability making her a force to be reckoned with for many years in the world performance poetry. She was nominated for the Arts Foundation Award for Performance Poetry 2007, the Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship Award 2017, and won the Hidden Creatives Award 2012, for Youth Engagement through the Arts.

Zena has been involved in performance for over 20 years – as a writer/poet performer, and educator. As a poet Zena’s writing for performance explores the creative voice immersed in issues exploring collective and personal revolution in the midst of social injustice and all its intersections.
Her poems articles and blogs for social and environmental justice issues, race and power are published in Open Democracy, Dance the Guns to Silence in Commemoration The Ogoni 9, Platform London’s Blog – Featured in Riots Reframed documentary – Voice Over Films, and Loose Muse New Writing for Women.

James Webster

Webster is an inveterate scribbler of poetry and prose who can most reliably be found writing weird little stories online or on a stage somewhere. He likes his poems the same way he likes his friends/partners: somewhat surprising, perfectly formed and weird as hell.

He also loves Hammer & Tongue, having started out doing the open slam and recently finishing third in the 2018 National Final. He writes short fiction at strangelittlestories.tumblr.com and his first flash fiction collection, Heroine Chic, is published with Inspired Quill.

The Open Poetry Slam

Hammer & Tongue continues to be happily impressed with the number of new practitioners who are as welcome as the old hands that take part in the warm spoken word circus that is the poetry slam. Whoever you are, whatever your style, whatever level of experience you have you’ll always find a friendly listening ear at Hammer & Tongue.
If you haven’t been an audience for one before it’s a lot of fun, and that’s all you need to know. That and those taking part seem to be getting better and better as the months and years go by.
Penultimate qualifier for the Oxford Final which sends two people forward to the National Final at The Royal Albert Hall.

Email oxford@hammerandtongue.com or PM us to book a slot or turn up on the night.
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