About
- Performance
Performing poetry since 2002, Sam Berkson has toured the UK and performed at festivals from Latitude, to Edinburgh, to Hay-on-Wye, Secret Garden Party and Bestival and as the UK representative at the European Lyd plus Litteratur Festival of literature and music in Aarhus, Denmark. He performs under the stage name, Angry Sam.
- Promotion
Sam has been organising, running and hosting live poetry nights since 2005. He currently coordinates the Hackney branch of UK performance poetry network, Hammer and Tongue.
- Education
Sam is a qualified teacher with seven years’ experience in secondary schools in three different cities.
He now runs poetry workshops for adults and young people in a variety of different settings, including schools, both primary and secondary, libraries and community festival.
He aims to “engage people with poetry as a verbal art form made of sound and rhythm and free them up to create their own.”
“Year 9s … are won over by his conviction and clarity, and soon become mesmerised.” The Guardian
If you wish to book Sam for workshops or performances please get in touch via the contact page.
- Press and Quotes
Angry Sam featured in The Guardian Education 2011
Angry Sam interviewed in The Hackney Citizen 2012
Angry Sam’s poem in Hackney Citizen review of anthology ‘Acquired for Development By…’ 2012
“Angry Sam kills the crowd softly with rare wit and a laidback style that softens the knife wounds left by his acid political poetics and searing urban imagery.” – Martin Daws, Poetica
“‘Angry’ Sam Berkson was another highlight; his poems of urban sprawl blend streams of colloquialisms with a simple elegance. His poems push your perceptions of both places and people, doing what all truly excellent poetry should do: make you see the world in a different light” – Sabotage
Angry Sam’s poetry led our audience through an urban landscape populated with an array of characters who were sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartwrenching, but always totally entertaining. Definitely a poet worth seeing.” – Sophie McKeand, The Absurd
“Sam Berkson’s poetry captures the moving margins of Hackney gentrification” – The Hackney Citizen
angrysampoetry 
Hello, would just like to leave a comment to say how nice it is to see someone doing something of their own on wordpress as opposed to talking about anorexia or animals or shitty tv programmes. As a budding poet myself (not a very good one at that) it’s really interesting to read the poetry of others. Thankyou for your light, sorry for my excessive comment,
Willow
-Let us Hackneytopions stick together in times of grief.
Willow
January 1, 2012 at 6:07 pm
Thanks Willow – the encouragement is appreciated and hopefully see you down at a poetry gig in Hackney soon.
angrysampoetry
January 3, 2012 at 12:29 pm