In a celebration and commemoration of the importance of LGBTQ+ solidarity, allyship and joy, Loud Poets proudly presents an evening of poetry from queer and trans voices.

Join us at the University of Edinburgh on Tuesday, 19 November for feature performances from Tom Bird and RJ Hunter, plus an open mic (sign ups open now via the link below). Drinks and refreshments provided! This event is in partnership with the University of Edinburgh Staff Pride Network, UCU Edinburgh, and the Scottish Universities International Summer School (SUISS).

BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE.

Sign up for the open mic here. 

Learn more about the University of Edinburgh Staff Pride Network.

Learn more about UCU Edinburgh.

Learn more about SUISS.

Join Loud Poets through the rest of 2024 for more dynamic spoken word poetry showcases at the Scottish Storytelling Centre! Performances will take place 7:30-10pm on the following dates; click the links below for tickets.

Friday 11th October - Featuring Dominic Berry, Natalie Jayne Clark, Hannah Lavery, and Thabo

Friday 15th November - In Partnership with Bad Betty and featuring Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa, Akshay, Jemima Foxtrot, and Joshua Idehen

Friday 6th December - Featuring Ben Macpherson, EmmaClaire Brightlyn, Tom Bird, and Mike Yuill

These showcases were made possible by funding through Creative Scotland and the National Lottery.

The Loud Poets open mic started in February 2022 to create a space for spoken word poets to gather, share work and meet other artists.

The open mic takes place on the second and last Monday of each month from the Canons' Gait on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. The event is free and open to poets of all ages and experience levels with previous performers ranging from ages 8-80 taking to the mic!

Sign up to the open mic by emailing Mark at hello@iamloud.co with ‘open mic’ in the subject line.

For updates and details click here.

‘Poetry is not often seen as being the ‘best of fringe’, but at least for me, that changes now.’ — Entertainment Now

In 2024, we celebrated our 10th year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by showcasing the top spoken word talent of the festival at the Scottish Storytelling Centre!

Each show featured a unique line-up and Loud Poets’ classic fist-thumping, pint-drinking, side-tickling, heart-wrenching style of spoken word. This is poetry for the masses!

Our 2024 Best of Fringe show featured RJ Hunter, Thabo, Katie Ailes, Mark Gallie, Dean Tsang, Bex Bidgood, Mark Grist, Gigi Bella, James Stedman, Jenny Foulds, Ben Macpherson, Beth Macdonald, Dan Webber, Georgie Wedge, and Jonathan Kinsman.

Videos from our 2024 Loud Poets: Best of Fringe show will be published on our YouTube channel throughout autumn 2024.

In June 2024 we teamed up the wonderful folks at Porty Pride for Speak Up: A night of poetry celebrating the LGBTQ+ community!

On the grand Portobello Town Hall stage we featured Rachel Amey, Nasim Rebecca Asl, Gray Crosbie, and Themo H Peel, plus eight excellent open mic performers. Bex Bidgood hosted, and Yvonne Waddell and Jackie McDonald provided BSL interpretation for the feature performers.

Founded in 2021, Porty Pride is Portobello’s annual community-organised, grassroots Pride celebration. It aims to provide a safe, intergenerational, celebratory and educational Pride weekend for the whole LGBTQ+ community and its allies in a respectful environment.

‘Outwith Words' is the culmination of a 10-week collaboration between an expanded 45 piece Tinderbox Orchestra, Loud Poets and featured artists Hannah McCooke, RJ Hunter, and ACE V!S!ON.

After a thunderously successful event at Central Hall in March 2024, Loud Poets and the Tinderbox Orchestra partnered again for a 9-show Edinburgh Festival Fringe run of ‘Outwith Words’ in August 2024.

Tinderbox Orchestra produces mesmerising and unforgettable live shows featuring some of Scotland’s most talented young musicians across genres and an international cast of professional collaborators. Bringing together rappers & singers with soaring strings, heavy brass, woodwind and a thundering back-line, they have transformed preconceptions of what an orchestra can be.

An Evening of Poetry Celebrating International Women’s Day

Scottish Storytelling Centre
7.30pm, Thursday 7th March 2024

We celebrated International Women’s Day with a dazzling evening of poetry celebrating the diversity of women’s experiences, in support of the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre. Featuring a stellar lineup including RJ Hunter, Alice Tarbuck, Georgia Bartlett-McNeil, JL Williams, Elaine Gallagher and Jj Fadaka - plus an open mic! Co-hosted by Katie Ailes and Annie Rutherford.

This event proudly celebrated all women, including trans and intersex women, and people of all genders were warmly invited to attend. The open mic section centred the experiences of women and Loud Poets invited women, non-binary and gender-fluid people who are comfortable in that space to perform.

In 2023 Loud Poets delivered its biggest Live Season ever! Thanks to support from the National Lottery and Creative Scotland, Loud Poets brought you 21 unique shows over this year. 14 Spoken Word Showcases featured top poets from across the UK, plus a Scotland-wide Slam Series saw a winner crowned at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August, receiving a £3,000 Cash Prize!