The surprise is out… we wrote a book! For months the Loud Poets team have been working away behind the scenes on our very first printed anthology, and it’s finally here! Loud Poets: Volume I features 12 poems each from Kevin Mclean, Mark Gallie, Bex Sherwood, and myself. It’s been beautifully printed in the UK and we can’t wait to share it with you!

This plan has been in the works for years: to gather the best material by each of the Loud Poets into a collective poetry collection. Although we’re all spoken word audiences who value performance and the live interplay between performer and audience during gigs, we also fiercely believe that spoken word poetry holds its own on the page. Much of the fun of editing this collection was working out how best to translate gesture, volume, intonation, and other performance elements into the poem’s printed text. We played a lot with formatting!

In selecting our poems for the anthology, we chose work from across our repertoires: some classic, often-requested pieces, some new material, and some of our personal favourites. It makes for an eclectic mix, not unlike what you’d find at one of our shows!

This book wouldn’t be possible without our Patreon patrons; their generous support allowed us the time and resources to develop and print it. If you’d like to help support I Am Loud and get lots of goodies, including early video access, access to full shows, and some exciting upcoming plans with the Community Tier, you can sign up now here.

Join us to launch Loud Poets: Volume I in style on Monday, 30th January, at the Kilderkin pub on the Royal Mile. We’re transforming our first monthly open mic of 2023 into a book launch, with performances from all of the Loud Poets plus open mic opportunities. The event is free and the venue is wheelchair accessible. More information here.

If you can’t make it to the launch, don’t fret: the books are now available for pre-order on Etsy and will be shipped from Tuesday 31st January. Worldwide shipping available. We’ll also have the books available at our merch table at our shows this year; learn more about our jam-packed 2023 season here.

We’re so excited to finally share this book with you! Thanks for all of your support! –Katie