When Art and Poetry Collide: An Evening at the Kent Talents Poetry Club

Being invited to read as a featured poet at a well-established poetry event has the effect of making one feel like a minor celebrity, but luckily the warmth of the Kent Poetry Talents Club brought me right back down to earth and made me feel as if I had walked in through the front door of a beautiful home.

Set in the heart of Broadstairs, the Kent Talents Art Studio is owned by Lana Arkhi, an artist whose talent becomes apparent as soon as you walk into her studio and feast your eyes on the banquet of portraits, ceramics and nature prints on display. With a formidable back catalogue, Lana is well known in the art world for her depiction of figures, but also in Broadstairs for her generosity of time, offering classes in art and French, and collaborating with poet Nancy Charley to host the Kent Talents Poetry Club every two months. Nancy’s success in the poetry world is also not to be understated. Author of Grace Notes, This Woman, Patricia’s Box and Little Blue Hut to name just a few, Nancy is a performance poet like no other, whose words read out loud and on the page hit the magical sweet spot that most poets can only dream of: both work. Inspired by her time spent in Thanet by the sea, Nancy is also generous with her time, giving emerging poets a platform and encouraging others to write. Lana and Nancy are a creative match made in heaven!

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t more than slightly harassed as I walked into the gallery on the 19^th January, having realised on the long journey from Ashford that I was, in all probability, going to be late. Running up to the gallery, my heartbeat increased as I saw the irregular shadows of a large crowd moving around through the steady glow of light coming through the condensation soaked windows, and knew that it was going to be a busy event. In fact, every seat in the gallery was filled as I walked in through the front door, but I was immediately welcomed by Lana and Nancy, directed to a table full of delicious food and drink and told to help myself. Nancy found me a seat near the front, and it was there, with prosecco in hand that I was finally able to steady my heartbeat by taking in the sheer volume of work on the walls of the gallery. With the piano playing steadily in the background, it really did feel like I was in someone’s living room at a family gathering, rather than a formal poetry event and this is what really sets Nancy and Lana’s event apart from other spoken word events.

As the piano came to rest, a rippling silence fell over the crowd as Nancy took to the front to welcome the audience to the event. There are no microphones here, the venue is intimate enough to be able to hear and everyone is respectful. We were treated to a stunning performance by Mark Holihan before I took to the stage and read for 15 minutes. It was then over to the open mic performers, who Nancy greeted as if they were old friends (with such a warm environment, it’s difficult not to feel as if everyone is a friend by the time you leave). The atmosphere felt inclusive, and the applause felt genuine and not forced; the people here like poetry and they enjoy listening to it. The evening was rounded off with sterling performances from Dave Part and Nancy Charley herself, who gave an impressive rendition of poems that she had learnt by heart.

Walking back to the car after the event, I felt a glowing warmth spreading through my body, despite the chill air. I’d never been to Broadstairs in the winter, and unlike the experience of summer, where you are funnelled down in waves to the golden sands, coveted by locals and Londoners alike, Broadstairs in winter feels more intimate, more like a hidden gem you never realised you were looking for. Looking out over the harbour, with the lights strung out along the top of the cliffs, I felt a million miles away from the harassed woman who had arrived a few hours earlier, all thanks to the hospitality and friends I’d made at the Kent Talents Poetry Club.

The next Kent Talents Poetry Club event is on 16^th March 2025. Tickets are £10 and can be purchased on the door.