Contains Strong Language 2020

Summary

A day of live spoken word and highlights from the UK's biggest festival of poetry and performance, taking place in Cumbria.
Front Row and The Verb kicked off the festival on Friday.
Radio Cumbria hosted CSL poets throughout Saturday.
Also on Saturday, BBC Arts hosted live video streams from the festival in Cumbria, including the creative response of poets to Ruskin’s View, the famous beauty spot in Kirkby Lonsdale.
And, in Wordsworth’s 250th anniversary year, we saw four poets perform their modern take on the Lyrical Ballads of Coleridge and Wordsworth.

Live Reporting

BBC Arts

And there's more...published at 16:17 BST 26 September 2020
We're bringing this live page to a close now, but there's plenty more happening at the CSL festival this weekend. BBC Radio Four will be hosting events from 4.30pm tomorrow.
Check out our full programme of performances, and find links to the best material from previous years on the CSL website.
And don't forget you can hear poetry all year round on the BBC. Have a listen to Poetry Extra, or check out 1Xtra's spoken word collection.
It's been great to have you with us.
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Contains Strong Language continues on BBC Radio and online.
Another chance to hear Hannah's poempublished at 16:05 BST 26 September 2020
Earlier today we broadcast Hannah Hodgson's tribute to Ruskin's View.
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Kate Fox will be performing tomorrowpublished at 15:59 BST 26 September 2020
Kate's show, Bigger on the Inside, is part of a triple bill of events in Barrow-in-Furness, along with Luke Wright's On Barrow and Wright's show with Cobbler, Better Off.
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Sound sculpturepublished at 15:54 BST 26 September 2020
We've been enjoying Ruskin's View through the poetic responses. But those taking in the real thing in Kirby Lonsdale today have been treated to some sound sculpture to give their ears something to feast on as well as their eyes.
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There's plenty more still to come from this year's CSL festivalpublished at 15:52 BST 26 September 2020
Tomorrow, Barrow-in-Furness will come alive to the sound of poetry delivered by solar-powered sculptural sound horns. Kim Moore will be sharing a poem and a pint with some of our CSL performers, and Kate Fox will be discussing autism and neurodiversity through the theme of Doctor Who.
Your host will be 'bard of lockdown' Luke Wright. BBC Radio 4 will be covering events from 4.30pm, and you can catch up on BBC Sounds.
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'Bard of Lockdown' Luke Wright recently performed a mammoth stint of 100 straight online gigs.
More from Ian McMillanpublished at 15:51 BST 26 September 2020
"With McMillan, you feel a draught coming from the blast of fresh air blowing through the dusty cobwebs that festoon most literary programmes."
McMillan is Barnsley FC poet-in-residence and Beat Poet for Humberside Police. You can hear more from him on his series The Verb.
Quote Message
"What I want for The Verb is that excitement you get when you go to somebody's house for the first time, you look at their bookshelves and think, 'I've never read that', 'I used to have that', 'I must read that' . It's the magic of discovery, the excitement of living language, stories, songs, the continuum of audience and writer and reader."
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Ian McMillan is a poet, journalist, playwright, and presenter of The Verb on Radio 3.
Technical problems in Cumbriapublished at 15:37 BST 26 September 2020
We're really sorry - we had been hoping to bring you a live poetry relay at 3pm, but technical problems have prevented us from doing this. The cameras are still rolling and we'll post a recording of the session as soon as we are able to do so.
You can still catch up on highlights of the festival so far. We opened last night on Radio 4's Front Row, and Ian McMillan hosted a special edition of The Verb.
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The CSL festival began on Friday evening on Radio 4's Front Row
Ian is standing bypublished at 15:08 BST 26 September 2020
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Our next live stream starts at 3pmpublished at 14:51 BST 26 September 2020
Prepare yourself for poetic relay, as our CSL poets each recite one of their own compositions. Passing Words starts at 3pm.
Image source, Jordan McDonald / Unsplash
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Our CSL poets each take a turn at the microphone in Passing Words.
My poetry is going to reach listeners that it wouldn't have before...published at 14:43 BST 26 September 2020
To whet your appetite for the final session of the day, here is a compilation of highlights from the three Hull-based editions of the CSL festival 2017-2019.
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Highlights from 3 fantastic years in Hull for the Contains Strong Language festival.
More to come from Ian McMillanpublished at 14:38 BST 26 September 2020
Over roving photographer snapped Ian speaking to BBC Radio Cumbria earlier. He'll be performing live here shortly.
Image caption,
Ian McMillan
Our next live stream will be starting at 3pmpublished at 14:34 BST 26 September 2020
Tell us what you've made of the festival so far using #ContainsStrongLanguage
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Everyone here has got a hyphenated second namepublished at 14:27 BST 26 September 2020
From the BBC Archive
Kate Tempest is one of the nation's most acclaimed spoken word artists. You can watch highlights from her set at the 6 Music festival in 2020.
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Kate Tempest appeared at the 6 music festival.
Another chance to hear Kim's poempublished at 14:18 BST 26 September 2020
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"Rap’s not music. It’s a broadcasting service"published at 14:12 BST 26 September 2020
George the Poet shares more life lessons from rap music, and urges rappers to take back control of their music.
What life lessons can you learn from rap music?
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George the Poet performing in the BBC Radio Theatre
"My mind was transformed in ways I couldn't explain for years"published at 14:08 BST 26 September 2020
Does rap music have a hidden educational potential? In this clip from the BBC archive, George the Poet describes how his career in grime inspired him to study sociology.
Welcome to the World of George the Poet
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A mix of poetry, music and conversation exploring what rap can teach us about education
Jacob Polley's Emergency: "I’m not in normal weather. What’s it like to be caught up in an emergency?"published at 13:59 BST 26 September 2020
Drama from BBC Radio 4
Earlier today we heard poetry from Jacob Polley, responding to Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads. Jacob is a busy man, as on Friday morning he was telling BBC Radio Cumbria all about Emergency, his's poetic response to our relationship with extreme weather.
Emergency is in the form of a play and features new versions of 8th century riddles, played by a couple caught in a catastrophic Cumbrian storm.
Polley gives voice to Storm itself, dramatizing the shock, awe and conflicting witnessings that have been fundamental to the human experience of catastrophe.
It all takes place in a unique soundscape composed by the Dutch musicians Strijbos and van Rijswijk.
- Catch Emergency on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday at 2pm.
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Emergency by poet Jacob Polley set in Carlisle in 2005 with Joe Dixon as The Storm
"Child, things are gonna get brighter"published at 13:51 BST 26 September 2020
From the BBC archive
You can listen to previous Words First winner Amina Jama's reflect on the role of black women in the lives of black men.
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Amina Jama's poem from Words First live in Hull, inspired by Bashy's song Black Boys
What is Spoken Word?published at 13:48 BST 26 September 2020
1Xtra's fantastic guide charts the evolution of spoken word from the American beat poets to present day artists such as Kate Temest and Polarbear.
- Spoken Word Explained by 1Xtra's Words First
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George the Poet performs at the BBC
Words First 2020published at 13:45 BST 26 September 2020
A passionate series of performances from up-and-coming artists.
'Words First' is 1Xtra's annual contest to find the nation's best new spoken word talent. This year, new poets were challenged to record a piece inspired by the theme of 'protest'. Our entrants didn't hold back.
You can see our 2020 finalists performing here. (Be aware that it contains language that may offend.)
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What is Words First?