SpokenWord Paris

William Walrond Strangmeyer was born in Roanoke, Virginia, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and Brofus, New Jersey, where he went to Rugrats University, starting out as a classics major, changing to musicology and finishing with an abnormal psychology, all of which he declined to follow up on or to practice due to a certain inappropriate nostalgia for the evanescent present, that virtual curry of import, pleasure, pain and fat.He has worked in many different fields of endeavor, including Palisades and other amusement parks as a caller, as well as banks, book stores, the cinema, the theater, door-to-door vacuum cleaner sales (alternating between the Abbott and the Costello roles), two failed marriages, restaurants, retail and – God forgive him! – insurance sales, taxi driving, telephone sales (light bulbs and the San Francisco Chronicle), warehouses and as a tour guide and was also co-editor of Upstairs at Duroc, a Paris literary review – thereby blowing his chances at working-class hero status – around the U.S. and in Copenhagen, Athens, Crete, London and Switzerland. Now a resident of that same Paris since 1977, he continues to earn his living as an English language trainer, formatting young adults and other undesirables so that they can produce growth in business, and as a translator, as if he were a young James Joyce.He is also the author of several other volumes of angrily sentimental and vulgarly picturesque Rococomantic poetry (all slim), his other principal interests being various forms of boxing and marshalling Art, bull fighting and aged music. He is Archon of Paris for the Moorish Orthodox Church and a member of various other organizations embracing a few essential beliefs and having even fewer doctrines.He has read all over Paris over the years and in London, NY and Florida.His main influences are science fiction, doo-wop and psychedelic (as we said in those lost and heartfelt days) music and a mis-spent youth, along with the usual Eliot, Pound, Wallace Stevens, Poe, Catullus, Larkin, Elroy, Doctor Seuss, Forugh Farrokhzad, Beaudelaire and also Emmylou Harris, Roy Jones Jr., Stoya, Leonard Cohen, Fedor Emilianenko, Bartok, Rodney Crowell, Nolan Strong, Leroy Griffin, Roy Orbison and other sadly missed voices that often come and go. His motto this year is, “All dust is gold,” but sometimes he forgets and thinks to himself, “A life in exile comes to feel like home but still home gnaws and eats away at the bone.” He usually tries to keep a straight face

Kim B Miller is a multi-disciplinary performing artist. She is Prince William County, Manassas & Manassas Park, Virginia US Poet Laureate Emerita and the (first and only) Black Poet Laureate for that region. Her poems have been published in an international haiku anthology, Washington City Paper (DC newspaper), Prince George’s Community College Literary & Arts Magazine and several books. Kim has graced the stage at phenomenal venues such as The National Black Theater in New York, The Atlas Per- forming Arts Center in Washington, D.C., Ashford & Simpson’s Sugar Bar in New York, the University of Pikeville in Kentucky, La Peña Cultural Center in California, Northern Virginia Community College, Busboys & Poets and many others.She is a formidable spoken word poet, captivating audiences with her bold words and sparking change through her passionate delivery. Kim delivered her first TEDx Talk in May 2025 titled 17 Syllables To Stop The Blame Game. In 2025, Kim received the Orchid Award from the TLOD–Dale City & Prince William Chapter in recognition of her exceptional leadership and com- munity work. That same year, she was also named InsideNoVa’s 2025 Best of Prince William Author of the Year. In 2024, Kim was honored with an official Proclamation from the Town of Dumfries, recognizing her contributions to the arts and her positive impact on the community. In 2023, she earned her third consecutive Haikuist of the Year title at the DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia) Renaissance Awards, and received the DMV Best Business Award in the Arts & Entertainment category for the second time. Additionally, Kim received the Vivien H. Hansbury Award in 2023 for her pioneering contributions to women in the creative arts. She was previously named Haikuist of the Year at the DMV (DC/MD/VA) Renaissance Awards in both 2022 and 2021, and earned her first DMV Best Business Award in 2021.Kim won the title of Southern Fried Haiku Champion in 2019. Southern Fried Poetry Slams, one of the largest Spoken Word tournaments in the US.

Floyd Humphrey–“I started writing poems in school while I was studyig English litterature and I copied they style of Keats, Byron and Yeats. Many years later I was advised by the Liverpool poet Brian Patten to find my own voice and style, both of which are in constant evolution. I regularly do open mics in London, I have been reading at SWP for exactly one year. I recently did an open mic in Amsterdam. I have been published in many editions of Delicious Zine magazine in the UK as well as The Opiate.I write mainly about love and the problems therein, and also about social and political injustice. On 6th October, I will have been living in Paris for 29 years.”

Irish poet Judymay Murphy lives in London and performs her poetry on stages all around the world including at the annual UNICEF Galas in London and Vienna. She’s a double graduate of Trinity College Dublin’s Samuel Beckett Centre for Drama and holds a Masters in Literature. Her grandfather was the celebrated Irish scholar and author Gerard Murphy best known for his work, Early Irish Lyrics, which has been an inspiration for poets since its publication over 50 years ago. Judymay‘s first collection, Monster Proof Poetry, was published in 2020 by Black Spring Press. The second collection, The Wildling Highway is due out next year. She has always been nomadic in nature, living in several parts of the world, including Kathmandu, Hollywood, New York, Washington DC, London, and of course Paris. She claims that The Marais owes her a full year. At Spoken Word Paris on September 15th she will be debuting her epic road poem, Ride.

Alice Gretton is an award winning spoken word artist, painting tapestries with words and performance. Kent’s poet for National Poetry Day 2019. Alice has won the United Kingdom Young Artist award, received mentoring from Canterbury’s Poet Laureate Lemn Sissay, and featured on BBC Arts, BBC Radio Kent, and at events across the UK. Alice’s debut collection Fruit Salad and Rocket Ships is out now, published by Llais Newydd. 

Here are the coming themes (feel free to ignore them!) and special guest poets!

Sept 1st — Summer’s End — no guest, entirely open mic
Sept 8th — Space — Alice Gretton
Sept 15th — Roads — Judymay Murphy
Sept 22nd — Obsession — Floyd Humphrey
Sept 29th — Conversations — Tim Holm

Cheers all,

David

Unfortunately the 28th July SpokenWord has had to be cancelled due to illness.

So the summer break is starting a little earlier than planned.

SpokenWord will start up again Monday 1st September at the Chat Noir.

Cheers all,

David Barnes

Emmet O’Brien burst into the scene in March 2017, and has done more than your average 25 year old. Within the first 3 years alone he released a book, entitled “A Perspective From The Corrupt Mind Of The Youth” aswell as various videos reaching tens of thousands of views. O’Brien, is also an event organiser, starting his poetry and music event “Vybrations” in June 2017. In 2018, he opened up for Shane Koyczan. The wordsmith released his second book, entitled “Yup Ouveh” in May 2018, where copies were sold in both Ireland and the UK, aswell as copies being sold in Nigeria. O’Briens third book, entitled “The Illusion Of Perception ” released in March 2019. A play adaptation of the book was launched in March 19. In 2022, O’Brien had his latest poem “Story bud?” muralised onto the walls of temple bar in Dublin city centre. 2023 saw the poet teach in prisons around Ireland with a project called “Storytime” and the project was toured around Ireland to show inmates they can be creative. Since then, O’Brien has been inducted to the Writers in Prison list, by The Arts Council, and continues to workshop in both Mountjoy and Cloverhill prison

CYNTHIA GOOD, an award-winning poet, journalist and former TV news anchor, is the author of eight books including two poetry collections; the recently published In the Thaw of Day, and the chapbook What We Do with Our Hands. Her poems have appeared in or are forthcoming in numerous acclaimed publications including Book of Matches, Free State Review, Open: Journal of Arts & Letters, Silver Birch Press, South Shore Review, Terminus Magazine, Tupelo Quarterly and Waxing & Waning. An MFA graduate from NYU, Cynthia lives in Santa Monica and Mexico with her Havanese dog Zuni.

Skye Jackson was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her work has appeared in RHINO, The Southern Review, Palette Poetry, RATTLE and elsewhere. Her poetry has been a finalist for the Iowa Review Poetry Award, the RATTLE Poetry Prize, the RHINO Founders’ Prize, and in 2021 she received the AWP Intro Journals Award. Jackson’s work was also selected by Billy Collins for inclusion in the Library of Congress Poetry 180 Project. She currently serves as a Visiting Writer & Lecturer at Xavier University Louisiana, Chairwoman of the New Orleans Poetry Festival and was appointed the Writer-in-Residence of the Jack Kerouac House for summer 2025. Her debut poetry collection, Libre, was recently published by Regalo Press.