BBC Contains Strong Language, BBC 1Xtra and BBC Asian Network presented the Words First Summer Showcase celebrating the most talented poets and spoken word artists aged 18-30 from across the UK.
This free evening of world class poetry was hosted by Yasser (Asian Network, Radio 1) with special guest Jude Yawson, co-author of Stormzy’s book Rise Up: The #Merky Story So Far and a performance from Words First 2016 finalist, Amina Jama.
Words First is a talent development scheme searching for the best emerging spoken word artists in the UK. Following professional mentorship and regional showcases in Edinburgh, Bristol, Newcastle, London and Manchester, the most stand out poets were selected to go on to perform at the Summer Showcase. Six poets will be selected from the showcase to perform at the Contains Strong Language festival in Hull (27th – 29th September). This performance will be broadcast live from 1Xtra and the BBC Asian Network and poets will also be published in a new book of poetry edited by Jude Yawson.
Poets
Esther Koch, Safwat Elsenossi, Amina Atiq, Heidi Henders, Courtney Ama Stodart, Luke Alexander-Grose, Prerana Kumar, Birdspeed, Tom Denbigh, Christy Ku, Danny Martin, Raheela Suleman.
