Stirred Poetry on new writing & feminism
The Skinny talks to Manchester poetry collective Stirred Poetry about new writing, equality and speaking out
“This is the thing: the poetry scene seems more equal than other arts sometimes, but there are still inequalities. And if you are an event host, and most of your audience is men, and most of the people performing are men, you have a problem and you need to address it,” Anna Percy tells The Skinny, in the Northern Quarter’s newly renovated bar Common.
Percy is one quarter of Stirred, Manchester’s feminist poetry night, and as if to make this even clearer, she is wearing a necklace that spells out that still controversial f-word. The poetry night is run by Percy, co-founder Rebecca Audra Smith, Lenni Sanders and their (comparatively) new recruit Jasmine Chatfield.
Stirred dubs itself ‘a women’s poetry night where women and men are encouraged to read pro-women, feminist poetry.’ But actually using the word ‘feminist’ is not something the group has always agreed on. “I can’t remember becoming a feminist. I grew up with a mother who was a writer and a feminist … whereas you didn’t actually identify as a feminist when you started,” Percy says. “I think that our brand of feminism is, yeah we’re hardline about violence against women and misrepresentation about women, but we’re also funny and sexy. We talk about sex a lot.”
Smith agrees: “I definitely feel like women owning their own bodies and their own pleasure is something that is talked about more on our stage.”
“I mean, we have a cheer every time someone uses the word cunt in a positive way,” Percy adds.
This is all part of the group’s mission to create a safe space for new voices and new writing to be heard. “I feel like men are more socialised to try new things and to speak out, so [Stirred] is an extra step towards newcomers who are women,” says Chatfield.
One of the ways Stirred does this is by running a writing workshop each month, which focuses on the theme of their next event. This month, it’s American jazz legend Billie Holiday. “Having the theme gives people the chance to discover these amazing women who are kind of forgotten in some way, or just not noticed,” says Smith. “[With] Billie Holiday, she’s a survivor and she’s such a powerful role model.”
Overall, things are going well for the group: they’re approaching their fifth birthday, they’ve recently expanded from a pair to a quartet, and they’re consistently filling up their poetry nights. There has been a lot of speculation about why the poetry scene, particularly in Manchester, has taken off in recent years, but for Stirred the answer is clear. “We’ve found our home,” explains Percy, by which she means their venue, the Three Minute Theatre.
3MT is hidden away in Afflecks Palace and is quickly becoming a hub for spoken word, while also fostering a ton of creative talent. In fact, it’s so busy that Stirred have already had to plan their nights into next year. “It’s actually our space when we’re there,” says Smith. “So it’s a really effective space for us to just claim, which is amazing.”
“I think that’s about it,” Percy muses. “The future is good. Because there is always going to be more poetry, and Stirred is continuing for another year, come what may… and I look forward to more people getting involved with it, because people are starting to get it.”
Stirred Poetry’s Billie Holiday event will be held on Mon 28 Sep at the 3MT, Manchester, 7.30pm (suggested donation £1-£2)
The writing workshop will be held on Wed 23 Sep at Kim by the Sea, Hulme, 5-7pm (suggested donation £1-£2)