u fancy art?

Two of the girls who live on my hall are very "artsie" and express themselves in many ways because of that, one being poetry. I was doing homework in the common room when one of them, Kristin, popped her head in and asked what I was doing tonight (past Friday). She said they were going to and performing at a poetry reading and she was trying to get a big group together. Having my 'want to experience the culture, when in London, I'm up for anything' approach to current life I said sure. Plus, I doubt this is anything I would ever attend at home.
So a group of girls from the hall and myself headed for Soutwark (pronounced Suffuk).

After an hour tube ride and 20 minutes of walking (I'm beginning to feel like this is the norm in London) we arrived at a pub filled with roaring students, we walked in, up the stairs, and it was absolutely quiet minus the person at the front with everyone's direct attention.
It was unlike anything I've ever experienced. I was expecting sappy love poems Shakespeare style. However, almost every poem (written by the individual) was politically geared. There were some love poems, but the majority by far were about politics for current events - I guess outside of the riots and labor unions you can join this is another form of expressing your anger.
Students got up there talking about how Nick Clegg is screwing them over, how they can no longer afford school, strongly dislike the crown, are angry at the government...some rapped to a tune while others were slow and dramatic. One even read a poem about how a white, British man was in love with a black woman and his parents didn't care for her not because she was black but because she wasn't of their social class. Side note: the English are solely about class! Race not so much, but class entirely. Class to them is basically race in America. Anywho, the entire event was shocking for me.
The two girls from my hall performed with shaky hands but produced very humorous love poems which everyone seemed to enjoy including myself. Definitely another verrrrrry interesting experience to add to my list of London experiences. I am really happy I got to see first hand something like that, and plus, the two girls continually thank all of us for supporting them...attendance was definitely a good choice.