Penned in The Margins – interview with Tom Chivers

April 6th, 2007 • Features

Penned in the Margins is one of the UK’s most exciting producers of live literature, founded and led by poet and critic Tom Chivers. They promote regular poetry and music nights at various venues including The Spitz in East London and manage a roster of poets and spoken word artists including Mario Petrucci, Anthony Joseph and Heather Taylor. In addition they produce national touring projects such as Generation Txt, which takes six young writers to fourteen venues nationwide in 2007. Books published include Generation Txt, Peckham Blue and Filthy Lyre (forthcoming).

I first met Tom on one of his many nights handing flyers out around London. I was impressed by his tireless enthusiasm, genorosity and the fact that he is the living epitome of an affable gent. His work pays off – a Penned in Margins event is usually a sell out welcoming a diverse and enthusiastic crowd.

How did you get in to promoting your own night and why?
Penned in the Margins started in 2004 in Island Arts Studio, a cosy bar tucked away in a converted railway arch in South London. There was nothing going on in my local area but loads of talented poets and writers that I knew and was forging links with. I guess I’m the organising type, so I decided to put on an event and to see what happened… Now I’m full-time as a promoter, working with some amazing poets, musicians and spoken word artists in larger venues, and putting on tours/projects, but I’d like to think the leftfield, underground ethos of the original nights remains!

What sorts of acts do you like to promote and have you any favourite acts and recommendations ?
I strongly reject what I see as the false dichotomy between ‘page’ and ‘stage’ poetry, between the worlds of ‘literature’ and ‘spoken word’. The artists I promote are probably doing both and wouldn’t recognise such restrictive categories. I’m interested in alternative approaches and avant-garde work (think Sean Bonney, Anthony Joseph etc) but I’ve also worked with established so-called mainstream writers such as David Harsent, Nick Laird and Iain Sinclair. One of my passions is the interaction between music and poetry, so I promote great musicians such as Jeremy Warmsley, Catherine Anne Davies and SJ Esau. The spoken word scene is currently throwing up some anomalous characters experimenting with the boundaries between sound and word. So check out Scroobius Pip, Ventriloquist, Ape Has Killed Ape! and loads more.

What are the best and worst aspects of London’s spoken word scene and how you see it evolving in the future?
The best and worst aspect is the same thing: that the spoken word scene is underground and alternative. This is great because it gives artists and promoters the ability to work freely, without the intervention of an industry structure or anyone saying ‘you should do this because that’s the way it’s done’. I sometimes feel like I’m making it up as I go along! On the downside, I’m a bit concerned about what will happen when things get really big. Because there’s little infrastructure, and few promoters/producers working full-time, there’s the potential for the scene to implode. But we’re all doing our best (with help from the Arts Council people) to make sure that doesn’t happen. In the meantime, there’s some damn good work out there, so go and check it out!

Penned in the Margins is also the name of a radio show which is broadcast on Resonance FM every Sunday between 1.30pm and 2.00pm. The show features live performances of poetry, as well as music and discussion.

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