Inside Morocco Bound Bookshop’s Open Mic Nights

Just off Bermondsey Street, a short stroll away from London Bridge, is Morocco Bound Bookshop. Independent bookshop by day, lively venue by night this place is one of London’s hidden gems. Its calendar is almost non-stop, with events that sparkle with variety, talent, and ways to get involved. They are champions of local voices, platforming indie artists, comedians, and, through their open mic nights, anybody with something to say. Back in December, FLOLondon spent a night with Morocco Bound to speak to the organisers and poets at one of their open mic events.

Morocco Bound Bookshop’s Open Mic Nights. Image credit Angelo Mikhaeil

Alan: “Just turn up and you’ll find out.”

My poems are all about things that concern me. I don't write about flowers or fields of flowers, but just things that that I'm concerned about. I found Morocco Bound by just walking past. I like this place because it's authentic. It's not false, it's natural and human. What do people need to know about open mic nights at Morocco Bound Bookshop? Just turn up and you'll find out.

Morocco Bound Bookshop’s Open Mic Nights. Image credit Angelo Mikhaeil

Max: “It’s totally inclusive, a safe space for everybody.”

Tonight I read a poem about the way that immigrants and other groups get scapegoated for all the stuff that's wrong in our society. People take advantage of that. And, basically, it's just another form of racism and hate, and we need to call it out and actually talk about it.

I've been to these open mic nights here many times before. I love coming here. The atmosphere and the vibe here is fantastic. Everybody's really supportive and enthusiastic and you get to see some fantastic poets come up and perform their pieces. It’s totally inclusive, a safe space for everybody.

I always encourage people to come along and try this. For people who haven't done it before, just come along and listen. Get inspired and have a go yourself. Just come along and experience it, and you'll get inspired. I'm originally from Liverpool, and I love living in London because you get a chance to do this in a lot of different venues.

If you are thinking about performing some poetry, wherever you are from, any community at all, it's completely open. It's beautiful because of that. There's very, very few things you can go to where you don't have to pay a fortune to get in. A lot of poetry events are free, or only costs five or six pound. You don't have to pay up a load of money. You can go along and everyone's friendly, wherever you're from, whoever you are. It’s for everyone. It really is.

Morocco Bound Bookshop’s Open Mic Nights. Image credit Angelo Mikhaeil

Leah: “Don’t let fear guide you.”

My poem tonight was about my anxieties, my fears that I have. Someone recommended coming here to me to get me back into poetry. I've done it before, in German, but never in English. So, this person was like, “oh, this is a really nice space!”, and I thought that I’m gonna sign up and give this a go. It felt good. It’s a lovely space. It's a nice community.  If you’re thinking about going to an open mic night and are tempted to perform, don't let fear guide you. Be optimistic that it's gonna work out and, and attempt whatever you wanna do.

Morocco Bound Bookshop’s Open Mic Nights. Image credit Angelo Mikhaeil

Jeffrey: “It’s the power of poetry.”

My name is Jeffrey, host of Morocco Bound Poetry open mic nights. I work here at the bookshop, but yeah, I'm a poet, too, amongst other things. My favourite thing about our poetry nights? It’s hard to quantify. It’s more than just people getting the chance to perform poetry. It is the closeness that people have with each other. Because we're all here together in a small space, sharing our hearts and souls. You see people relate to each other, and you see people talking afterwards, and it forms such a close-knit community over just one night. It’s the power of poetry.

I really love seeing people coming here for the first time who have never been involved in poetry before and then witnessing them gradually open up to it. They come here and they are like, “Oh, I can do this!”. That’s what I love to see, because you’ve just created another poet. Every time I see those moments, it's just amazing. There are people that come here for the first time, and then they go to other places to perform, and you were a part of that journey. Yeah, it's beautiful. That always is amazing to me.  

If anyone wants to try an open mic, I would say just go out there, share it. The possibilities are far beyond what you think you know. And whatever fears you have will be immediately dismissed by the kind of people that you meet, because the kind of people that poetry brings are open-hearted. People who genuine, who want to share part of themselves of the world, who want to listen to you and are ready to listen, ready to be there with you and relate to you.

Morocco Bound’s open mic nights usually run two times a month, typically on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Visit their Eventbrite page for more information.

Location: 1A Morocco St, London SE1 3HB. Website: moroccobound.co.uk. Instagram: @morocco_bound_bookshop

Words by Angelo Mikhaeil