Motto Poetry with bite Legal status registered charity | Type culture and arts | |
Formation 1982. An England-wide organisation since 2002 Purpose To stretch the boundaries of poetry in education and performance, by inspiring participation and giving voice to a diverse range of dynamic spoken word artists Headquarters The Albany, Douglas Way, London SE8 4AG | ||
Apples and Snakes, based at the Albany Theatre in Deptford, south-east London, is an organisation for performance poetry and the spoken word in England. It has been described as the main organisation promoting performance poetry in Britain. Set up in 1982 by a group of poets, the organisation has been "the development ground for many high profile poets and spoken word artists", including John Agard, Jean "Binta" Breeze, Malika Booker, Billy Bragg, Charlie Dark, Inua Elams, Phill Jupitus, Lemn Sissay, Kate Tempest, and others.
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Run by a board of trustees chaired by Kerry Featherstone, Apples and Snakes has been a registered charity since 1986. It currently receives over £400,000 funding annually, as a national portfolio organisation, from Arts Council England.
History
Apples and Snakes was launched in 1982, with its first poetry performance, at the Adam's Arms pub in Conway Street in central London. It is currently one of the organisations resident at the Free Word Centre.
In 2001 it organised a performance poetry event on London Buses. In 2013 it organised a series of events for young poets on climate change. In conjunction with the National Portrait Gallery and the National Literacy Trust, it organised a series of poetry events designed to complement Picture the Poet, a photographic exhibition that was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery and, in autumn 2014, at Sheffield's Graves Art Gallery.
Publications
In 1993, Black Spring Press published Velocity: The Best of Apples & Snakes, an anthology of works by contemporary poets who had performed for Apples and Snakes.