How York poetry group Say Owt has grown – and grown

“Jaws do drop. People leave quite wide-eyed … the best compliment we can get is someone going, ‘I didn’t know poetry could be like this.’”

Say Owt artistic director, Henry Raby, is recalling the reaction to the group’s poetry slam nights, held twice yearly at the Crescent.

One-hundred poetry loving fans gathered at the latest slam, on Friday, April 17, for a night of friendly competition.

Each poet has three minutes to perform. They are then scored by randomly selected audience members – and the poet with the most points wins.

Henry Raby on stage (Image: Charlie Kirkpatrick/Kirkpatrick Photography)

It’s a “unique” but “lively” evening, Henry says, and a chance to get people talking.

And “as much as it is electric and noisy” – it’s also a safe space to try performing for the first time, Henry adds.

Topics vary – from personal, heartfelt stories to lively political pieces – but they all “get people discussing”, Henry says. “It really grabs an audience.”

“Our slams are on Friday nights at the moment – so we have to deliver a Friday night out, or we’re not doing our jobs properly,” says Say Owt’s associate artist and creative director, Hannah Davies.

“At one slam,” adds Henry, “we had ladies in the toilet putting on their makeup because a poetry gig was the start of their night out

“They were opening with, let’s get down to the slam – then we’re going to hit York.

“That’s what we want it to be – part of your night out.”

Bram David Jarman (Jarmouse), Hannah Davies, Henry Radby, Stu Freestone and rapper Testament at Say Owt’s 10th birthday bash (Image: Supplied)

Henry, 37, who founded the group with Stu Freestone, has seen Say Owt grow from its first location at the 100-capacity Basement, below the City Screen cinema off Coney Street, to the 300-capacity Crescent. The group also hosts gigs at Theatre@41 Monkgate and at the Bluebird Bakery in Acomb.

The venues have grown in size and guest poets now include renowned names, but the group’s ethos remains the same, says Henry. “[The gigs] are lively, fun – it’s a bit raucous and a bit silly.

Say Owt guest poet Maureen Onwunali (Image: Supplied)

“We’re trying to defuse any sense that poetry has barriers or is stuffy or boring. It’s got to be very immediate.”

Henry, from Foxwood in York and now living in Leeds, puts Say Owt’s success – and York’s “robust” poetry scene – down to the diverse voices in the city.

It was punk – particularly the punk poet John Cooper Clarke – who inspired Henry to start performing poetry.

John Cooper Clarke (Image: PA)

Henry liked performing, but not acting – and “couldn’t work out what performing was without the acting”, he says. “Then I saw John Cooper Clarke at a GCSE poetry event and went, ‘Oh right, that’s it’ … That punk attitude of just getting up and doing it. It’s quite DIY and it’s putting your heart on your sleeve.

“It’s exactly what I love about poetry – you don’t even need a guitar.”

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No poets are the same – particularly in York, Henry says. “They either want to tell really personal, heartfelt stories about themselves and say something really important.

“Or they want to raise the rafters with something political. Or they want to just make people laugh and put a smile on their faces.”

A community has grown around the poetry nights, Hannah adds. “We’ve had couples meet and get together at our poetry nights.

“Friendships have formed. We’ve got a core of really loyal customers and audience members who come back.”

‘My journey into poetry came out of frustration’

Hannah’s first poetry performance was at a Say Owt slam – and followed her background in theatre.

“I started as an actor and then was a playwright and a single mum,” says Hannah, 47, from Fulford in York and now living in Saltburn. “My journey into poetry came out of frustration about how the theatre world wasn’t really serving me, and about where my life was at the time.

“I had these acting skills and these writing skills. I just thought, let’s write something for me to perform. Because no one can say no. I can just go and do it.”

And she did. “My first ever slam poem I did was at Say Owt. Then I became a Say Owt fan girl.”

Hannah Davies on stage (Image: Supplied)

“It’s liberating to go and say what you actually think about things on a stage,” Hannah says, but admits that performing for the first time was “absolutely terrifying”.

Hannah has continued to perform poetry and is now preparing to support World Poetry Slam Champion Harry Baker at the Theatre Royal on June 17, presented by Say Owt.

“I’m really excited to get on that stage and have a little taste of what it feels like to be Harry Baker,” Hannah says.

“But we’ll treat it like it’s a gig in the back of a pub,” says Henry. “I don’t want it to feel like a formal show at the Theatre Royal.”

• Say Owt holds its Bad Betty showcase at Rise Up at the Bluebird Bakery in Acomb on Wednesday (April 29).
• Harry Baker takes to the stage at the Theatre Royal on June 17.
• And Hannah Davies will be performing The Ballad of Blea Wyke at the Bluebird Bakery in Acomb on July 10, and at Helmsley Arts Centre on July 17.
• For more gigs, information and tickets, visit www.sayowt.co.uk/upcoming-events.html