10 years of Raise the Bar
This powerful exhibition features poetry of revolution, resistance and activism, showcasing the power of poetry to question authority, speak up for the oppressed, and call for radical change.
For 10 years, Raise the Bar has run poetry events across the city at community venues and large theatres, including a show at Bristol Beacon in September 2024 attended by 1000+ people. Raise the Bar has established itself as the South West’s leading live poetry night, celebrating the diversity of the artform and platforming stories which need to be told.
This exhibition features the work of poets who have performed at Raise the Bar shows at Arnolfini over the past decade, as well as historical poems which have been showcased and celebrated as part of themed events.
Featuring poetry from Travis Alabanza, Anthony Anaxagorou, James Baldwin, Mahmoud Darwish, Lowkey, Nikita Gill, Salena Godden and Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan.
Curated by Raise the Bar’s founder and director Danny Carlo Pandolfi, poet, rapper, cultural producer.
You can find PDF full versions of the exhibited poems by clicking on the links below:
Close to the Bone by Travis Alabanza
Staggerlee Wonders by James Baldwin
In Jerusalem by Mahmoud Darwish (translated by Fady Joudah)
Letter to the 1% (verse 1), and Love Live Palestine (chorus) by Lowkey
Every bombed village is my hometown by Nikita Gill
Tell Good People Good Things by Salena Godden
To be a Muslim Woman by Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan
You can watch or listen to the poets recite their poems below:
To be a Muslim Woman by Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan
Tell Good People Good Things by Salena Godden
Staggerlee Wonders by James Baldwin
In Jerusalem by Mahmoud Darwish (translated by Fady Joudah)