Speak

As the newest kid on the block of Singapore’s spoken word nights, Speak made its debut on 28 January 2013. It was started by Razi Razak from Home Club, Vanessa Victoria from spacer.gif and Deborah Emmanual from Word Forward with the aim to help emerging slam poets break into the scene. As Home Club is an edgier place compared to the comforts of BluJaz, the crowd here tends to be a bit more alternative.

Format: Each event has 18 open mic slots, with ten performances before the intermission and eight after. A loose topic is set for each month, such as ‘words as weapons’ and ‘fight for freedom’.

Who’s performed: Brilliant American slam poets Phil Kaye and Sarah Kay. Regulars such as Razi Razak, Vanessa Victoria and Deborah Emmanuel, as well as others slam poets like Arianna Pozzuoli and Muhammad Taufik.

How to join: Email Razi at razi@homeclub.com.sg or let them know via Facebook at least one day in advance.

Top tip: ‘In spoken word, the best thing you can do is to have conviction. As long as you have conviction, everyone else will feel it too, and that’s what spoken word is all about,’ says Emmanual.

While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, some last-minute changes may occur. We recommend calling the venue to confirm that the event is still ongoing.