Reaching our 100th post on TheSpeakersCorner.co.uk is a great achievement and another proud benchmark in our continued growth. The creation of these first hundred posts has been an exciting journey which has seen the initial idea for the website having grown into something larger and stronger than we’d ever envisaged.
With the quality and quantity of spoken-word in the UK (and indeed internationally) having risen with each passing month, it’s been a privilege to both document and contribute to the growth of this exciting art form.
We’ve enjoyed interviews with Mark Grist, Luke Wright and The Ruby Kid and we’re very proud to have built a portfolio of exclusive videos with many more talented artists (including John Berkavitch, Polarbear, Spoz, Hollie McNish, Inua Ellams, Tony Walsh (aka ‘Longfella’), Stephen James Smith and Andy Craven-Griffiths amongst others!).
We’ve reported on dozens of events in Bristol (many at the superb cultural hub that is the Bristol Old Vic), covered the high-profile launch event of Kate Tempest’s debut collection at Waterloo’s Old Vic in London and joined the discussion regarding products, shows and videos via our website, on Twitter and more recently, on Facebook.
As the website has grown, so has the team of contributors involved behind the scenes. This has brought greater expertise and creativity to the melting pot, strengthening and also diversifying the content we create in our posts. We caught up with two of our most frequent contributors to hear what the 100th Post means for them.
Thoughts from our lead writer Alex Saunders (www.twitter.com/al_saunders) –
“It’s been an eventful year since I joined TheSpeakersCorner.co.uk last July. With over twenty reviews now on the website, it’s been a real pleasure to document this loquacious art form in its many guises. Venturing into the basement theatre of the iconic Bristol Old Vic every month has introduced me to some incredibly talented poets and I’ve done my best to convey the excitement, intrigue and diversity of each event. As TheSpeakersCorner.co.uk reaches a century of posts, the future looks bright as a new chapter begins.”
Thoughts from our resident photographer George Dallimore (www.twitter.com/G_Dallimore) –
“I got involved as a photographer without really knowing a great deal about spoken-word but since then I’ve really fallen for the art form; I’ve now grown a keen interest and I’ve become an ambassador of spoken-word amongst my friends. It’s hugely enjoyable and in most cases a real ‘brain-strengthening’ event which I’ve introduced to as many new people as possible!”
Whilst the 100th post is indeed a time for reflection and celebration, it’s also a time to look forward.
We believe we’ve built a strong foundation so far, but as we begin creating our next hundred posts we hope to be bigger, better and broader in scope. With the growth in popularity of spoken-word and the thrilling new creative territory being explored by the artists in the scene, we can’t wait to see what lays await as we begin this next chapter in our journey!