Tim is a Poet, photographer and founder of Write Speak Recover. He is our poetry curator and connects us to the spoken word community. Keep an eye out for him pouring his heart out at a poetry event!
Ameer’s poetry screams out with things only he has seen or imagined, shared in carefully curated landscapes that take you on a (sometimes shocking) journey. It seemed suitable to share this edition on Halloween, a day when lines between worlds real and unreal, of the living and the dead
When one meets Laurie, it’s impossible not to be struck by her authenticity and vulnerability – she's someone who is in full grasp of her honest self. We first met at a Sober AF Poetry night and Laurie’s stage presence was simultaneously gentle and fierce. It takes
I have only heard Seb speak once at a poetry event, the poem below, (and a mad one about croissants!) and the performance stayed with me. This episode is exactly why I decided not to solely focus on recovery as it might usually be spoken about in addiction and sobriety.
"Oh gosh what can I say about Lizzie to do her justice? She is a siren, she calls out from a place that can’t be calmed. With a voice that has to be heard. Telling stories that are at once profoundly personal and universally relatable. Whenever I hear
A few words on Simon
"You’ll notice references to heaven and hell and the inner self in Simon’s poem in this offering of Write Speak Recover. So, I don’t think it was an accident that he was wearing a Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel t-shirt when we met
"Hannah created the Lost Souls poetry nights and always videos the poets.
Later sharing the recordings on Instagram as a lovely way to honour their work. The best part of this is you can hear Hannah’s “hmmms” and “wows” as the poets speak. Little offers of love and
"In talking to, and listening to Sasha's poetry you'll be met by a deep poetic knowledge and understanding of the natural world, and the challenges it faces. I always learn something when I talk to Sasha, about identity, the body, the planet. Gentle lessons about
"I first heard Kellie at Lost Souls Poetry night. I felt kinda off myself that day and didn’t like how I read but in the break they were super kind and told me they’d connected with it. I wasn’t going to stick around for the second
"I felt very disoriented when I moved to London in 2024 and didn’t know anyone. I found Write B4 the Mic in Brixton run by Starlight (a previous WSR poet). The first workshop I attended was on the theme of love. Rayon was co-hosting. I was really nervous.
"I went to my first poetry night in early 2024 after returning to the UK permanently for the first time in over 20 years. I had been writing feverishly and the lovely souls in my Recovery Dharma group had been encouraging me to go out and speak. I had
"Jean is a maker of magic. You can feel it moving around him as he enters a room. An aura of wonderful otherness as if he wears a cloak of creativity. Ready at any moment to whisk it into action and spring into sorcery! That’s how his poems
