The Best Poetry Night in Leeds: In Conversation with The Poetic Off-Licence.
Hidden away upstairs at The Watermark bar in Leeds is one of the city's most exciting nights. Bi-weekly on a Thursday, The Watermark’s upstairs space is transformed into a wholesome candlelit room where poets and musicians across the city gather to share their work. We had a chat with Maddi Amos, the creator and legend behind this stunning open mic night to tell us all about The Poetic Off-licence!
Image: Maddi Amos (Instagram: @somaiddam)
Tell us a bit about yourself, how and when did you become interested in poetry?
I’m Maddi. I’m 25 and from Newcastle. I’ve been in Leeds almost 8 years now, and I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, in one way or another. As a kid I really loved writing stories and worlds to escape into, and as I got older that writing became more short form and more reflective. Like most British kids, I imagine the first poetry a lot of us encountered was wartime poetry. The famous World War One poem ‘In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae has stuck with me since the first time I read it. Reading a collection of poetry by Anna Ahkmatova, the legendary Russian poet, really solidified my love for reading poetry.
I used to travel on trains a lot, and even now I find being on a train to be when I write my best stuff - and when I read the most. During lockdown my friend Chloe and I would assign each other little creative tasks week by week, that we’d use to keep each other feeling engaged with our creativity and with each other. One week we decided to write poetry and after that it just never stopped. I think about Chloe’s “Worm Poem” often, and it often reminds me of the ways poetry can bring people closer, or transcend physical space.
Meeting my boyfriend Sam (about 2 years ago now) changed my relationship to writing in such a fundamental way. I’d never met someone so talented or so unconcerned with how their work was received. Just writing from a pure need to write and create. Sam really helped me strip back all of those layers of shyness and self doubt that can come with sharing your art and your work with other people. I think if we had not spent so many nights sharing and writing with each other, I’d never have found the confidence to be able to start running an event like this.
Who is your favourite poet?
I couldn’t possibly pick just one.
The work that consistently resonates with me is work that blends social commentary with musical elements. I love writing that embodies frustration at the world we’re in, but that uses that as an opportunity to imagine a more hopeful future. I think Kae Tempest is the best example of that. Their work is bursting with energy that demands to be performed, and no matter how big their audience becomes, or how acclaimed their work, they continue to tell stories that are important on both an individual and collective basis.
Similarly, Kemi (known as K.G) is a spoken word artist, rapper, and musician from Bradford. She was the bottled lightning that was ultimately the inspiration for this event. She uses her platform to criticize social and governmental structures and illustrate the impact these have on her community. I get goosebumps every time I hear her perform. Her work uplifts the city she is from, and she pours back into it by working with Bradford youth to encourage them to use their voices too. Kemi is a superstar and absolutely the one to watch.
It feels a little biased to say Sam here, but no person has been as directly responsible or influential on my writing style or my relationship to words. We got to know each other by writing together and sharing years worth of work that hadn’t seen the light of day. I am in awe of his mastery over words and rhythm. Every song he writes for his band Muck reads like poetry, every poem he writes reads as music. I feel so blessed to be able to witness how he devotes himself to, and evolves with his craft. How wonderful is love?
What was your motivation to start The Poetic Off-Licence?
I can’t talk about the creation of this event without talking about Milo, or Kemi and Hassan.
I was working at The Watermark Bar one day, where we used to run a jazz and cocktail event, and we hosted a duo from Leeds Conservatoire on a Sunday. The bar was quite quiet that day, so when Kemi and Hassan came in and asked if they could write to the music, we, of course, said yes. They took it in turns to write lines of poetry back and forth to each other and asked if I wanted to join in. The immediate warmth and desire to write and share poetry with other people was so wonderful to me. A guy came in from a different bar holding a glass of red wine, and asked the duo if he could play some guitar. He was playing some bossa nova style music, and even though there were only 7 people in the room, I couldn’t believe how much creative energy there was, or how much desire to express it. I think he was Chilean, and was only in Leeds for a couple of hours as part of some music festival happening around the city. That evening was the first Off-Licence in a sense. That blend of music, writing together and sipping on something a bit delicious.
I met Milo as my bar manager when I started working at The Watermark. I don’t think I have ever clicked with someone so immediately. We spoke a lot about being teenagers, growing up on the internet and how common it was to be a teenager writing poetry on Tumblr and in your diary. We had a shift together where we gave each other little prompts and wrote to each other on the bar top. We gave the prompts to a couple of people who sat down for a drink, and so many people who had never written were giving it a go. Milo had started talking about transitioning regularly at this point, although because of years of Tory cuts to health services in the UK, the waiting list for gender affirming (and oftentimes life saving) surgery can be anywhere from 2 to 10 years through the NHS. I think there is a sort of fear around asking for people to help you fund something as major as this type of surgery. I wanted a way to start raising money for Milo where it felt like the collective effort of the people in our community, whether that be through the bar industry, our friends, or LGBTQ+ people. I pitched the idea for the first Off-Licence event to Watermark’s owner Dariush in January of 2023, and by March we were full steam ahead. I really can’t thank Dai enough for getting behind the idea, and for letting us use the upstairs space at The Watermark.
What should I expect at a Poetic Off-Licence Open Mic?
We always want to spotlight musicians who put writing at the centre of the songmaking process. It’s really wonderful to invite so many talented local musicians along to share their music and talk about the influences, inspiration and process. I guess you should expect to meet people who want to talk about and engage with art. You should expect banging drinks from whatever venue we’re in, thinking about the event we did at Boot and Rally where they served this delicious mulled wine with a poached pear base. I think about that drink quite a lot.
What’s your favourite part of the Off-Licence night?
Absolutely seeing how people respond to the prompts. Our first prompt was “can cacti feel arousal?” and all of the responses were so funny because of the nature of the prompt, but sometimes the responses address deeply held trauma, or an undiscovered joy. I love witnessing how many different ways there are to respond to a simple four word sentence.
If The Poetic Off-Licence had a theme song what would it be and why?
I think it would have to be a song by someone who has played the event. Devices by Lucy Robinson perhaps, given the nature of the lyrics focus on getting offline and interacting with the world around you.
What has been your favourite Poetic Off-Licence moment?
Every single time someone who has never read in front of other people feels so comfortable in our space that they decide to get up and read. Sometimes it’s something they’ve been sitting with or working on for years. Other times it can be that they wrote to the prompt. On occasion people even come along and enjoy the atmosphere so much they go away, write something, and then come to the next event and read it there. It’s just so special watching poetry and community bring someone out of their shell.
I’ve loved every single event we’ve put on, but the themed weeks are always especially fun. The Irish night we did with Lucy Robinson, No Fixed Abode and local bartenders making Boatyard cocktails. The cypher night with Dman and Zealey with loads of rappers and spoken word artists who’d come through from Manchester, Sheffield and Scarborough. The first event we did away from Watermark, at Boot and Rally. The team there were so supportive and Nicko (Herencia) did such a wonderful food menu to support Milo too. Just all the ways people express their creativity coming together to support someone important to us. Mel writing a whole set with her partner to play over gorgeous keys in soft candlelight was so special and emotional. Nathan Chambers played this mesmerising guitar loop for almost 10 minutes and the whole room was in absolute transfixed silence.
All of the people I’d never know without this - meeting you Molly, or Seki, or Gracie, or Sammy, or meeting Fee and Jamie, and getting to hear how spoken word can be a way to express so much joy. Before starting this all off, poetry was definitely always a written or read medium to me, so getting to meet all of these wonderful poets who were performers as much as writers has been really wonderful.
What does the future hold for the poetic off-licence?
A lot, I hope!
I’m always thinking of ways to expand the idea, and at the moment that looks like bringing the event to new venues and areas and connecting with new people. I need to finish the zine that we’ve been working on since day one. I’m hoping to get some arts council funding so that I can put all the time into this event and the zine that I think it deserves. I want to be able to run a prize or contest as well as a way of celebrating and encouraging the people in our community who want to write. When we reach Milo's fundraising target, it will be about continuing to use poetry and music as a way to support and celebrate the people around us.
I would also just like to add a massive thank you to Holly Mullahy, who has provided the amp and mic for us every week and made this even slightly possible.
To end, I would leave you with this piece by Palestinian poet, Khaled Juma :
“Oh rascal children of Gaza.
You who constantly disturbed me
With your screams under my window.
You who filled every morning
With rush and chaos.
You who broke my vase
And stole the lonely flower on my balcony.
Come back,
And scream as you want
And break all the vases
Steal all the flowers.
Come back.
Just come back…”
If you would like to read Milo’s story or donate towards his transition, please do so by following the link below!
