We Belong Here: a season of poetry and spoken word

The Space curated a season of poetry and spoken word, first broadcast on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

Starring poets including Lemn Sissay, Kate Tempest, and Hollie McNish, the season supported National Poetry Day and was available to view on iPlayer throughout the month of October.

Celebrating the UK’s vibrant spoken word scene, the season showcased the best UK talent and was made up of 4 programmes:

We Belong Here

Eight artists performed one of their own works on the theme of ‘State Of The Nation’ before going on to discuss their work, the work of others, and consider how important poetry and spoken word is at uncertain times. Now available to watch on YouTube, the programme featured some of UK’s most exciting poets and spoken word artists:

Hollie McNish: Banana Baby

Lemn Sissay: Belong

Madi Maxwell-Libby: Kids, Coins, Cuts

Jack Underwood: An Avoidance

Joelle Taylor: No Man’s Land

Raymond Antrobus: Echo (extract)

Salena Godden: Titanic

Sabrina Mahfouz: Sanctions should be kept at the UN

Poets at the Rivoli

Featuring extended sets by the three poets and spoken word artist, this half hour programme is MC’d by Kate Tempest.

We Are Poets

The award winning documentary follows the Leeds Young Authors poetry team as they prepare for a transformational journey of a lifetime, from the red bricked back streets of inner city North England, to a stage in front of the White House at Brave New Voices – the world’s most prestigious poetry slam competition

The Roundhouse Poetry Slam Final 2016

A one hour programme that features the best of poetry, storytelling and live performance at The Last Word Festival. The event showcases the best talent in spoken word, from the genre’s trailblazers to rising stars and everything in between.