George the Poet @ Edinburgh Book Festival, 21 Aug
Baying crowds at the Edinburgh International Book Festival? That's George the Poet for you
It’s hard to imagine an Edinburgh crowd – not least an Edinburgh International Book Festival crowd – heckling an event chair reluctant to allow one more poem and baying at the performer to indulge them. Not content with the vigorous hand clapping and the odd self-conscious whoop, George the Poet ekes every last drop out of a near full house in the event’s largest tent. He doesn’t even break a sweat in the process. The London-born, sociology-trained poet and rapper presents his material with a certitude to contrast with the probing, impassioned words therein. Having appeared at this year’s Brit Awards and on BBC Radio One, George Mpanga – as he’s known offstage – may well broaden his sizeable following with his first published collection of verse, Search Party.
Mpanga is typically touted as a socially conscious poet, which is kind of a one-size-fits-all label but gives a vague sense of his approach. In amongst broader themes – intercultural dialogue and the uneasy relationship between the police and minority communities, for instance – he weaves personal biography, ranging from his upbringing in St. Raphael’s Estate in NW London to his studies at Cambridge University.
Mpanga met keen audience input with deference, though you could see his patience fraying when different versions of the same questions started appearing. He’s not afraid to spike the ball as necessary. One question, concerning how he negotiates the line between traditional poetry and contemporary spoken word, then asked a second time with barely altered wording, got a simple: "I don’t care." Cue plenty of laughter and whooping before Mpanga doubled down with: "And I would encourage others not to care." As to whether we should continue to care about his work, the Poet was again succinct: "You ain’t seen nuffin’ yet. It’s about to get crazy." Given the mockery he made of the capital’s reputation for staid crowds, you’d be unwise to doubt him.
George The Poet was speaking and performing at Edinburgh International Book Festival on 21 August.