Celebrating a love of all things to do with the written word, the eighth Manx Litfest gets under way next week.

The first event is the eagerly-anticipated poetry slam, which takes place on Tuesday, September 24, from 7.30pm, at Port St Mary Town Hall.

The compere for the evening will be visiting poet Mark Grist, who will be returning to the festival after a successful appearance in 2014.

He has just finished a month of daily performances of the show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and is looking forward to returning to the island.

’I loved my time here, although I can’t quite believe it was five years ago,’ said Mark.

’I did my show Rogue Teacher, which was all about how I went from being a high school English teacher to taking part in a rap battle.

’It was held in a pub, and I just remember that it was absolutely rammed.

’There were people who came to see the show, but loads of people also just came past after getting a pint and ended up staying for the night. It was amazing.’

Mark is a big supporter of poetry slams, which are open, informal competitions where writers can stand up and perform poetry of any form or variation.

’Poetry slams started in the United States, as a reaction to the idea that poetry, and poetic performance was quite dull, and I think the first one was held in a boxing ring,’ said Mark.

’People really prefer them than most performances, I think.

’You get the chance to see people’s reactions to different things, and the writers get the chance to dazzle people with their stuff.

’They are great places to start reading your own poetry, and also to get into listening to poetry too.’

As a former high school English teacher, Mark is looking forward to going back to working with some of the island’s school children.

’I have a great variety of workshops to do with the schools groups,’ he said.

’I did a few the last time I was over, and they are something I really get into.

’As a former teacher myself, I know how good a job teachers do and what pressures they are under.

’What I love about speaking to teenagers is that they are people who haven’t yet made their minds up about things.

’Not like adults, who after a certain age have minds like steel traps. They have a view on things and that’s it, they can’t be moved from them.

’Teenagers can be far more open about listening and understanding different things.’

Alongside keeping order during the slam and the workshops, Mark will also be performing his own show, ’Slacker-in-Law’, at Vagabonds Rugby Club, on Wednesday, September 25, from 8pm.

’Slacker-In-Law’ is a big comedy, stand-up, poetry and story-telling show about how Mark met his prospective mother-in-law for the first time.

’I had the unenviable job of convincing her that being a poet and a writer was actually a real job, and that I wasn’t going to end up being a dead weight around her daughter’s neck,’ he said.

’Salli, my mother-in-law, was into her bikes, and part of a motorbike gang, and I had to impress on her, and to Lucy who is now my wife, that I wasn’t a total waste of space.

’And I think I can say I’ve proved myself right, that being a poet can be a proper job!

’The journey that I went through with all of that really made me realise why I wanted to be a writer and a poet, and it reinforced my belief in my own work, and the show is essentially about meeting some one who, although you don’t realise it at the time, gets the best out of you.

’Poetry performance can be difficult to understand and to get in to, but essentially it is a show about a love story which has a happy ending, and I think it is a message that is extremely accessible and one that we can all identify with.

’If you are not sure about poetry, but like a show that is based around comedy and stories, this will be a really good show for you to watch.’

Also featuring in the show is a wildly-unpredictable ’choose-your-own-outcome’ poem, written with the help of members of the audience, which according to Mark, has 6,000,000 potential outcomes, and a poem delivered as a rap, where Mark runs through a list of his childhood bad guys.

The 2019 Manx Litfest runs from Tuesday, September 24 to Sunday, September 29.

For a full run down of events and ticket information, go to manxlitfest.com

by Mike Wade

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