Join us for a cosy poetry, spoken word, music and discussion night on the last Saturday of every month (except August and January). Hosted by Kid Anansi and Julie G, we offer open mic slots before we embark on the monthly discussion topic. Our discussions provide a healing space for spoken word performers and audiences to connect and reflect on the writing and performing processes. We think we’re the only open mic night offering a discussion section which we provide to make the evening open and accessible to everyone at different stages of their journey, as an engaged audience member, a new writer and performer or a seasoned pro!

Open mic slots are 5 minutes but that's not a limit, we always give open mic-ers a few Extra Seconds, as our name suggests.

Join us from 6.30pm for a 7pm start.

Tickets Here

Our theme this month is CONSCIOUSNESS / SENTIENCE.

Does consciousness arise from matter, or the other way round? What does it mean when particles change their behaviour upon being observed?

There is increasing evidence of more animals showing signs of self-awareness, complex emotions, and the capacity for ritual and play. What do we make of this?

Is there a difference between consciousness and sentience, and how might we put this into words? What is the role of science and spirituality in answering these questions?

Come and ponder on all this and more with us on 28th March :-)

Laurie Eaves launches his second collection, Metal Gear Sonnets, on Broken Sleep Books.

£5 Tickets Here

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Metal Gear Sonnets is a sonnet sequence retelling the story of the 1998 PlayStation game, Metal Gear Solid.

On Shadow Moses Island, a black-ops mission unfolds again, but this time in fourteen-line bursts. Metal Gear Sonnets replays the iconic game as a formally inventive sequence that moves through CODEC calls, boss battles, hostage scenes and end credits, letting lyric tenderness and brutal comedy share the same frame.

These poems break and remake the sonnet again and again: concrete text, glitch-speech, footnotes, and sudden turns into the real world asking what we save, what we repeat, and what we call heroism when the controller is in our hands.

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Support from very special guests, the Genesis Poetry Slam Crew: Rebecca Cooney, Hannah Chutzpah, Quarina Sultana and Panos Skoutelis.

This is an all-ages event and the venue is wheelchair accessible via a lift (please see genesiscinema.co.uk for full accessibility details). The cinema serves food, inc. vegetarian and vegan options.

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Timings:

Doors: 19:00
Supports: 19:30
Break: 20:20
Metal Gear Sonnets reading: 20:40
End: 21:30

See you there, soldier!

It's a brand new year for Big Trouble and we're kicking it off with two stellar poets: Laurie Eves and Jake Nathan! 

Medway's longest running poetry night, serving roundtable open mic and a selection of great feature performances.

Tickets Here!

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Laurie Eaves is a writer and editor from the village of Yapton. His work has been published by Bad Betty Press, fourteen poems, Fawn Press and Shooter amongst others. Most of his poems these days are sonnets based on the Sony PlayStation game Metal Gear Solid. He co-hosts the Dead Darlings podcast and hosts / produces Genesis Poetry Slam, Genesis Poetry Workshop, Homebrew Poetry and the Vogon Slam. His first collection, Biceps, is out on Burning Eye and his second, Metal Gear Sonnets, is out on Broken Sleep in Feb 2026.

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Jake Nathan is a poet and artist, from East London. His work focuses on mental health, masculinity, social justice and being working class in England. His debut pamphlet, A Life in the Day of Nathan Jake (Incomplete), is scheduled for release in February.

He is a multiple-time poetry slam winner and grand poetry slam champion. Based in Essex, he performs his poetry and teaches workshops across the country.

Jake has featured at the Faversham Literary Festival, Essex Writers’ House Festival, Margate Bookie Festival and the Medway River Lit Festival. His poems have been featured on BBC Radio and various podcasts. His page poetry has been published by Anti-Heroin Chic, Thanet Writers and elsewhere.

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Unfortunately due to the limitations of the venue this event is not wheelchair accessible. 12Degrees Micropub is a short walk from Rochester or Chatham train station. There is limited on street parking outside with the closest carpark being at Easons Yard.

Tickets: £7.30 inc. booking fee

We just keep going! This month, we're bringing you someone very familiar with poetry slams, laurie eaves! we've also gone and got Off The Chest's own Ella on the hosting duties!

Tickets Here!

As always, we'll have our incredible slam with spots available in advance and a few saved for on the door (and even through the night if you get inspired).

Two rounds, one winner, £50 cash prize!

Doors: 7:00pm

Start: 7:30pm

End: 10:30pm (please respect our neighbours and leave quietly!)

Join Testing Ground on the 3rd February for another night of poetry and music.

Tickets Here!

Laurie Eaves is a writer and editor from the village of Yapton. His work has been published by Bad Betty Press, fourteen poems, Fawn Press and Shooter amongst others. Most of his poems these days are sonnets based on the Sony PlayStation game Metal Gear Solid. He co-hosts the Dead Darlings podcast and hosts / produces Genesis Poetry Slam, Genesis Poetry Workshop, Homebrew Poetry and the Vogon Slam. His first collection, Biceps, is out on Burning Eye and his second, Metal Gear Sonnets, is out on Broken Sleep in Feb 2026.

All welcome for a night of poetry, music and performance which includes an open mic where audience members can sign up to show their stuff too! Testing Ground is a night to try out new things - whether it's your first open-mic, or you're a seasoned pro, it's a welcoming, supportive audience who want you to succeed as much as you do. Open-mic slots are first-come-first-served at the door.

Starts from 7pm. Sign up on the night. Open mic performers get 5 minutes to perform. Please note: space is limited to a first come first served basis so please arrive on time to secure your spot!

Tickets: £5 + booking fee

Readers: Emily Barker, Matthew Kosinski, Olly Todd, Megan Pattie, Laurie Eaves, Dominic Hoey.

Tickets Here!

Broken Sleep February 2026 releases, with online readings from:

Emily Barker (reading from Sonogram {soundwriting})

Matthew Kosinski (reading from Year of the Inverted Star)

Olly Todd (reading from Good Ground)

Megan Pattie (reading from Bertha Comes Down)

Laurie Eaves (reading from Metal Gear Sonnets)

Dominic Hoey(reading from The Dead Are Always Laughing at Us)

All books available to buy at brokensleepbooks.com

Minimum payment of £1. For free tickets email: aaron@brokensleepbooks.com

Hot on the heels of our fantastic last slam, we’re back to blow your minds once again with incredible FREE poetry!

Join us on Tuesday 10 June upstairs at the Genesis Cinema in Stepney Green for your monthly dose of friendly competitive poetry slamming!

Who will be next to join our 2025 grand final? AUDIENCE, YOU DECIDE!

*NOTE: THIS SLAM IS ON A TUESDAY - NOT OUR USUAL THURSDAY!*

TICKETS HERE! 

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:

Tickets are £1 each and must be booked in advance. Last slam we were SOLD OUT so grab yours quickly! If you book a ticket but then can't make it, please contact Genesis Cinema to release your ticket.

On the night, just grab a cocktail, a pie and a comfy sofa and watch poets battle it out for a chance to compete in our grand final in December!

POETS:

There are two ways to sign up for a slot:

1)     In the PRE SIGN-UP or

2)     ON THE NIGHT

We’re always looking for new ways to make our sign-up process fair and accessible for people and at the moment this is the most accessible format we’ve found.

To apply for a PRE SIGN-UP slot, simply comment on our Facebook event page or email poetry@genesis-cinema.co.uk. We have 4 female, 4 male and 4 non-binary slots available for the PRE SIGN-UP – so please let us know where you fall on the gender spectrum when you sign up.

Please note we will not offer you a slot until you provide your gender info, so please include this when you get in touch to avoid disappointment. These spaces fill quickly and are strictly first come first served. Poets with a pre-sign up slot do not need to purchase tickets, your name will be on the door at the box office.

If you don’t get a pre-sign up slot, we will be reserving additional female, male and non-binary ON THE NIGHT slots, for those who want to try their luck. Again these ON THE NIGHT slots are strictly first come first served.

The slam is a 3 round slam, so please bring 3 poems just in case. Each poem should be 3 minutes or under.

If you’ve scored a PRE SIGN-UP slot please arrive by 7.15pm to keep your slot, or we will allocate it to the next person on the reserve list. To keep things fair for the other slammers, if you haven’t arrived by the time the slam has started and made yourself known to us, you won’t be able to perform!

No props, no costumes (reading your poem from paper or a phone is fine!) and no hate. Other than that the only thing to remember is that the points are not the point....
THE POINT IS THE POETRY!

Whether you come to share your poetry, or just to listen- we really are a very lucky bunch with friendly people and incredible poets!

We don’t have the reputation for being the friendliest slam in town for no reason! We have a great team at Genesis that are so helpful to all our audience and slammers, and we look after each other during the night!

You all make the space we hold as wonderful as it is - we really couldn’t do it without your words and your enthusiasm, which we want to match always! So bring all your good vibes our way and let’s continue 2025 in style!

Doors at 6:00pm for a 7:30pm start.

Homebrew is a freshly-brewed poetry open mic and feature night at the Hillbilly Social 101, Bounds Green.

Host Laurie Eaves invites you to come share your words on the open mic or just kick back with some lovely food and drink and check out feature sets from some of the UK's best poets.

Our next event is on Wednesday 21st of May and we've got two wonderful features in the forms of Fiona Broadhurst and Dr. Robin Lamboll!

AND... it's our FINAL GIG for a bit before Amy & Laurie go on parental leave! We're not 100% sure right now when Homebrew will return, so don't you dare miss this one!

FIONA BROADHURST

Mood killer. Vibe ruiner. Emotional fucker.

Fiona Broadhurst is a queer, trans, disabled, poet writing poems on various topics not limited to queer-love, anarchy, disability, social justice, community, and emotional shit™.

She has recently published her first chapbook, Apocalyptic Aphorisms, with Back Room Poetry, & has been published with Ink Sweat & Tears, Vita and the Wolf, t'ART Press, and in the Back Room Poetry anthology "Rebel Poetry''.

She performs regularly at open mics around London, and has featured at Incite, and Process. She currently curates Where The Word Things Live, a directory of poetry and spoken word nights in London.

DR. ROBIN LAMBOLL

Dr Robin Lamboll is a climate scientist who writes poetry inspired by either the wonders of the natural world or cheap excuses for puns. They have performed everywhere from music festivals, theatres, academic conferences, international political conferences and boats. They won the Cambridge, UK, and Madrid International poetry slam finals, and came second in the World Cup of Slam in Paris 2019.

OPEN MIC

Open mic slots are 5 minutes each. We have a select number of Open Mic tickets available in advance - if you're lucky enough to grab one of these you're guaranteed a slot on the mic. We'll also have a limited number of slots for sign-ups on the night selected at random from the almighty poetry hat!

- Date / time: Weds 21st May. Doors 19:00, Start 19:30, End 22:00

- Price: All tickets £5

- Location: Hillbilly Social, 101 Myddleton Road, N22 8NE

- Tube: Bounds Green (8 mins walk)

- National Rail: Bowes Park (3 mins walk)

Poetry with punch – and Genesis is back for May!

Hot on the heels of our fantastic last slam, we’re back to blow your minds once again with incredible FREE poetry!

Join us on Thursday May 1st upstairs at the Genesis Cinema in Stepney Green for your monthly dose of friendly competitive poetry slamming!

Who will be next to join our 2025 grand final? AUDIENCE, YOU DECIDE!

TICKETS HERE! 

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:

Tickets are £1 each and must be booked in advance. Last slam we were SOLD OUT so grab yours quickly! If you book a ticket but then can't make it, please contact Genesis Cinema to release your ticket.

On the night, just grab a cocktail, a pie and a comfy sofa and watch poets battle it out for a chance to compete in our grand final in December!

POETS:

There are two ways to sign up for a slot:

1)     In the PRE SIGN-UP or

2)     ON THE NIGHT

We’re always looking for new ways to make our sign-up process fair and accessible for people and at the moment this is the most accessible format we’ve found.

To apply for a PRE SIGN-UP slot, simply comment on our Facebook event page (https://www.facebook.com/events/2426896974314164) or email poetry@genesis-cinema.co.uk. We have 4 female, 4 male and 4 non-binary slots available for the PRE SIGN-UP – so please let us know where you fall on the gender spectrum when you sign up. Please note we will not offer you a slot until you provide your gender info, so please include this when you get in touch to avoid disappointment. These spaces fill quickly and are strictly first come first served. Poets with a pre-sign up slot do not need to purchase tickets, your name will be on the door at the box office.

If you don’t get a pre-sign up slot, we will be reserving additional female, male and non-binary ON THE NIGHT slots, for those who want to try their luck. Again these ON THE NIGHT slots are strictly first come first served.

The slam is a 3 round slam, so please bring 3 poems just in case. Each poem should be 3 minutes or under.

If you’ve scored a PRE SIGN-UP slot please arrive by 7.15pm to keep your slot, or we will allocate it to the next person on the reserve list. To keep things fair for the other slammers, if you haven’t arrived by the time the slam has started and made yourself known to us, you won’t be able to perform!

No props, no costumes (reading your poem from paper or a phone is fine!) and no hate. Other than that the only thing to remember is that the points are not the point....
THE POINT IS THE POETRY!

Whether you come to share your poetry, or just to listen- we really are a very lucky bunch with friendly people and incredible poets!

We don’t have the reputation for being the friendliest slam in town for no reason! We have a great team at Genesis that are so helpful to all our audience and slammers, and we look after each other during the night!

You all make the space we hold as wonderful as it is - we really couldn’t do it without your words and your enthusiasm, which we want to match always! So bring all your good vibes our way and let’s continue 2025 in style!

Doors at 6:00pm for a 7:30pm start.

Homebrew is a freshly-brewed poetry open mic and feature night at the Hillbilly Social 101, Bounds Green.

Host Laurie Eaves invites you to come share your words on the open mic or just kick back with some lovely food and drink and check out feature sets from some of the UK's best poets.

Our next event is on Wednesday 23rd of April and we've got two wonderful features in the forms of Alan Wolfson and Bryony Littlefair!

ALAN WOLFSON

In Alan's own words...

I am a painter, poet and public nuisance.

Abstract and figurative images spill out of the tumble dryer of my imagination like warm damp things that could have done with another ten minutes.

I was born in the very middle of the 20th century, in the very middle of Cardiff. I studied graphics at Cardiff College of Art and West of England College of Art and Design.
I took part regularly in Crouch End Open Studios Art Trails, until a stroke in December 2019 slowed me down a bit.

Recently I wrote a book of haiku, a poem structure of seventeen syllables in three lines, five – seven – five, which has inspired my latest collection of art.

BRYONY LITTLEFAIR

Bryony Littlefair is a poet, community centre worker and workshop facilitator living in London.

Her debut poetry collection Escape Room (Seren, 2022) was funded by Arts Council England. Her pamphlet Giraffe won the Mslexia Pamphlet Prize in 2017. She was shortlisted for the inaugural Rebecca Swift Foundation Women Poets’ Prize in 2018 and 2020 and in 2019 received the Moth Retreat Bursary Award. She is a member of the UniSlam post-emerging cohort for mid-career poets.

OPEN MIC

Open mic slots are 5 minutes each. We have a select number of Open Mic tickets available in advance - if you're lucky enough to grab one of these you're guaranteed a slot on the mic. We'll also have a limited number of slots for sign-ups on the night selected at random from the almighty poetry hat!

- Date / time: Weds 23rd April. Doors 19:00, Start 19:30, End 22:00

- Price: All tickets £5

- Location: Hillbilly Social, 101 Myddleton Road, N22 8NE

- Tube: Bounds Green (8 mins walk)

- National Rail: Bowes Park (3 mins walk)

SPRING FORWARD INTO POETRY! GENESIS SLAM BLOOMS THIS APRIL!

Hot on the heels of our fantastic last slam, we’re back to blow your minds once again with incredible FREE poetry!

Join us on Thursday April 3rd upstairs at the Genesis Cinema in Stepney Green for your monthly dose of friendly competitive poetry slamming!

Who will be next to join our 2025 grand final? AUDIENCE, YOU DECIDE!

TICKETS HERE! 

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:

Tickets are £1 each and must be booked in advance. Last slam we were SOLD OUT so grab yours quickly! If you book a ticket but then can't make it, please contact Genesis Cinema to release your ticket.

On the night, just grab a cocktail, a pie and a comfy sofa and watch poets battle it out for a chance to compete in our grand final in December!

POETS:

There are two ways to sign up for a slot:

1)     In the PRE SIGN-UP or

2)     ON THE NIGHT

We’re always looking for new ways to make our sign-up process fair and accessible for people and at the moment this is the most accessible format we’ve found.

To apply for a PRE SIGN-UP slot, simply comment on our Facebook event page (https://www.facebook.com/events/1638185020233658) or email poetry@genesis-cinema.co.uk. We have 4 female, 4 male and 4 non-binary slots available for the PRE SIGN-UP – so please let us know where you fall on the gender spectrum when you sign up. Please note we will not offer you a slot until you provide your gender info, so please include this when you get in touch to avoid disappointment. These spaces fill quickly and are strictly first come first served. Poets with a pre-sign up slot do not need to purchase tickets, your name will be on the door at the box office.

If you don’t get a pre-sign up slot, we will be reserving additional female, male and non-binary ON THE NIGHT slots, for those who want to try their luck. Again these ON THE NIGHT slots are strictly first come first served.

The slam is a 3 round slam, so please bring 3 poems just in case. Each poem should be 3 minutes or under.

If you’ve scored a PRE SIGN-UP slot please arrive by 7.15pm to keep your slot, or we will allocate it to the next person on the reserve list. To keep things fair for the other slammers, if you haven’t arrived by the time the slam has started and made yourself known to us, you won’t be able to perform!

No props, no costumes (reading your poem from paper or a phone is fine!) and no hate. Other than that the only thing to remember is that the points are not the point....
THE POINT IS THE POETRY!

Whether you come to share your poetry, or just to listen- we really are a very lucky bunch with friendly people and incredible poets!

We don’t have the reputation for being the friendliest slam in town for no reason! We have a great team at Genesis that are so helpful to all our audience and slammers, and we look after each other during the night!

You all make the space we hold as wonderful as it is - we really couldn’t do it without your words and your enthusiasm, which we want to match always! So bring all your good vibes our way and let’s continue 2025 in style!

Doors at 6:00pm for a 7:30pm start.

The Genesis Slam crew are back with our next Genesis Poetry Workshop, and this time we’re getting formal with sonnets!

In this workshop we’ll be exploring the history of the sonnet form: where it started, why it’s stuck around and what a sonnet looks like today (hint: it still basically has 14 lines). From Italian “little songs” to modern day American sonnets, poets have always been fascinated by the 14-line form – this is your chance to learn what the fuss is about and try your hand writing at your own.

So if you want to tell your octave from your sestet, your Shakespearean from your Spenserian, this is the workshop for you!

TICKETS HERE!

· - Place / Time: Genesis Cinema Cafe (Downstairs), Mon 31st March, 19:00-21:30
- Duration: 2 hours 30 mins approx.
- Focus: Generating new writing, exploring the sonnet form
- Price: £10
- Who’s Welcome: All abilities – from first-timers writers looking to pick up a pen in a safe environment to seasoned slammers looking to push their craft to the next level

This workshop will be led by Genesis Slam’s own Laurie Eaves. Laurie is a writer and editor who hosts Genesis Slam, Homebrew Poetry, the Vogon Slam and the Dead Darlings spoken word podcast. His work has been published by Bad Betty Press, Broken Sleep Books and Fawn Press amongst many others. His debut full-length collection Biceps is out on Burning Eye Books; his forthcoming collection Metal Gear Sonnets is a sonnet sequence retelling the story of the 1998 PlayStation game Metal Gear Solid.

Feedback from previous Genesis Poetry Workshop participants:

“I'd recommend this workshop to every poet who wants a supportive space to share their work and develop in community with fellow poetry enthusiasts.”

“An intensely inspiring experience that has extended my writing practice and I would be very much interested in attending future workshops.”

“I enjoyed the poetry workshop at Genesis so much! It was inspiring to sit together and create.”

So get (s)on-it and join us at the Genesis Cinema on Monday 31st March!

Homebrew is a freshly-brewed poetry open mic and feature night at the Hillbilly Social 101, Bounds Green.

Host Laurie Eaves invites you to come share your words on the open mic or just kick back with some lovely food and drink and check out feature sets from some of the UK's best poets.

Our next event is on Wednesday 26th of March and we've got two wonderful features in the forms of Bella Cox and Jake Nathan!

BELLA COX

An internationally acclaimed artist, Bella Cox (she/her) is a British Spanish writer, poet, and performer whose poetry centres around relationships and how personal identity influences politics and ways of loving one another. While her proudly queer, feminist, relationship-fuelled work navigates her own identity, her multicultural upbringing has influenced work that explores the notions of belonging, home, and self-empowerment, making art that reclaims the body as the first home and embraces sensitivities and neurodivergence as tools for self-liberation. Often including a loop pedal in her performances to create layered vocal soundscapes underscoring her poetry, her work has been described as captivating, passionate, and cleverly thought out.

Her debut poetry pamphlet; Sikiliza was published with Flipped Eye in 2023. She has performed and shared work at events such as TEDx Pretoria, Sköll World Forum, Bi Pride UK, and the Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival, among many others. Her work has also appeared in numerous anthologies, and she has been commissioned to write for institutions such as the Barbican Centre, HSBC UK, Time Out London and others, as well as Westminster Abbey where she was the Poet In Residence for 2023.

JAKE NATHAN

Jake Nathan is a poet, artist and designer, living in Essex. He is a multiple time poetry slam champion, A Genesis Grand slam Champion and is the current Kent poetry champion. He performs his poetry across the country and has a poetry EP called ‘The Bear Necessities EP’ available on Spotify and other streaming platforms. You can follow Jake at @jakenathancreates on Instagram.

OPEN MIC

Open mic slots are 5 minutes each. We have a select number of Open Mic tickets available in advance - if you're lucky enough to grab one of these you're guaranteed a slot on the mic. We'll also have a limited number of slots for sign-ups on the night selected at random from the almighty poetry hat!

- Date / time: Weds 26th March. Doors 19:00, Start 19:30, End 22:00

- Price: All tickets £5

- Location: Hillbilly Social, 101 Myddleton Road, N22 8NE

- Tube: Bounds Green (8 mins walk)

- National Rail: Bowes Park (3 mins walk)

MARCH MARCHES ON AT GENESIS SLAM!

Goodness we had such a fabulous start to the year we thought we do it all again and bring you incredible poetry for March too!

Join us on Thursday 6th of March upstairs at the Genesis Cinema in Stepney Green for your monthly dose of friendly competitive poetry slamming!

Who will be next to join our 2025 grand final? AUDIENCE, YOU DECIDE!

TICKETS HERE! 

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:

Tickets are £1 each and must be booked in advance. Last slam we were SOLD OUT so grab yours quickly! If you book a ticket but then can't make it, please contact Genesis Cinema to release your ticket.

On the night, just grab a cocktail, a pie and a comfy sofa and watch poets battle it out for a chance to compete in our grand final in December!

POETS:

There are two ways to sign up for a slot:

1)     In the PRE SIGN-UP or

2)     ON THE NIGHT

We’re always looking for new ways to make our sign-up process fair and accessible for people and at the moment this is the most accessible format we’ve found.

To apply for a PRE SIGN-UP slot, simply comment on our Facebook event page (https://www.facebook.com/events/1028336145801103) or email poetry@genesis-cinema.co.uk. We have 4 female, 4 male and 4 non-binary slots available for the PRE SIGN-UP – so please let us know where you fall on the gender spectrum when you sign up. Please note we will not offer you a slot until you provide your gender info, so please include this when you get in touch to avoid disappointment. These spaces fill quickly and are strictly first come first served. Poets with a pre-sign up slot do not need to purchase tickets, your name will be on the door at the box office.

If you don’t get a pre-sign up slot, we will be reserving additional female, male and non-binary ON THE NIGHT slots, for those who want to try their luck. Again these ON THE NIGHT slots are strictly first come first served.

The slam is a 3 round slam, so please bring 3 poems just in case. Each poem should be 3 minutes or under.

If you’ve scored a PRE SIGN-UP slot please arrive by 7.15pm to keep your slot, or we will allocate it to the next person on the reserve list. To keep things fair for the other slammers, if you haven’t arrived by the time the slam has started and made yourself known to us, you won’t be able to perform!

No props, no costumes (reading your poem from paper or a phone is fine!) and no hate. Other than that the only thing to remember is that the points are not the point....
THE POINT IS THE POETRY!

Whether you come to share your poetry, or just to listen- we really are a very lucky bunch with friendly people and incredible poets!

We don’t have the reputation for being the friendliest slam in town for no reason! We have a great team at Genesis that are so helpful to all our audience and slammers, and we look after each other during the night!

You all make the space we hold as wonderful as it is - we really couldn’t do it without your words and your enthusiasm, which we want to match always! So bring all your good vibes our way and let’s continue 2025 in style!

Doors at 6:00pm for a 7:30pm start.

Homebrew is a freshly-brewed poetry open mic and feature night at the Hillbilly Social 101, Bounds Green.

Host Laurie Eaves invites you to come share your words on the open mic or just kick back with some lovely food and drink and check out feature sets from some of the UK's best poets.

Our next event is on Wednesday 26th of February and we've got two wonderful features in the forms of Kayla Martell Feldman and Sarthak Mukherji!

KAYLA MARTELL FELDMAN

Kayla Martell Feldman (she/they) is a multi-award-winning director and writer for the page, stage, and screen. They co-host the monthly poetry night Process and work with Safe Spoken to improve safeguarding and inclusion in poetry. Kayla is an alum of the Roundhouse Poetry Weekender and the NO BORDERS Artists Project at the Royal Court Theatre, and co-produced the Kirkby Lonsdale Poetry Festival in 2024. Her work has been widely published in North America, the UK, and online, and their second poetry collection Same Story is out now from Verve Poetry Press.

SARTHAK MUKHERJI

Sarthak is a poet who weaves thoughtful reflections with a dash of humor, finding meaning in the everyday and the extraordinary.

OPEN MIC

Open mic slots are 5 minutes each. We have a select number of Open Mic tickets available in advance - if you're lucky enough to grab one of these you're guaranteed a slot on the mic. We'll also have a limited number of slots for sign-ups on the night selected at random from the almighty poetry hat!

- Date / time: Weds 26th February. Doors 19:00, Start 19:30, End 22:00

- Price: All tickets £5

- Location: Hillbilly Social, 101 Myddleton Road, N22 8NE

- Tube: Bounds Green (8 mins walk)

- National Rail: Bowes Park (3 mins walk)

GENESIS POETRY WORKSHOP IS BACK FOR 2025!

The Genesis Slam crew are back with the first Genesis Poetry Workshop of the year and this time we’re exploring the big question: Why do we write?

Seeking out beauty, pure escapism, questioning the status quo, playing with language - writing poetry can serve as many purposes as there are people who write it. Whether seasoned veterans of verse or complete novices, this workshop is an invitation to explore the reasons behind putting words on paper. Through a combination of creative writing exercises, reading and discussion (as well as plenty of writing time!), it aims to provide insight on how one's purpose might influence one's writing, and how one might tap into it.

TICKETS HERE!

·       Place / Time: Genesis Cinema Bar (Upstairs), Mon 17th February, 19:00-21:30

·       Duration: 2 hours 30 mins approx.

·       Focus: Generating new writing, reconnecting with the reasons we write at all

·       Price: £10

·       Who’s Welcome: All abilities – from first-timers writers looking to pick up a pen in a safe environment to seasoned slammers looking to push their craft to the next level.

This workshop will be led by Genesis Slam’s own Panos Skoutelis. Panos is a Greek-born, London-based spoken word poet, known for his animated performative energy, which his friends describe as "someone in dire need of a wee". He draws inspiration from topics as disparate as the cracks in our education system, the beauty of quantum mechanics, and Hinge fatigue.

Feedback from previous Genesis Poetry Workshop participants:

“I'd recommend this workshop to every poet who wants a supportive space to share their work and develop in community with fellow poetry enthusiasts.”

“An intensely inspiring experience that has extended my writing practice and I would be very much interested in attending future workshops.”

“I enjoyed the poetry workshop at Genesis so much! It was inspiring to sit together and create.”

So why, why, why not join the Genesis Slam Crew on Monday 17th of February?!

GUESS WHO’S BACK! BACK AGAIN! GENESIS SLAM IS BACK – TELL A FRIEND!

Goodness we had such an incredible slam final in December and a break over January but we are BACK and ready to start our new season bringing you incredible poetry once again!

Join us on Thursday 6th of February upstairs at the Genesis Cinema in Stepney Green for your monthly dose of friendly competitive poetry slamming!

Who will be first to join our 2025 grand final? AUDIENCE, YOU DECIDE!

TICKETS HERE! 

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:

Tickets are £1 each and must be booked in advance. Last slam we were SOLD OUT so grab yours quickly! If you book a ticket but then can't make it, please contact Genesis Cinema to release your ticket.

On the night, just grab a cocktail, a pie and a comfy sofa and watch poets battle it out for a chance to compete in our grand final in December!

POETS:

There are two ways to sign up for a slot:

1)     In the PRE SIGN-UP or

2)     ON THE NIGHT

We’re always looking for new ways to make our sign-up process fair and accessible for people and at the moment this is the most accessible format we’ve found.

To apply for a PRE SIGN-UP slot, simply comment on our Facebook event page (https://www.facebook.com/events/629070862844955) or email poetry@genesis-cinema.co.uk. We have 4 female, 4 male and 4 non-binary slots available for the PRE SIGN-UP – so please let us know where you fall on the gender spectrum when you sign up. Please note we will not offer you a slot until you provide your gender info, so please include this when you get in touch to avoid disappointment. These spaces fill quickly and are strictly first come first served. Poets with a pre-sign up slot do not need to purchase tickets, your name will be on the door at the box office.

If you don’t get a pre-sign up slot, we will be reserving a couple of additional ON THE NIGHT slots, for those who want to try their luck. Again these ON THE NIGHT slots are strictly first come first served.

We’re a 3 round slam, so please bring 3 poems just in case. Each poem should be 3 minutes or under.

If you’ve scored a PRE SIGN-UP slot please arrive by 7.15pm to keep your slot, or we will allocate it to the next person on the reserve list. To keep things fair for the other slammers, if you haven’t arrived by the time the slam has started and made yourself known to us, you won’t be able to perform!

No props, no costumes (reading your poem from paper or a phone is fine!) and no hate. Other than that the only thing to remember is that the points are not the point....
THE POINT IS THE POETRY!

Whether you come to share your poetry, or just to listen- we really are a very lucky bunch with friendly people and incredible poets!

We don’t have the reputation for being the friendliest slam in town for no reason! We have a great team at Genesis that are so helpful to all our audience and slammers, and we look after each other during the night!

You all make the space we hold as wonderful as it is - we really couldn’t do it without your words and your enthusiasm, which we want to match always! So bring all your good vibes our way and let’s kick off 2025 in style!

Doors at 18:00 for a 19:30 start.

Homebrew is a freshly-brewed poetry night at the Hillbilly Social 101, Bounds Green.

Host Laurie Eaves invites you to come share your words on the open mic or just kick back with some lovely food and drink and check out work from some of the UK's best poets.

Our next event is on Wednesday 22nd of January and this month we're doing something a little different...

THE COUCH OF CONTEMPLATION WITH SPECIAL GUEST MATT CUMMINS!

To kick off 2025, we're sacking off our usual "two features and open mic" format to play The Couch of Contemplation - a game that features a whole lot of open mic!

WHERE DID THE COUCH OF CONTEMPLATION COME FROM?

The game was devised at the beloved London poetry night Forget What You Heard by Rikki Livermore and Matt Cummins... and we're absolutely over the moon that Matt is joining us to co-host this event!

HOW DOES THE COUCH OF CONTEMPLATION WORK?

The hosts kick off each half of the night with a poem. Once they've finished we play a little music while the poets in the room decide if they feel inspired in any way by the piece they just heard, or perhaps have some work of their own they feel they could follow the poem up with, whether the link is a phrase, a line, a theme, a disagreement or even just a feeling deep down inside!

Those who feel they might like to "follow-on" from the poem make their way to the Couch of Contemplation and state their case. Then all of us assembled on the couch have a good old natter and decide who performs next. We do this until we're all so overstuffed with verse and warm feelings that we just can't manage another stanza!

Over the course of the night we'll weave the narrative threads of our poems together into a very cool tapestry.

WHY DO WE PLAY THIS SILLY GAME?

More than any other Open Mic format, the Couch of Contemplation encourages everyone to listen closely to the poems being performed. You won't know what poem you're going to read until your gut tells you that you've got the perfect follow-on from someone else's poem, so keeping a keen ear is key. We think it's a great format that helps us all really take in what others are writing and encourages discussions amongst our community.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR TICKETING?

This month all tickets are general admission - just turn up, listen and see if anthing sparks off your imagination. As long as you have a good range of poems on different subjects, it's pretty likely you'll get to perform.

CAN I PERFORM MORE THAN ONCE?

Yes, as long as you make a compelling case for why you have the perfect poem to continue the thread. We try and make things as fair as possible and will try and give as many people as possible a first go before offering out second slots.

CAN I JUST WATCH?

Absolutely, you can grab a general admission ticket and just kick back and watch. At the Couch of Contemplation we encourage audience members to chat between poems and you have more chance to discuss what you liked about a performance than at a standard open mic. And hey, if the mood takes you, you could always read something (it doesn't have to be your own work).

- Date / time: Weds 22nd January. Doors 19:00, Start 19:30, End 22:00

- Price: All tickets £5

- Location: Hillbilly Social, 101 Myddleton Road, N22 8NE

- Tube: Bounds Green (8 mins walk)

- National Rail: Bowes Park (3 mins walk)

It’s time! The poets have spoken, the judges have voted and now we’ve arrived at the GENESIS POETRY SLAM 2024 FINAL!

Join us in the bar at the Genesis Cinema on Thursday 5th of December, where our new Genesis Grand Slam champion will be crowned! There can only be one winner, but who will it be? YOU DECIDE!

TICKETS HERE! 

We have NINE of our fantastic monthly heat-winners returning to duke it out for the title and they’re the crème de a crème, the cat’s pyjamas, the top bananas…

·       Representing February… GEORGIE WILEMAN

·       Representing March… KOFI ACHINA

·       Representing April… ELLE DILLON-REAMS

·       Representing May… REDEEMING FEATURES

·       Representing June… SVEN STEARS

·       Representing July… TIM KIELY

·       Representing September… SAM BROWNE

·       Representing October… JAKE NATHAN

·       Representing November… PATRICK BAXTER

PLUS, if that’s not enough for you – we’re very pleased to welcome one of our favourite poets on the whole damn planet KAT FRANÇOIS to kick off the show!

Kat François is a Performance and Movement based Artist, Writer and Educator, Writing and Performance Coach, and is a World Poetry Slam Champion. Kat has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, Saturday Live and Woman’s Hour, as well as BBC TV & Sky, and featured on BBC television’s Paul Whitehouse: Our Troubled Rivers. She has written and performed solo plays and comedy shows.

She is published in many anthologies and recently won a short story competition with her piece, INDIGO WATERS, which is featured in HIDDEN REALMS, SHORT STORIES, published by Flame Tree Publishing. RAISING LAZARUS, her play about Caribbean soldiers in the First World War, has been published by TSL Publications. Kat is currently working on a full poetry collection, a novel based on the experiences of Caribbean soldiers in World War One, a collection of short stories, as well as fiction and poetry for children.

All this for just £5! And if that’s STILL not enough for you, there’ll be the usual shenanigans and singsongs from the Genesis Slam Crew! (Warning: There will be Christmas music if Laurie has anything to do with it.)

There’s only one thing missing that would make the night perfect – YOU! Come cheer on your favourite poets and help us find our Genesis Slam 2024 Champion!

Our finals truly are one of the best poetry nights in the country – if you think the heats are good, you ain’t seen nothing yet! So whatever you do, don’t you dare miss this one and remember the points aren’t the point, the point is… THE POETRY!

Doors: 18:00

Start: 19:30

Curfew: 23:00 – Please note the final may run later than our monthly heats

*PLEASE NOTE: The final is not an open slam. Only poets who have qualified through one of our 2024 monthly heats can compete. Our next open heat will be in February 2025.*

Homebrew is a freshly-brewed poetry open mic and feature night at the Hillbilly Social 101, Bounds Green.

Host Laurie Eaves invites you to come share your words on the open mic or just kick back with some lovely food and drink and check out feature sets from some of the UK's best poets.

Our next event is on Wednesday 27th of November and we've gone and booked two wonderful features in the forms of Sumner Brook and Hannah Chutzpah!

TICKETS HERE!

SUMNER BROOK

Sumner Brook (they/them) is a poet, writer, comic and activist from South East London. Like a reverse youth pastor, they're here to plant subversive thoughts while you chuckle at their politically flavoured nonsense.

Sumner is a BBC Young Writer of the Year finalist and Roundhouse Poetry Slam semi-finalist. They're a regular at London open mics and have been featured by events including the Totally Thames Festival, Process Productions, Trans History Week, Extra Second London, Catford Pride, Fed Up and Rhymes & Stitches. They think you look very nice today.

HANNAH CHUTZPAH

Hannah Chutzpah has been described as 'fine' by three therapists, as 'of good character' by a high court judge, and as a 'potential maggot-thrower' by the Metropolitan Police. She studied creative writing at the University of East Anglia, and has been performing poetry since 2009, at venues ranging from Occupy Protests to the Royal Albert Hall. Hannah has taken one-woman poetry shows to the Edinburgh Fringe, and once on a UK Tour.

She is one third of the Dead Darlings Podcast, and hosted Incite, London's longest-running LGBTQ+ spoken word night, for four years. Hannah’s third collection, Permeable, was published by Burning Eye Books in 2017.

OPEN MIC

Open mic slots are 5 minutes each. We have a select number of Open Mic tickets available in advance - if you're lucky enough to grab one of these you're guaranteed a slot on the mic. We'll also have a limited number of slots for sign-ups on the night selected at random from the almighty poetry hat!

- Date / time: Weds 27th November. Doors 19:00, Start 19:30, End 22:00

- Price: All tickets £5

- Location: Hillbilly Social, 101 Myddleton Road, N22 8NE

- Tube: Bounds Green (8 mins walk)

- National Rail: Bowes Park (3 mins walk)

HATERS GONNA HATE OUR HATE POETRY WORKSHOP!

The Genesis Slam crew are back with the next Genesis Poetry Workshop and this time it’s all about hate. That’s right – for one evening only, we’re sacking off gushy love sonnets and going to Room 101 to explore our biggest pet peeves, the niggles that get under our skin and just make us want to scream.

TICKETS HERE!

Hate is a state of mind we all try to avoid, but it’s a word we use for a multitude of reasons on a daily basis. It permeates the course of human history and is perhaps one of the strongest feelings we experience. It’s intoxicating as it is destructive, but is also hugely fertile ground for poetry! From rhymes to rants to raps, poets have always written to get things off their chest, so if you’re ready to vent your spleen, this is the workshop for you!

Please note: although we’re exploring hate poetry in this workshop, this is not a place for hate speech. We’re creating a fun space to write about the niggles that frustrate us, not carte blanche for bigotry – racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, sexism and any other forms of discrimination are not acceptable here (or anywhere else).

·       Place / Time: Genesis Cinema Bar (Upstairs), Mon 18th November, 19:00-21:30

·       Duration: 2 hours 30 mins approx.

·       Focus: Generating new writing

·       Price: £10

·       Who’s Welcome: All abilities – from first-timers writers looking to pick up a pen in a safe environment to seasoned slammers looking to push their craft to the next level.

This workshop will be led by Genesis Slam’s own Panos Skoutelis. Panos is a Greek-born, London-based spoken word poet, known for his animated performative energy, which his friends describe as "someone in dire need of a wee". He draws inspiration from topics as disparate as the cracks in our education system, the beauty of quantum mechanics, and Hinge fatique. His hate poem about a pooing pigeon needs to be heard to be believed.

Feedback from previous Genesis Poetry Workshop participants:

“I'd recommend this workshop to every poet who wants a supportive space to share their work and develop in community with fellow poetry enthusiasts.”

“An intensely inspiring experience that has extended my writing practice and I would be very much interested in attending future workshops.”

“I enjoyed the poetry workshop at Genesis so much! It was inspiring to sit together and create.”

Answer the call of the wild and join us at the Genesis Cinema bar on Monday 30th September!

REMEMBER, REMEMBER GENESIS POETRY SLAM IS 7th OF NOVEMBER!

Yes folks, we’re back to blow your minds once again with incredible FREE poetry and it’s our final heat of the year before our GRAND FINAL in December.

Join us on Thursday 7th November upstairs at the Genesis Cinema in Stepney Green for your monthly dose of friendly competitive poetry slamming!

Who will be next to join our other amazing poets in the final? AUDIENCE, YOU DECIDE! Poets, this is your last chance to qualify for the final, so you don’t want to miss this one!

TICKETS HERE! 

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:

 Tickets are £1 each and must be booked in advance. Last slam we were SOLD OUT so grab yours quickly! If you book a ticket but then can't make it, please contact Genesis Cinema to release your ticket.

 On the night, just grab a cocktail, a pie and a comfy sofa and watch poets battle it out for a chance to compete in our grand final in December!

 POETS:

 There are two ways to sign up for a slot:

1)     In the PRE SIGN-UP or

2)     ON THE NIGHT

 We’re always looking for new ways to make our sign-up process fair and accessible for people and at the moment this is the most accessible format we’ve found.

 To apply for a PRE SIGN-UP slot, simply comment on our Facebook event page or email poetry@genesis-cinema.co.uk. We have 4 female, 4 male and 4 non-binary slots available for the PRE SIGN-UP – so please let us know where you fall on the gender spectrum when you sign up. Please note we will not offer you a slot until you provide your gender info, so please include this when you get in touch to avoid disappointment. These spaces fill quickly and are strictly first come first served. Poets with a pre-sign up slot do not need to purchase tickets, your name will be on the door at the box office.

If you don’t get a pre-sign up slot, we will be reserving a couple of additional ON THE NIGHT slots, for those who want to try their luck. Again these ON THE NIGHT slots are strictly first come first served.

 We’re a 3 round slam, so please bring 3 poems just in case. Each poem should be 3 minutes or under.

If you’ve scored a PRE SIGN-UP slot please arrive by 7.15pm to keep your slot, or we will allocate it to the next person on the reserve list. To keep things fair for the other slammers, if you haven’t arrived by the time the slam has started and made yourself known to us, you won’t be able to perform!

No props, no costumes (reading your poem from paper or a phone is fine!) and no hate. Other than that the only thing to remember is that the points are not the point.... THE POINT IS THE POETRY!

Whether you come to share your poetry, or just to listen- we really are a very lucky bunch with friendly people and incredible poets!

We don’t have the reputation for being the friendliest slam in town for no reason! We have a great team at Genesis that are so helpful to all our audience and slammers, and we look after each other during the night!

You all make the space we hold as wonderful as it is - we really couldn’t do it without your words and your enthusiasm, which we want to match always! So bring all your good vibes our way and let’s continue 2024 in style!

Doors at 18:00 for a 19:30 start.

Homebrew is a freshly-brewed poetry open mic and feature night at the newly-opened Hillbilly Social 101, Bounds Green.

Host Laurie Eaves invites you to come share your words on the open mic or just kick back with some lovely food and drink and check out feature sets from some of the UK's best poets.

Our next event is on Wednesday 23rd of October and we've only gone and booked England Slam Champion Sven Stears and former UK Slam Champion Tyrone Lewis! Cor blimey!

TICKETS HERE!

SVEN STEARS

Sven Stears is a multi-grand-slam champion, English National Slam Champion and performance poet. They have performed across the UK and Europe, winning multiple slams in both the UK and Germany. Their heartfelt poetry touches on themes of personal loss, societal trauma, mental health and addiction, but always with little messages of hope.

"Some of the most painfully raw songwriting I've heard all year. Brilliant but emotionally shattering work." Tom Robinson - BBC Radio 6 MUSIC

TYRONE LEWIS

A pop-culture powerhouse of a poet. As comfortable in front of a camera as he is behind it, Tyrone is a full time video editor. He says words to people sometimes.

Tyrone Lewis (He/him), UK Poetry Slam Champion, Roundhouse Poetry Slam Champion, Axis Poetry Slam Champion and Author of his debut collection 'Blackish' and its sequel, '2 Black 2 Furious'.

Tyrone is the Founder of Process Production as well as its monthly Spoken Word Night; Process. He was also one of the inaugural Albany Associate Artists as well as hosting, producing, and featuring at many Spoken Word nights across the UK.

Tyrone has also been involved with a number of major national poetry events over the years including 2010's Word Cup, 2012's Shake The Dust and 2015's Shot From The Lip, as well as helping out with UniSlam in from 2016 - present.

OPEN MIC

Open mic slots are 5 minutes each. We have a select number of Open Mic tickets available in advance - if you're lucky enough to grab one of these you're guaranteed a slot on the mic. We'll also have a limited number of slots for sign-ups on the night selected at random from the almighty poetry hat!

- Date / time: Weds 23rd October. Doors 19:00, Start 19:30, End 22:00

- Price: All tickets £5

- Location: Hillbilly Social, 101 Myddleton Road, N22 8NE

- Tube: Bounds Green (8 mins walk)

- National Rail: Bowes Park (3 mins walk)

I’m featuring at the inaugural Slamden, Camden’s own, and the UK’s only, Sober, Metal, Poetry Slam. Hosted by English National Slam Champion Sven Stears.

TICKETS AND INFO HERE

FALL FALLS ON GENESIS POETRY SLAM IN A NATIONAL POETRY DAY SPECIAL!

Yes folks, the leaves are turning a treacle umber and we’re back to blow your minds once again with incredible FREE poetry! And as the calendars have aligned, it’s only a NATIONAL POETRY DAY SPECIAL!

Join us on Thursday 3rd October upstairs at the Genesis Cinema in Stepney Green for your monthly dose of friendly competitive poetry slamming!

Who will be next to join our 2024 grand final? AUDIENCE, YOU DECIDE!

TICKETS HERE! 

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:

 Tickets are £1 each and must be booked in advance. Last slam we were SOLD OUT so grab yours quickly! If you book a ticket but then can't make it, please contact Genesis Cinema to release your ticket.

 On the night, just grab a cocktail, a pie and a comfy sofa and watch poets battle it out for a chance to compete in our grand final in December!

 POETS:

 There are two ways to sign up for a slot:

1)     In the PRE SIGN-UP or

2)     ON THE NIGHT

 We’re always looking for new ways to make our sign-up process fair and accessible for people and at the moment this is the most accessible format we’ve found.

 To apply for a PRE SIGN-UP slot, simply comment on our Facebook event pagee or email poetry@genesis-cinema.co.uk. We have 4 female, 4 male and 4 non-binary slots available for the PRE SIGN-UP – so please let us know where you fall on the gender spectrum when you sign up. Please note we will not offer you a slot until you provide your gender info, so please include this when you get in touch to avoid disappointment. These spaces fill quickly and are strictly first come first served. Poets with a pre-sign up slot do not need to purchase tickets, your name will be on the door at the box office.

If you don’t get a pre-sign up slot, we will be reserving a couple of additional ON THE NIGHT slots, for those who want to try their luck. Again these ON THE NIGHT slots are strictly first come first served.

 We’re a 3 round slam, so please bring 3 poems just in case. Each poem should be 3 minutes or under.

If you’ve scored a PRE SIGN-UP slot please arrive by 7.15pm to keep your slot, or we will allocate it to the next person on the reserve list. To keep things fair for the other slammers, if you haven’t arrived by the time the slam has started and made yourself known to us, you won’t be able to perform!

No props, no costumes (reading your poem from paper or a phone is fine!) and no hate. Other than that the only thing to remember is that the points are not the point.... THE POINT IS THE POETRY!

Whether you come to share your poetry, or just to listen- we really are a very lucky bunch with friendly people and incredible poets!

We don’t have the reputation for being the friendliest slam in town for no reason! We have a great team at Genesis that are so helpful to all our audience and slammers, and we look after each other during the night!

You all make the space we hold as wonderful as it is - we really couldn’t do it without your words and your enthusiasm, which we want to match always! So bring all your good vibes our way and let’s continue 2024 in style!

Doors at 18:00 for a 19:30 start.

GENESIS POETRY WORKSHOP GOES WILD!

The Genesis Slam crew are back with the next Genesis Poetry Workshop and this time it’s all about the wild. In this workshop, we’ll be writing all about the natural world, from rugged heather-covered wildernesses to weird and wonderful flora and fauna.

TICKETS HERE!

We’ll be looking at why writers are fascinated by the wild, learning what the natural world can teach us about ourselves and having a crack at writing our own poems inspired by the wild. Don’t worry – it won’t be all hippy-dippy daffodils and wandering lonely as clouds: if you’re ready to explore new landscapes and wildlife in your writing, this is the workshop for you!

·       Place / Time: Genesis Cinema Bar (Upstairs), Thurs 30th September, 19:00-21:30

·       Duration: 2 hours 30 mins approx.

·       Focus: Generating new writing

·       Price: £10

·       Who’s Welcome: All abilities – from first-timers writers looking to pick up a pen in a safe environment to seasoned slammers looking to push their craft to the next level.

This workshop will be led by Genesis Slam’s own Laurie Eaves. Laurie is a writer and editor who hosts Genesis Slam, Homebrew Poetry, the Vogon Slam and the Dead Darlings spoken word podcast. His work has been published by Bad Betty Press, Broken Sleep Books and Fawn Press amongst many others. His debut full-length collection Biceps is out on Burning Eye Books.

Feedback from previous Genesis Poetry Workshop participants:

“I'd recommend this workshop to every poet who wants a supportive space to share their work and develop in community with fellow poetry enthusiasts.”

“An intensely inspiring experience that has extended my writing practice and I would be very much interested in attending future workshops.”

“I enjoyed the poetry workshop at Genesis so much! It was inspiring to sit together and create.”

Answer the call of the wild and join us at the Genesis Cinema bar on Monday 30th September!

Homebrew is a freshly-brewed poetry open mic and feature night at the newly-opened Hillbilly Social 101, Bounds Green.

Host Laurie Eaves invites you to come share your words on the open mic or just kick back with some lovely drinks and check out feature sets from some of the UK's best poets.

Our next event is on Wednesday 25th of September with incredible feature sets from the fantastic Ellie de Satgé and the fabulous Danny Mash!

TICKETS HERE!

ELLIE DE SATGÉ

Ellie de Satgé is a London based poet & facilitator. She completed her creative writing BA & MA at the University of Birmingham, and was one of the co-coaches for the Birmingham Unislam team in 2023, bringing the team to victory in first place. She was also the Volunteers co-ordinator for the Kirkby Lonsdale poetry festival 2022 and will be an organiser for the next festival. Ellie now lives in Greenwich and runs a monthly poetry night, called “Everything”. Her debut pamphlet, “Rein it in”, is out now with Broken Sleep Books.

DANNY MASH

Danny Mash is the meal deal of the spoken word scene.

With a little something for everyone at unbelievable value for money, he'll leave you feeling like you've discovered the meaning of life.

OPEN MIC

Open mic slots are 5 minutes each. We have a select number of Open Mic tickets available in advance - if you're lucky enough to grab one of these you're guaranteed a slot on the mic. We'll also have a limited number of slots for sign-ups on the night selected at random from the almighty poetry hat!

- Date / time: Weds 25th September. Doors 19:00, Start 19:30, End 22:00

- Price: All tickets £5

- Location: Hillbilly Social, 101 Myddleton Road, N22 8NE

- Tube: Bounds Green (8 mins walk)

- National Rail: Bowes Park (3 mins walk)

I’ll be reading at the launch of Off the Chest’s Spaces of Significance anthology at Rich Mix!

TICKETS HERE!

Expect readings from some of the poets published within the anthology, as well as a feature set from internationally acclaimed, multi-award-winning poet and best-selling author, Anthony Anaxagorou FRSL.

This anthology is published in association with Broken Sleep Books and Bad Betty Press. The poetry in this anthology spans wide and diverse spaces – from the girls’ toilets to the ocean floor.

Edited by acclaimed poets and publishers Aaron Kent of Broken Sleep Books and Jake Wild Hall of Bad Betty Press, the anthology includes poetry from award-winning poets Dean Atta, Laurie Bolger, Molly Naylor, Francis-Xavier Mukiibi, James McDermott, and many more.

From 2pm there will be a writing workshop in the space, before the main event which starts at 3pm. As part of this, there will also be a mini open mic session where you can perform your own work on this theme, plus performances from poets in the anthology. As ever, hosts Iftikhar Latif and Ella Dorman-Gajic will be welcoming you to the space.

DO YOU REMEMBER? GENESIS SLAM IS BACK IN SEPTEMBER!

 That’s right folks, fresh off our usual summer break the Genesis Slam crew is back to blow your minds once again with incredible poetry this September!

 Join us on Thursday 5th September upstairs at the Genesis Cinema in Stepney Green for your monthly dose of friendly competitive poetry slamming!

Who will be next to join our 2024 grand final? AUDIENCE, YOU DECIDE!

TICKETS HERE! 

AUDIENCE MEMBERS:

 Tickets are £1 each and must be booked in advance. Last slam we were SOLD OUT so grab yours quickly! If you book a ticket but then can't make it, please contact Genesis Cinema to release your ticket.

 On the night, just grab a cocktail, a pie and a comfy sofa and watch poets battle it out for a chance to compete in our grand final in December!

 POETS:

 There are two ways to sign up for a slot:

1)     In the PRE SIGN-UP or

2)     ON THE NIGHT

 We’re always looking for new ways to make our sign-up process fair and accessible for people and at the moment this is the most accessible format we’ve found.

 To apply for a PRE SIGN-UP slot, simply comment on our Facebook event page or email poetry@genesis-cinema.co.uk. We have 4 female, 4 male and 4 non-binary slots available for the PRE SIGN-UP – so please let us know where you fall on the gender spectrum when you sign up. Please note we will not offer you a slot until you provide your gender info, so please include this when you get in touch to avoid disappointment. These spaces fill quickly and are strictly first come first served. Poets with a pre-sign up slot do not need to purchase tickets, your name will be on the door at the box office.

If you don’t get a pre-sign up slot, we will be reserving a couple of additional ON THE NIGHT slots, for those who want to try their luck. Again these ON THE NIGHT slots are strictly first come first served.

 We’re a 3 round slam, so please bring 3 poems just in case. Each poem should be 3 minutes or under.

If you’ve scored a PRE SIGN-UP slot please arrive by 7.15pm to keep your slot, or we will allocate it to the next person on the reserve list. To keep things fair for the other slammers, if you haven’t arrived by the time the slam has started and made yourself known to us, you won’t be able to perform!

No props, no costumes (reading your poem from paper or a phone is fine!) and no hate. Other than that the only thing to remember is that the points are not the point.... THE POINT IS THE POETRY!

Whether you come to share your poetry, or just to listen- we really are a very lucky bunch with friendly people and incredible poets!

We don’t have the reputation for being the friendliest slam in town for no reason! We have a great team at Genesis that are so helpful to all our audience and slammers, and we look after each other during the night!

You all make the space we hold as wonderful as it is - we really couldn’t do it without your words and your enthusiasm, which we want to match always! So bring all your good vibes our way and let’s continue 2024 in style!

Doors at 18:00 for a 19:30 start.

I’m reading at the launch of Issue 14 of Fourteen Poems on Tues 3rd Sept at Tenderbooks London.

Full details and tickets here!