Spoke - in the Lamp
SpokeScreen

 

During lockdown restrictions, while unable to continue hosting a live event at Brownhills, Al Barz and Martin Hughes set about creating an alternative which we named SpokeScreen.

The idea was to offer a video project to bring poetry performances to a video anthology, with pieces from the many excellent poets that we’ve loved to watch at paused events. This was our attempt to add to the innovation that cropped up to keep poetry performance going.

Those with poetry pieces they’d like to share, and a way of recording them, were asked to join a closed Facebook group ‘SpokeScreenings’, and submit their own short video clips. Al then used some new video editing skills to create a complete show of the best dozen works sent in under the SpokeScreen banner. This was broadcast to the world on YouTube as a SpokeScreen Video Poetry Anthology. 

The three best poetry video clips as voted for by the audience were given prizes funded by a crowdfund website.

R M Francis was chosen as a video headliner and provided three video clips of his readings from his novel called Bella, and several other poetry pieces were edited in as a ‘first half’.

The project was started in March of 2021 and completed and posted onto Vimeo and YouTube in May.

SpokeScreen Final Video - with winners