A poet local to the Walsall area has recently been named the new host of the Voices from the Fountain open mic nights, held at the Fountain Inn, Lower Forster Street, Walsall. Ryan Kenny, 31, has been a Walsall resident since birth and he says his roots show through in his poetry performances.

“My accent is very clearly Walsall through and through, and my experiences of growing up, living and working in and around Walsall have shaped the way I write and perform.”

Ryan has been writing poetry since his early twenties and has self-published two collections of love poetry – 20/20 Vision and Heart in the Clouds – but only started performing as a spoken word artist late in 2022. His first open mic night was Voices from the Fountain, a monthly open mic for spoken word and musical performers, showcasing some of the Black Country’s finest voices, as well as attracting headline performers from across the country.

Ryan attended Voices from the Fountain each month until he was forced to stop performing in February 2024, as he fell ill with pneumonia and sepsis. “Being so ill was very scary”, says Ryan about his experience. “There was a period where I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs to speak to explain how I was feeling, never mind thinking about performing. I was fortunate that it was caught when it was so that I could get the treatment I needed. I can’t thank the ICU team at Walsall Manor enough for helping me to still be here today.”

After months of recovery, Ryan finally had air in his lungs again, and the urge to share his poetry was stronger than ever. Ryan finally returned to the microphone, once again making his first appearance at the Fountain, where he said he was welcomed back with plenty of love and support. Ryan has since gone on to compete in his first Slam Poetry event, hosted by Poets, Prattlers and Pandemonialists at the Ironbridge Gorge Heritage Festival. Full of excitement, nerves and poetry, Ryan stepped up to the microphone in the first round, expecting to be voted out in the heats. However, to his surprise, Ryan placed 3rd out of fifteen competing poets to claim a podium finish in his first ever competition, in front of his largest audience in almost a year.

Currently working on his third poetry collection, Ryan has said that his friends, family and healthcare team have helped him not only to survive, but to reignite his passion for poetry. He has also said that Voices from the Fountain feels like the birthplace of his inner performer, and that he will forever be grateful to Ian Davies, organiser of the event, and the regular attendees for being so welcoming and encouraging. Ryan expressed that the feedback and friendship provided at the monthly event is what gave him the confidence to branch out to perform at other local events, to perform more spoken word poetry online and even lead up to him being interviewed by the BBC about his work within the poetry community.

Ryan says that he sees it as one of his goals within poetry to make the art form more accessible to everybody and he hopes that his new role as the host at his poetic home of Voices from the Fountain will help him to help others find a platform to share their voice too.

To learn more about Ryan, to read or hear his poetry, or to find out more about his books, you can find him on Instagram at @r5k.poetry

To find out more about the Voices from the Fountain open mic nights, search for them on both Instagram and Facebook.

National Poetry Day 2024 is on Thursday 3rd October. The theme for this year is “Counting”. For more details, or to find events near you, please see the Poetry Society’s website.