BOAT POETS PRESENTS - with Raise The Bar

Boat Poets is teaming up with Raise The Bar to bring you an evening of online poetry and spoken word from Craft-D, Saili Katebe, Erin Bolens and Toby Campion.

Performing work in response to their latest Boat Poets residency which has taken place online during lockdown.

The event will be hosted online so that we can continue to bring you quality content during lockdown. Niki Harris will be joining us to BSL interpret the whole evening, if you would like a transcript of the poems or have any access requirements please do get in touch at boatpoets@gmail.com

Craft-D is rapper, poet, writer, and events producer from London.

In 2020, his debut single 'Letter to Corbyn' reached #1 in the iTunes UK Hip-Hop chart and #11 in the overall iTunes chart, amassing over 200k views on Twitter.

His performances aim to bridge the gap between forms associated with traditional poetry and contemporary hip-hop.

He is Director of Raise the Bar, a spoken word events platform championing a diverse range of writers, lyricists and storytellers, and Co-Director of Lyra - Bristol Poetry Festival.

Craft-D has performed at major venues and festivals such as Ministry of Sound, 02 Academy Bristol, Roundhouse London, Camp Bestival, Shambala, Blissfields, Cheltenham Literature Festival, Ledbury Poetry Festival and more, and has featured on numerous radio stations including BBC 1Xtra and BBC Radio Bristol.
Saili Katebe a Zambian-born writer and performer based in South West England. Often writing under the pen name The Blissful Nomad, he uses poetry and theatre to exercise his curiosity and perfect the art of recklessness, challenging his language and its hidden music.

He co-hosts Bristol’s leading spoken word night Raise The Bar, is a BBC Poetry Slam runner-up, and a Milk Poetry Superslam winner. In 2019, he was the poet-in-residence for the SS Great Britain.
Erin Bolens is a poet from leeds who writes, teaches and performs in all sorts of weird and wonderful places across the country. Erin's first show 'What We Leave Behind' and first poetry collection 'Alternate Endings' have been published by Burning Eye Books.
Toby Campion is the UK Poetry Slam Champion 2017. Described by BBC Sunday Politics as “the voice of a generation”, Toby's unapologetic words and wit have captured audiences from the Royal Albert Hall to Glastonbury festival, and from Washington DC's poetry cafés to street festivals across Europe.