Young Identity: One Mic Stand at Contact
Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature EditorJoin some of Manchester’s finest young spoken word performers for a night of poetry, music and visual art, featuring an open slam and special guests.
Young Identity at Commonword is a spoken word collective of writers aged 13-25, formed in 2006 by Shirley May and Ali Gadema. One Mic Stand (affectionately known as OMS) is their a popular poetry showcase and slam night, which takes place quarterly at Contact Theatre. Young Identity also runs projects and workshops, and is dedicated to giving young people opportunities to perform their written work, and have worked with artists such as Lemn Sissay, international spoken word icon Saul Williams, dub poetry legend Linton Kwesi Johnson, Ted Hughes Prize Winner Kate Tempest, and the late Amiri Baraka.