Ahead of next month’s event, Kirsten Luckins (Producer (North) for England’s leading performance poetry organisation) Apples and Snakes) gives you
Five Reasons You Should Come To Deranged Poetesses
1. The title is ironic
Actually, it’s inspired by a storm-in-a-teacup moment that happened on Twitter some time ago. You don’t need to know the details, just know that if you see a woman using #derangedpoetesses she’s doing some combination of a. proudly reclaiming words that were first used as slurs and b. being very, very sarcastic.
2. It’s not all daffodils and hey-nonny-nonny
Whatever they told you about poetry at school, this is not it! Our performers are all ages and backgrounds, writing contemporary poetry that is likely to be everything from hilarious to heart-breaking to lyrical. We’ve had grannies rapping wearing panda heads, placard-waving witches, and very rude Barbie animations, so don’t be put off by the P-word.
3. You won’t have seen anything like it
Our poets must perform their work to the accompaniment of a timed Power Point slide show. The images they use vary wildly, from pop culture photos to original artworks. The words and pictures together make it a unique experience for the audience , and it challenges the poets to reach new creative heights too.
4. We have great quality control
We run this event as a commission opportunity, which means we have selected a line-up based on proposals they’ve sent in. Everyone responds as imaginatively as possible to a theme. We usually pick 5 or 6 performers out of 20-30 proposals, so we know we’re giving you the best possible experience.
5. We’re proudly Northern
We gather together the best women performance poets from across the whole North region, from Berwick to Hull to Liverpool to Carlisle. You’re guaranteed an interesting line-up of people you wouldn’t always get to see without travelling far afield. Sometimes we welcome a special guest from outside the region, too.
Deranged Poetesses is the brainchild of Kirsten Luckins, Producer (North) for England’s leading performance poetry organisation Apples and Snakes. What started as a one-off event reclaiming ‘derangement and the female muse’ is now a regular fixture on ARC”s calendar, taking place three times a year. In 2018 we ran Maidens, Mothers and Crones. In 2019-20, poets will respond to Space | Exploration, Sound | Wave, and Colour | Chart.