helen sandler | journalism

Literary festivals

From page to stage

As the literary world gears up for this month's Guardian Hay Festival, we ask whether lesbians and black women are as visible at the big book beanos as they seem to be on the UK performance poetry circuit

In the course of programming the books element of this autumn's York Lesbian Arts Festival (YLAF), I've been looking around at other such shindigs on the UK literary calendar and asking, 'Where are all the lady-loving ladies?' It seems I'm not the only one to wonder.

Author Sarah Waters has noticed that most literary festivals attract a homogenous crowd which results in a rather precious atmosphere. 'I may not literally be the only lesbian author,' says Sarah, 'but I'm often the only one saying so and I have sometimes felt a bit of a freak.' But she adds that it is inevitable that these audiences will pick up on difference whereas the audience at YLAF will tune in to a shared understanding.

Ali Smith (whose new novel, The Accidental, is out at the end of this month [MAY] from Hamish Hamilton) knows the feeling. 'At the more mainstream festivals, they're surprised by me - I'm small and don't wear makeup or the right kind of clothes.' She adds that it doesn't become a problem because her Scottishness permits her to be startling, northern and 'craggy'. 'I am all the things that people expect "the other" to be; they like us to be outsiders.'

When the 'freak' point is put to Peter Florence, director of this Whitsun's Guardian Hay Festival in the Welsh Marches, his response is: 'Literary festivals are intended to celebrate oddity.' He believes his programme is inclusive and the audience liberal and open, but he does not select anyone on the basis of their minority status. The biggest stars at Hay, year in, year out, happen to be the famous black and Asian writers such as Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth and Derek Walcott.

'We programme for quality, not gender, orientation or anything else,' says Peter. 'Jeanette Winterson, Ali Smith [who is appearing this year], Carol Ann Duffy and Jackie Kay have always drawn huge crowds at Hay - crowds who looked pretty diverse themselves.'

Yet there remains a perception that certain festivals are middle class, conventional and predominantly white - and that others are more open to new and outsider voices. Even the big national events vary and Ali praises the Edinburgh Book Festival for its internationalist approach.

But Valerie Mason-John - author of Borrowed Body, published next month [June 2005] by Serpent's Tail - feels that Edinburgh is too obsessed with big money. She enjoyed a festival of black writing at the British Library last year where her peers were present on the stage and in the audience, but her favourite festivals are those that combine literature with other activities.

'Why is Michigan successful?' she asks. 'It has a literature element, but that is combined with workshops and dance - it's great.' She also cites the annual SpitLit women's festival in London but wonders whether its separate sessions for black women's writing are useful or not, as they may split the audiences into black and white.

One of the noticeable differences at SpitLit is that performance poetry has a high profile. This is an area where women - particularly black women - are prominent. But Joelle Taylor, who organises the Respect Slams for young people on behalf of the Poetry Society, warns that it is still not a scene that welcomes lesbians.

'I have to be quite quiet about it,' she says of her sexuality. 'If your act is about lesbian issues then you won't get very far.' She blames the audiences rather than the organisers but adds that there are a lot of strong women on the circuit. As well as Joelle herself, Patience Agbabi, Aoife Mannix, Malika Booker, Jean 'Binta' Breeze, Stacy Makishi and Dorothea Smartt are all performers who are big on the circuit and who will appeal to lesbian audiences.

Joelle's love of the performance scene (also known as 'spoken word'), is contagious. 'It's more amenable to a diverse range of opinions and art forms,' she says. 'Women, and certainly black women, can find themselves on the stage more easily.' Unlike the more sedate readings at literary festivals, this is an arena that encourages audience input in the course of the performance. 'You can be a bit lary,' says Joelle. 'It's like call and response - you can shout back.'

The rise of the poetry slam has seen more young people getting involved in the scene. Slams are competitive performances, in which judges from the audience decide the winners from the poets and rappers taking part. 'It may sound like a male arena,' says Joelle, 'but women respond well to it.' The female role models appeal to the girls she recruits from schools and youth clubs for the Respect Slams.

Jay Bernard is one of the stars of this younger scene. Currently studying for her A-levels, Jay will be appearing at this year's York Lesbian Arts Festival. Last year she won the Respect Slam 2004; she is the youngest ever Farrago Slam Winner and was highly commended in the Foyle Young Poets Award. Jay has been influenced more by serious 'page poets' than by standup poets but was drawn to the performance scene by the ease with which she could gain an audience.

'For me the whole point of writing was to talk about my version of events,' explains Jay, 'so the attractive aspect was how much of an audience I could gain and how many people there were who empathised with what I was saying.'

She joined the scene when she was 15, when Aoife Mannix spotted her at a reading and encouraged her to come to a workshop, which led to a performance. Now Jay spends a lot of time at the Poetry Society in London's Covent Garden and with her fellow poets from Apples & Snakes. 'It's a hugely welcoming place - very diverse too,' says Jay, who is black, 'and I didn't have any inhibitions about joining the scene, other than the usual nerves.'

It seems the spoken word scene has a thing or two to teach the more traditional festivals about welcoming the new girls.

Helen Sandler is the director of this October's York Lesbian Arts Festival. Sarah Waters, Valerie Mason-John and Jay Bernard are among those appearing.

Links:

Apples & Snakes, performances: www.applesandsnakes.org

Edinburgh International Book Festival, 13-29 August: www.edbookfest.co.uk

Guardian Hay Festival, 27 May to 5 June: www.hayfestival.com

Libertas York Lesbian Arts Festival, 27-30 October: www.ylaf.org.uk

Poetry Society, various events: www.poetrysociety.org.uk

SpitLit, organised by Alternative Arts: www.alternativearts.co.uk

This piece first appeared in Diva, May 2005

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