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The Hummingbird Presents Poetry at Starbucks
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On Saturday September 13th one of the largest Starbucks coffee branches in Birmingham received a big dose of poetic love. A hand picked selection of poets and musicians from The Midlands gathered into one coffee house to verbalise their rhythmic skills on the theme of ‘Who Am I.’
As someone that’s been a fan of the art form from and early age I was proud to be not only be the presenter of my first poetry event and introduce poets, but it was also the opportunity to showcase my own.
In the intimate and cosy upstairs lounge in Starbucks at Martineau Place every seat was taken with people relaxing and enjoying the vibes on this beautifully sunny day drinking either a Mocha, Frapachinno, Cappuccino or something else delicious off the vast beverage menu.
I introduced the afternoon with a poem explaining the various reasons for my stage name- ‘The Hummingbird’; it’s a metaphor to describe my character- although I can be gentle and dainty I’m also strong and persevering and none of these outweigh the other.
For people continuing to arrive they didn’t look disappointedly seeing that every seat in the lounge was taken as they could sit in the sunshine within the veranda area where more seats were available, so they could sit in the relaxing heat whilst being entertained by powerful lyrics.
Following on from my introduction Zalika Mardenborough shared her poetry, at nineteen years of age her words are written from a mature standpoint that exceed her years. The crowd greatly received Zalika’s presentation of lyrics that tied seamlessly together; she delivered her contemplations on life and the importance of her relationship with God.
The interludes were provided by some appreciated tunes from the delectable sounds of Clearrose and Ze. Clearrose are the twin sisters that were obviously made to sing together, you’ll know what I mean when you hear them harmonise!! Performing songs from their single ‘Don’t Worry’ and debut album ‘Attitudes’ the duo provided songs with a mixture of Jazz, Soul and R&B. From her album ‘His Delight’ Ze provided self-written soul tracks that were truly a delight to hear. With the backing of her guitar player this songstress sang against the acoustic sound and not only did Ze sing in English but she also provided some lyrics in her native African tongue.
With her debut book ‘My Lover, My King & I’ Esha Johnson is putting Birmingham on the map; showing that the creative writing talent is definitely here in The Midlands.
Esha shared deep and inspiring thoughts that you couldn’t help but mulling over afterwards. Her truthful and insightful words carry the ability to make an impact on our society, particularly one poem that she shared on the subject of gun crime.
Two of the young poets- Becky and Jayd from Birmingham Christian Centre gave two different styles. Using her MC skills, Jayd brought lyrical content that held hope and positivity though well tailored lyrics. It was unbelievable to think this was Becky’s first time sharing poetry in a public place as she was so confident and gave a great delivery; worthy of the great responsive she received.
Suriya Roberts-Grey is a young poet that’s used to sharing her poetry at various poetry events, she delivered like a pro. Keep a look out for this young lady; she’s going to go far!
Thanks you to Gospel Link magazine for supporting this event, thanks for helping to make this beautiful day possible.
Keep a look out on www.myspace.com/amandahemmings for details of future events.
Or contact Amanda@glmedia.co.uk
Amanda Hemmings
 | | Confessions of an Addict | | I have a (not-so) secret confession to make: I AM A FACEBOOK ADDICT. I love checking up on what’s happening with friends and family through the social networking site.
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