Hannah Batley
At the moment I have a real passion for profiling the homelessness crisis so spending time with the homeless community is really helping to inspire creativity. The poets that inspire me…where to start. I’d say Linton Kwesi Johnson was a massive eye opener. I went to a gig of his at a festival one summer and it left me in tears. His rhythm, the socio-political nature of his poetry really grasped me. It left me feeling as if I needed to start writing about what was going on and I needed to do it with urgency. Like a lot of up and coming spoken word artists Kate Tempest and Holly Mcnish are big inspirations. They’re flying the flag for women; they’re amazing performers and writers and their work hits home hard. They make me want to be better. I think my biggest achievements so far are getting a handshake from Buddy Wakefield. After the gig we did he told me ‘I’d done good’. The other is a signed book from Holly Mcnish. After I’d performed I bought her book, she wrote: ‘Your poem was fucking excellent, keep going’. So yes. They were definitely the two biggest achievements/highlights of 2016.
I’m Hannah Batley, a spoken word artist from the Dearne Valley. In terms of influence, I think the area I was brought up in has everything to do with what I write and how I choose to write it. Growing up in Goldthorpe during the 90’s in the aftermath of the pit closures was fun to say the least. There wasn’t much in terms of activities for kids; there was a lot of unemployment, a lot of drug use, a lot of mucking about. I suppose when you’re surrounded by a culture like that it impacts the way you perceive and experience things. What it did for me was offer a harsh realism that was difficult to digest but worth the effort once I accepted that this is where I’m from, it’s a part of me, it’s morphed the way I view things in life, including my writing. So yes, where I’m from has a huge part to play. I wouldn’t have known how to explain my style until a few months ago; someone described my poetry as Northern Realism and I liked it. I feel what I do is honest. My poetry is about real people, real experiences and real problems. It’s a looking glass into aspects of Northern Culture. The people who encourage me to write are usually people who I don’t know, but feel a connection to their situation.
Northern Souls
Spoken Word (20 Minutes)
My set consists of four poems. Three of which are part of a wider collection titled 'Northern Souls' and one which will be featured on The Impunity Records CD that will be released in Spring.
The first of my four poems is Northern Soul; a piece about growing up during the aftermath of the pit closures in South Yorkshire, the crisis of identity within the community and individually, substance misuse/addiction and compassion.
My second Poem is titled 999. This poem focuses on the nature of those who abandoned the community I was brought up, in pursuit of material aspiration.
The third poem in this set is a piece which is titled 'This poems for Janice'. Homelessness is an issue I am very passionate about. Janice is a homeless lady who lives in Wakefield, a lady I had the pleasure of meeting four months ago. Meeting Janice inspired me to create an event profiling the crisis of homelessness which The Real Junk Food Project have agreed to back alongside writing this poem.
The fourth and final poem is titled 'Lessons'. In a nut shell, it's about lessons and learning.
I hope you enjoy!