Mothers Who Make Devon and Spork! present ‘Mothers on the Mic’, a series of online workshops and open mic events across June led by Mother Artists for mothers/carers/mothers to be/people who birth. 

Join Hannah Silva for a playful approach to sound poetry inspired by living with a baby for 10 months - we will explore articulations, vocal sounds and the stretching, tangling and reversing of words. Our practical session will be prefaced with a brief audio tour of sound poetry, including listening to poets imitating birds and describing fish. Although aimed at adults, we may discover that children want to join our experimenting and composing, and babies make appreciative audiences. 

Participants will be invited to share extracts of their work in an Open Mic style sharing on Monday 29 June at 10am, 1pm or 8pm. Each sharing will be closed to workshop participants and headlined by either Hannah Silva, Charlotte Mooney, Shagufta K Iqbal or Liv Torc. Participation is optional. The event will be recorded for a podcast.

Image: Kieren Sibley

Hannah Silva is a British writer and performer known for her innovative explorations of form, voice and language. Her solo performances layer up vocal sounds and poetry, creating sonic explorations of meaning and sense. Her latest performance Schlock! splices Fifty Shades of Grey with a novel by Kathy Acker, celebrating ‘the slipperiness of words, reinventing them so that none of them are safe’ (The Guardian). Her debut record Talk in a Bit is out now, with Humankind Records (featured in The Wire’s Top 25 Albums of 2018). She is also an award-winning writer of radio plays. 

Cost workshops and open mic sharing: £5

10 places available. (Funded places available)