And the winner of the Forward Prize 2025 is...
We are incredibly proud to announce that our very own Griot Gabriel has won the 2025 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem – Performed for his powerful piece, ‘Where I’m From.’ Recognized at a ceremony at London’s Southbank Centre, Gabriel’s win celebrates a poem that explores themes of race, faith, and community resilience in the Manchester neighbourhoods of Longsight and Ardwick. Judge Lisa Kelly praised the piece for its "rhythmic force and spellbinding lines," solidifying Gabriel's reputation as one of the UK’s most compelling voices in performance poetry.
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The Poetry Place is a poetry & spoken word events company founded by Griot Gabriel, for both established and new poets to share their creativity through writing, poetry, spoken word and performance. We run quarterly poetry nights, at Aviva Studios, the home of Factory International
We run creative writing workshops young people in primary & secondary schools, youth projects, and adults at any stage of their craft.
We help participants harness their inner creativity, nurture their critical thinking & enhance their ability to reflect. Our aim is to create an environment where people can channel their learnings into captivating wordsmith performances - celebrating the transformative power of the spoken word. For more information check out our workshop page.