Our special guest this month is Usaama Minhas.
Usaama was crowned National Champion at the Royal Albert Hall in January.
Usaama is a force of nature, a brilliantly skillful orator, and a linguistic craftsman who elates and excites audiences with his unique spoken word style developed either side of the Atlantic.
A measured, intelligent commentator, Usaama began performing in New York at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and the Pyramid Club. On moving to London he made inroads into the hip hop world winning the 'Britain's Got Bars' Rap Battle Tournament at The O2. He was listed for the Outspoken Prize For Poetry 2017 before ending up top of the pile at the biggest slam competition in the UK at the start of 2018.
Honest, accessible, warm, and thought-provoking, Usaama is a great performer who's words will echo rhythmically in your ears for some time to come.
A genuine must see.

+ Phoebe Nicholson

Phoebe Nicholson is a poet and lexicographer based in Oxford.  She also founded and runs the Oxford Poetry Library, a pedal-powered lending library of poetry which pops up around the city. She performs regularly around Oxford and her work most recently appeared in The Interpreter’s House and Paper & Ink Zine. She has also collaborated on a chapbook with her sister about roots, family, and creeping things called Red Devon Mud. It can be found here: https://oxfordpoetrylibrary.wordpress.com/shop

+ the Open Poetry Slam

We start recruiting for the new stars of the future - DM (or email oxford@hammerandtongue.com) to book a 3 minute slot or get there early.

Your first step to the Albert Hall!

GET IN QUICK WE KEEP SELLING OUT!!

Coming up in April the marvelously talented Zena Edwards will be our special guest.
Zena Edwards is a poet and performer who uses song, movement and global influences as a jump-off for her words.  She defines the fusion of poetry and music by including traditional African-instrumentation (the Kalimba and Kora) and new technology, to create her own sound tracks for her poems and stories, producing a body of work that reaches culturally and generationally diverse audiences on an international level. She fuses Jazzy Hip-Hop grooves, heavily influenced by her world music collaborations, with South African musicians including Pops Mohamed, one of her most important mentors.

Hammer & Tongue Oxford
April 10th 7:45
Old Fire Station

Zena Edwards
+
Support
+
Open Poetry Slam

If you are interested in  Hammer & Tongue Founder Steve Larkin's  Oxford TEDx talk 'Poetry or Death by Terror' it will be online in the next two weeks through the TEDx Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/200142647197219/?active_tab=discussion

The talk contains the lines:

'Usaama Minas is the latest to take the title
Who uses his skillful verse and boost to his profile,
To talk to the world about that that he sees as vital,
Namely the everyday experiences of a peaceful
British Muslim in and age of growing hysteria
about the rising threat of violence'

It all ties in, it will obviously, resonate all the more if you see Usaaama in action on Tuesday.