Something Borrowed Podcast With Harry Baker

Hello friends!

Welcome back to Something Borrowed on the road, this time recorded at the wonderful StAnza festival up in St Andrews in March this year. It was a joy to sit down with the one and only Michale Mullen and discuss poetry origin stories, how to put a performance poem on the page and do it justice, authenticity vs commercial viability, writing and performing in Scots, and a frankly cracking Something Blue to bring it all home. We talk about Michael's Forward-Prize-nominated new collection Goonie as well as my new collection Tender, both of which are available to purchase and enjoy now. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Hello Friends - we're back with another banger! The people's champ Georgie Jones has come back by popular demand (from myself and someone who wrote it in chalk on the seafront) and it was WORTH IT. Combining stunning poems with great chat and an appropriate level for respect for the craft of getting on and off a stool, we talk about having babies (me) and not having babies (Georgie), new books (both!), top google searches, respective Roman empires and a Hugh Grant fact that I refuse to check in case it isn't true. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

We're back with another banger - Rachel Long was the season finale to our first series of the podcast back when everything was online, so it was a joy to have her in person as a new Margate Local!

Recorded in October last year and released just in time for Rachel's new book, Sparrow on a Rooftop, coming out in June, it was amazing to hear Rachel's insight as an editor, her stunning work as a writer, and her warmth and generosity in everything in-between. Featuring poems about swimming, dummies, love, sandwiches, the goodness of people, and more.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did x

Hello friends - we are back with what can only be described as a classic. Returning to the glorious ARK in Margate with the glorious Caitlin O'Ryan. Caitlin is a brilliant poet and actor and was also the host for my favourite podcast guest appearance when I went on her podcast a few years ago so I was very excited to try and return the favour. We talk about poetry origins stories, slams, going viral, how to value your work vs getting affirmation from others, becoming the face/voice of a movement, and a frankly excellent story about stamps. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

You can pick up Caitlin's book here and follow her here

Hello Friends,

Our final international instalment comes all the way from mighty Scotland! Streamed live at Greenbelt Festival, I am joined by the fantastic Len Pennie to talk about her new collection Poems Annaw (now a Sunday Times bestseller!), how she is the Wario to Robert Burns' Mario, her love of Scots, and her disdain for a themed collection among other things. It is the most I have ever felt roasted by a guest and I loved every second of it, I hope you do too.

We're back, baby! Another international special courtesy of Greenbelt festival, we have the wonder that is Luka Lesson all the way from Australia!

It's been over a decade since me and Luka last crossed paths and it was worth the wait in every sense. We talk about poetry slam origins to writing and performing for longer form, the lifespan of a poem, the skillset a performance poet picks up, the Joy of missing out, and so so much more.

We have one more international guest to come, then it's back to Margate - thanks for rocking with us!

Season 5 Baby!

We're kicking off with a collab of dreams that is enough to restore your faith in the internet. Lyndsay Rush aka Mary Oliver's Drunk Cousin has made me laugh and cry from halfway around the world and it turns out my poetry had been doing exactly the same thing to her, so what better excuse to have our first of three Worldwide International guests to kick off this season. We talk poems and jokes, faith and doubt, a truly blue finale and so much more. This was filmed at Greenbelt festival with Lyndsay streaming in in front of a live audience, and as such our sound saint Buddy had his work cut out to clean up the audio, but I hope you'll agree he has worked wonders and it is absolutely worth it.

See you at the next one x

Hello friends,

It's been a long time coming but i think you'll agree it's worth the wait. Our final guest of Season 4 is the one and only Lemn Sissay ! Lemn came earlier in the year but the recordings were lost forevermore so we had to have him back. One of my absolute favourite poets, it was a joy to sit down and discuss old and new work, there being no one way to write a poetry book, challenging people's opinions of you, and the importance of letting yourself be magical among other bits. What a ride!

He's back! With a record third appearance on the show, it's everyone's favourite lizardy lyrical wizard - singer-storyteller Gecko! Recorded back in March and release just in time for his Autumn tour of his NEW ALBUM, we talk about the origins of our friendship, the difference between a gig and a show, playing at each others weddings, regional food-based misunderstandings, the process of making an album as well as some stunning songs (and poems!) in amongst it all.

I hope you love it as much as I do.

Our superstar season continues with the one and only Hollie McNish! Hollie is one of my favourite poets and one of my favourite people and it was a joy to have her for a live recording of Something Borrowed ON TOUR in Bath. We discuss body parts we're proud of, the bits between the poems, Hollie's editing process, friendship, parenting, reviews, and Hollie brings a triple whammy blue poem to finish - what an absolute treat !

We are joined this month by the one and only Maria Ferguson! For our Something Old(s) we dive back to the last time we saw each other at the Edinburgh Fringe for a heady mix of falafel and UK Garage and it just gets better from there. We go on to discuss Maria's fantastic new collection Swell, writing about the difficult bits of motherhood, a songs of praise poppadom-based warmup and much more, featuring a guest visit from the pope and a Harry Styles Cameo. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

You can order Maria's fantastic book here

You can pre-order my book (!) here

Something Borrowed on Tour! The first of two episodes recorded at the fantastic Bath Komedia featuring fellow Poetry Team GB Alumni Vanessa Kisuule! Vanessa is one of my favourite poets and people and I could happily talk to her for hours, so it was a joy to have an excuse to do so in front of a live audience! Vanessa is constantly pushing her writing in both craft and content, and willing to tackle nuance and grey areas in a way so many shy away from, and just happens to be incredibly funny in the process. We talk about octopuses, wellies, irrepressible optimism, racist neighbours, and her new book Neverland! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did x

It's the one and only Rob Auton!

A long-time member of my super secret future guest wish list, we finally managed to get him back to Margate and oh boy was it worth the wait. One of the most unique and brilliant minds in comedy/poetry/the world, it was fascinating to get a glimpse into part of robs process, as well as hear his brilliant work and laugh out loud maybe more than any other episode. Thanks everyone who is still on this ride listening with us, it means the world. Please do tell your friends/keep being a legend, the world needs you x

Hello friends! This episode brings us the phenomenal Jasmine Gardosi, and you can audibly hear the room fall in love with her from the second she starts performing. We discuss beatboxing, lockdown, rollercoasters, pushing the boundaries of performance, crying, dinosaur outfits and more. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did x

You can find more of Jasmine's work here

You can find out what I'm up to here

Happy Christmas! We are joined by Joshua Idehen, AKA the man of the moment AKA the multiverse African Taylor Swift for a festive special that I am absolutely fine with coming out in February.

This was recorded on a very good day for Josh and I am sure whenever you choose to listen to it will be a very good day for you as it is an excellent time. Me and Josh go way back and we talk about our origins, Josh's move to Sweden, the art of making poetry house music, and a hearty amount of dad content thrown in the mix. There are poems on fatherhood, swimming, popcorn and Christmas and much, much more.

Filmed in London at the Bloomsbury theatre, this was our first recording on the road and hopefully not the last, let me know where you'd like to see us come next !

You can find more of Josh's stuff here and my latest adventures here

*At the time of recording the intro I truly believed Shrewsbury was in Wales and I now know that is not the case.

This month we have the very excellent Theresa Lola!

Another guest whose been on my wishlist for a while, Theresa shares some poems from her wonderful new book, Ceremony For The Nameless, and we discuss the power of names personally and professionally, as well as performing at the Royal Albert Hall, writing for the page vs the stage, and much much more.

Let us know what you think and maybe even leave a review if you're feeling really lovely x

We kick off the new season with the wonderful Helen Heckety! We talk about her new book Alter Ego, my new baby, name changes, therapy, ableism, hobbies, Coolio, foxes, and the joy of friendship love among other things.

I can't think of a better guest to kick off with, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did

Helen's excellent book ALTER EGO is out now, and you can follow her on instagram here. I am putting togetehr a tour for next year and you can find out more about everything I'm doing on IG or my website.

x

Hello Friends, this episode has been a long time coming in a few ways. One, Toby Campion has been on my hit list for many many years so it was a delight to finally get him over to Margate. The last time we were on stage together was at the Royal Albert Hall (!) and this was just as magic. It has also been delayed in coming out because I've had an actual human baby so my podcast baby got put on hold. This has however inspired me to get professional help (for the podcast baby, not the human baby just yet) so we welcome Buddy Peace to the team who has mixed and edited and made it sound beautiful and also meant it's not delayed by any more months. The good news is Toby is brilliant and it is well worth the wait, and the other good news is we have already started recording season 4 so that will be following this up oh so shortly. Look after yourselves x

Hello friends!

Our penultimate episode of series three brings to Margate the ultimate legend that is Laurie Bolger! It's impossible to listen to Laurie and not have a smile on your face so get your cheeks ready and dive on in. I celebrate having a brand new book out and Laurie clebrates having two brand new books out. I also share some big news that I can't remember if I've shared on the podcast before or not. We talk pubs, pyjamas, writing clubs, sisters, sunshine, flowers, online dating, sexy knees and more. I think you'll agree it is absolutely worth the wait.

You can find more of Laurie's stuff including her new books here
You can find my new book here

Stay Brilliant x

A lovely time with a local legend!

Brigitte was on my wishlist for Something Borrowed for a while when out of nowhere I got a voice note from her asking if she could come on because she reckoned she'd be good at it - It was meant to be! Also she was 100% correct, as not only our best-dressed guest of all time, but a wonderful mix of storytelling, song, punk, vulnerability, warmth and (ethical) fireworks. Featuring singalongs, univocalisms, travel tips and of course poems, it was an absolute treat from start to finish and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did x

You can find more of Brigitte's work here
You can come see me on tour here
You can order my new book here