Name: Spork! Christmas Special
Start: 2024-12-17T19:30:00+00:00
Location: Exeter Phoenix

Spork! Christmas Special
Join Spork! this December for our 5th annual Christmas Bash, featuring a stockingful of spoken-word talent, some top-notch poets, a brass band, & a partridge in a pear tree!!
Our Christmas Special is a big dollop of poetry, comedy, live music & festive cheer. Featuring queer punk poetry comedy from T.S Idiot, soaring poetry from the award-winning John McCullough, silly verse with comic-poet Rob Barratt and a feature set from the slam winning Jemma Hathaway. Plus traditional carols from the gloriously horny Exeter Railway Band. All ho-ho-hosted by Chris White.
“Words that not only warm, but smoulder burn, ignite, inspire, calm, cool, hush and explode, and most of all, connect… Accompanied by the gentle brassy tones of the Exeter Railway Band, the event was rich with the feel of a festive hug.” PRSD (Spork! Xmas Special 2022)
JOHN MCCULLOUGH
John McCullough lives in Hove. His third book of poems, Reckless Paper Birds, was published with Penned in the Margins and won the 2020 Hawthornden Prize for Literature as well as being shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award.
John’s previous collections have been Books of the Year for publications including The Guardian and The Independent, and he also won the Polari First Book Prize. His poem ‘Flower of Sulphur’ was shortlisted for the 2021 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem. His fourth collection, Panic Response, was published in March 2022 by Penned in the Margins.
“Mournful yet angry, surreal yet deadpan, McCullough’s poems put immense pressure on the autobiographical self… elegiac, rebellious, painful and radiant” The Times
JEMMA HATHAWAY
Jemma’s poems have been featured on BBC Radio Bristol & BBC iPlayer. She’s a multiple slam-winner and was the 2020 Hammer & Tongue slam champion for Bristol. She is a Button Poetry Short Form contest winner, has appeared on Sky Arts Life & Rhymes and has supported Joelle Taylor, Jasmine Gardosi and Roger McGough. She has performed at some amazing venues, including: WOMAD festival, the Royal Albert Hall and her mum’s kitchen. I’ve been looking everywhere for you (published by Verve) is her first full collection.
ROB BARRAT
Rob is a comic poet and singer hailing from North Cornwall, blending clever wordplay, satire, and music to entertain and provoke thought. With a knack for humorous commentary on everyday life, Rob captivates audiences with his unique style and infectious energy.
T.S IDIOT
T.S. IDIOT is a queer post-punk poet who writes (and shouts) about queerness, community, mental health and the rising price of Freddos. They’ve produced work for BBC Arts, UNESCO and the Tate, and been shortlisted for the 2023 Outspoken Prize for Poetry in Film. They’ve appeared on stages at festivals, dive bars and poetry nights across the UK and internationally, including shows with indie, punk and poetry icons (like Attila The Stockbroker, and John Cooper Clarke). Their debut collection Back To The Fuchsia is due to be published by Arkbound Press in 2024.