Poets from St Lucia joined other guests who performed at New Writing South’s intimate evening of “Rhyme, rice and peas”, where guests were served both food and verse.

Host Dean Atta read the title poem from his book I’m Nobody’s Nigger but still created a light-hearted vibe.

After two single readings, poet/playwright Sabrina Mahfouz read sections from her play Chef, which is being performed by an actress at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe but which Sabrina enacted herself with much skill and personality.

Next up was the star of the evening, Kendel Hippolyte from St Lucia, who described poetry as “a way of making a conversation happen in a different kind of way”. He then included the audience in some readings including Crazy Eddie, about commercialism gone mad. The captivating 62-year-old has numerous published collections, his latest being Fault Lines. His varied verse was political, personal, and spiritual with wide influences including reggae and rap.

Finally, there was a change of pace with Paul Cree and his light-hearted reflections in Tales From The Bedsit. He was also a talented performance artist, who told relatable, down-to-earth stories such as Small Talk about “PR girl” and “Scarf boy” he met at a party.

This regular night is a treat for any performance poetry fans.