Something Borrowed Podcast With Harry Baker

Welcome back! This week I am joined by fellow Roundhouse Poetry Collective alumni and brilliant musician Isabel. As well as a shared love for attempting covers of pop songs with cheap keyboards and mutual appreciation of Zia Ahmed, we discuss the sea and water in general, as well as the power of poetry to shift our view on the world. Izzy's Something Old is one of my favourites yet, as well as a borrowed poem 'Find The Poet...

Hey friends, we have a birthday special this week! Not only is it my birthday and sort of the birthday of the show (after first trying out the format on a little thing called Instagram live as a mini-party online because we were just entering a pandemic..) it is also the birthday of my mum, Grace, AND my fabulous guest, the wonderful Jake Wild Hall!

I begin with a birthday remix, bring the pi day/mother's day crossover the world...

It's Episode 2! This week it was such a treat to get to speak to and hear from the Wonderful Zena Kazeme - We both shared some old old poems and some new old poems, as well as borrowing some stunners from our all-time faves, before finishing on a slightly blue mood (with a caveat of hope!). We also touch on how poems can be both light and heavy, timely and timeless, and what makes a poem a poem if it doesn't have an audienc...

We're back baby! Season 2 of Something borrowed kicking off with a bang in the form of the lizardy wizard Gecko. Since season 1 Gecko has released a new album from which he treats us to a new song, as well as a gorgeous cover, another creative response to something blue and a song I love so much he played it at my wedding, but which has found new life on Tiktok!

I kick off with my old poem Weston Super Nightmare to celebrate the...

It's the season Finale! The Incredible Rachel Long, founder of Octavia Collective and author of the brand new My Darling From The Lions joined me on Zoom and I can't think a more perfect way to bring season one to a close.

Alongside me sharing two poems on the environment 10 years apart, we talk about the shift of language and how old poems morph into new ones, I borrow something from the wonderful Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan and...

Episode 19 brings us the unstoppable force of joy and energy and truth that is Josh Idehen. Live from Stockholm, Josh single-handedly makes up for me not having been able to perform to audiences full of people for 6 months. We have poetry wheel-ups, we discuss Arch Nemes-lines, Josh brings a new old and a new new poem as well as borrowing two that will stop you in your tracks and have you rolling like a Bristol statue. I share one ...

Hey friends! This weeks episode was an absolute delight - Featuring the wonderful Katie Ailes, we go from flooffy cats to quakerism via Norwegian death metal and insta-poetry, there's a spontaneous story time and some one-direction Karaoke, but mainly some lovely lovely poems and warm and wise chat in-between. We shared some Jo Bell and George The Poet in our borrowed section, as well as brand new poems and increasingly tenuous...

We're back baby - This week we have the glorious Hollie Mcnish! One of my favourite poets and people in general, a fellow member of Team GB slam team with myself and Vanessa Kisuule once upon a time, and all round hero.

My something old this week is the first poem I ever wrote, and Hollie kicks off with a Scottish-ish theme, we talk about the joys and shame of taking mini shampoo from hotels, Hollie borrows a cracking poem about...

Special Bonus Episode!

This week marked the release of the music video for 'So Viele Leute', a song originally debuted as the 'something new' for Episode 13 with James Kiely, and to celebrate we have the full track in its mastered glory for your ears, as well as some context on how it came about.

You can listen to the standalone track on Spotify Here or iTunes Here
Or watch the music video Here
You can see me perform it...

Hey Friends - Episode brings us the one and only Bridget Minamore! A brilliant poet and reluctant lockdown-gigger, it is a rare treat to be able to have Bridget share some of her fantastic poems with us, as well as talking all things Brainchild Festival, Roundhouse Poetry Collective, Rap Battles and beyond.

As well as revealing how a bacon sandwich stall stopped me having to sleep on the streets of Amsterdam, I shamelessly embrace m...

Hey friends - This weeks episode is the first one where my guest has been in the same room as me! Introducing a man who was next door to me in halls for a year and who has been quarantined with me for the last month, It's the one and only James Kiely !

As well as sharing our seminal hit 'I love Christmas', we feature a world premiere debut of an imminent summer hit and a subtle remix of Will Smith's 'Miami' f...

Hey Friends - episode 13 brings us one of my favourite poets I've come across in the last year and my now very good friend, Helen Seymour!

Helen kicks us off with the best poem about a mammoth you will ever hear before sharing something from her new collection she is working on, then calls a taxi with unexpected consequences and finishes with a rendition of Blue's All Rise that I can only describe as Life-Changing. On any or...

Hey Friends! Welcome to episode 12 of something borrowed featuring fantastic poet and recent UK representative at the World Poetry Slam via Zoom screen share (!) Tyrone Lewis. We talk about how it is to have your poetry judged in different languages and what references may or may not make sense.

I share my thoughts on So Solid Crew's 21 seconds to celebrate being one step closer to BFFs with Lisa Maffia and borrow Vanessa Kisuu...

Hey friends - this weeks episode brings us the completely wonderful Tony Walsh, one of my favourite poets in the country and another guest who I feel like I could talk to for hours. We geek out over the nerdiness of rhyme and how it can be used for the serious as well as the frivolous, we both try and capture the movement of music in poems. I share part of Dave's 'Black' from his Brit awards performance and Tony shares ...

Hey Friends - This episode brings us back firmly into the world of music with the glorious Phoebe Katis! Phoebe is a fellow fringe-r, a good friend and a brilliant musician, and her new album came out this week! We're lucky enough to hear some of the new tracks from it as well as some classic Carole King and an extra very special Something Borrowed indeed that makes me smile even thinking about it.

Meanwhile I am inspired to sin...

Hey friends - Episode 9 brings us the warm and wonderful Malaika Kegode! I got to know Malaika when I moved to Bristol where she now runs her fantastic Milk poetry nights which we talk about in the show, she finds something really old to share with us, as well as some poems from her new (shiny!) book and her borrowed poem being Thom Gunn's The Hug which I never knew how much I needed until I heard it.

To celebrate the Bristol l...

Episode 8 brings us one of my absolute favourite people from poetry world - the wonderful Mark Grist! Amongst other things we discuss how we went head to head in my first ever slam, the art of univocalisms, the joy of performing at weddings, and what is or isn't a poem.

For my Something Borrowed this week I share an absolute fave with Dr Seuss's Oh The Place's You'll Go and Mark shares a brilliant poem from a mutual ...

Episode 7 features one of my favourite poets I've come across since moving to Kent - Neelam Saredia-Brayley is a fantastic writer and performer and even managed to upgrade my textbook response of "come onn" to an "Oh My God!" in this episode.

We cover #NaPoWriMo, lockdown haircuts, Shrek and whales among other things - for my something borrowed I share a favourite from the Wendy Cope and Neelam stops me in my tra...

Hey friends - I hope you're ready for a whole heap of heartwarming bromance because we definitely were when we recorded this. This weeks guest is the glorious musician and dear friend of the show Chris Read!

For my something old I go back to one of the first things we ever performed together, before bringing the love in our new work. I share some Pam Eyres and Chris surprises me with his something borrowed being my own poem reci...