Interview with Julian Jordan of Write Out Loud

Last week I had the good fortune to speak with Julian Jordan, the co-founder of Write Out Loud, a grassroots organisation dedicated to encouraging poetry in the UK – mainly through a very extensive and very user-friendly gig guide, though they also host their own events and feature reviews, poet profiles and literary news.  

They’re the UK’s largest live poetry resource, and if you’ve any interest in poetry at all, the site is very worth bookmarking and checking on. If you’re on ABC, and you write, then you should seriously consider about getting involved with some of their open mic nights – reading is the best to get your work out there, to force you to finish and polish your poems and is a great opportunity to meet and discuss with other writers.

How did Write Out Loud get started?

It was in a pub – as ever. A friend of mine called me and said, “Julian there’s a chap running a poetry night down the pub, would you like to come?” and I said, “I don’t like poetry” and he said “of course you do – everyone likes poetry.” So I took my poems, and for the first time in my life, I read them. I came out as a poet, if you like, and I enjoyed the evening even though there were only 6 people there.

I was so taken with the notion of people sharing their poems with each other I found out who else was doing things like that and started sending emails out to people, letting them know where they could read their stuff, and it got me writing. Myself and a pal took over the event, moved it to another venue and the thing grew. And that’s how it started – at the back of the pub, with people showing poetry to one another.

Then at one point, my son said, “Dad, you need a website,” and he created the website for me, and the sites grown and grown – we’re at 45,000 visits a month.

And are you still writing yourself?

Very rarely these days – though I do script-writing. I run a few workshops, now and then, for people interested in doing live poetry. Lets call it that - I don’t like the label ‘performance poetry.’

And what are the ingredients of a good poetry performance (if you’re willing to share a few tricks of the trade)?

People are so different – but one of the things most people need to do more than they do, is edit their work. Editing is so crucial – and feedback. Get some feedback before you stand up there in front of people. And, ideally, rehearse – record yourself and be your own critic. Remember - less is more.

And do respond to feedback, as well.

That’s what I find – the people who get the most from feedback are those who engage with it and respond in kind. Not only do you learn more by critiquing, but that effort is paid back to you in spades.

One of the things I’d say to anyone who’s writing is – whilst you can learn from other people, you also need to enjoy playing with ideas. Enjoy playing with words and how they sound and what they do – have fun with it. It’s part of that notion of turning the censors off. Don’t be strait-jacketed into copying what other people do. Try something different.

And do you have any recommendations for nerves?

Why yes – don’t have them! Having said that I always have nerves myself –you need that frisson to avoid complacency, I suppose. The thing about confidence – you have to learn not to worry about it. Sometimes you’re reading it for you, not for them. Again - turn off the censors.

Another thing that’s really important is for people to enunciate and make themselves heard – because so many times people mumble or read something sotto voce. Reading poetry is like being on the stage in a theatre – you can’t behave as if you’re on camera, you have to project. Don’t put a barrier between your poem and people enjoying it.

It’s part of the oral tradition, isn’t it - the act of declaiming poetry. It is so different to the act of reading it on a page.

Isn’t it? Many a time Write Out Loud has been accused of dumbing down poetry by people who feel that allowing anyone to turn up with anything, and not being judgmental about that, is somehow dumbing down poetry, because we’re not challenging them to be better.

But you have to give people a chance –

Precisely. My background is in Adult community education. And that’s informed the way we designed the website and the way we go about our events. If we run an open mic, I always say that if someone turns up and they might want to read, we make sure they get the opportunity. One of the regulars will stand down and let them read instead. There’s nothing worse than someone turning up, wanting to read, and going home not having done so.

It takes a lot of bravery to come out to an event and read in front of people for the first time.

Tread carefully, because you’re treading on dreams. There’s that age-old question people ask when they turn up – ‘Is it any good?’ – that’s what they all ask themselves, but that’s not the right question.

The right question is, ‘Will people enjoy this?’ And I find that even if it’s doggerel, people will enjoy the message, or the fact that you are the person reading your own poem.

Can you tell us about some of the events that Write Out Loud puts on?

We run monthly events in Wigan, Bolton, Stockport, Sale, Marsden and Middleton – and we’ve just started a new night near Huddersfield.

You also do profiles for poets on Writeoutloud?

The point of the profiles is for people to have a chance to write about themselves. We haven’t had the resource to push it – but the idea is to provide people with a miniature website for their work. You can put your own events calendar up, which links to the main gig guide, and you can then link it to Facebook and social media.

We also have group profiles for people running their own open mic nights.

Any last words of advice for poets starting out – and trying to get a foothold?

Depends what you’re trying to get a foothold in, because there’s a split between those who think you’re not a poet until your published, while I and many others believe reading at open mic nights is as legitimate as publication, for the reasons that you said – it’s a difficult thing to do. It takes a lot of courage.

For the poet just starting out – apart from the fact that you need to edit edit edit, you should go along to a friendly open mic night and talk to people. Read lots of poems, listen to lots of performances – and learn from them.

Rehearse, practice, write write write write write. Write, edit and perform.