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Event Review: Loud Poets Slam Heat

Bradford Literature Festival 2026 saw the return of the Loud Poets Slam Heat for the second year. The event was hosted by I Am Loud director Katie Ailes, who welcomed the crowd with a rousing introductory speech. “We’re thrilled to be back in Bradford,” she said. “The heat here last year was by far the best and we’re delighted the festival has welcomed us once again.”

The evening began with a performance from Trystan Lewis, who won the 2025 Slam Heat. He performed for three minutes, warming the audience up and giving the competitors chance to prepare themselves before they took the stage.

The event saw 9 poets performing, with a panel of three judges scoring them out of ten. First up was Asiyah, who spoke passionately for her three minutes, projecting her words with power and passion. She was followed by CAESAR, who was in turn followed by eventual winner David Okodeh, who spoke about losing his father as a young child and how it was growing up in Britain as a black child. All nine of the poets performed fantastically, and the judges struggled to differentiate them in their scoring.

The six top scoring poets advanced to round two, performing another three-minute poem, to be scored again with the top three making the final round. This round was a little different – the poets were accompanied by a guitarist from I Am Loud, who soundtracked the poets’ third and final poems.

The poems performed on the night covered a wide range of topics, with everything from love to abusive relationships to CPR to the ghosts of rockstars invading your living room.

Between each round Ailes took to the microphone to explain the rules and praise the poets. “Give it up for all the performers,” she said at the end of the first round. “Unfortunately, we have to lose some poets now, but it’s nothing personal. Everyone here is fantastic and I’ve loved hearing your incredible work.”

The audience was even more enthusiastic than Ailes, clapping their hands, stomping their feet, and cheering wildly for each competitor. The winner was 18-year-old David Okodeh, who will travel to Edinburgh for the final in August. He was presented the Championship belt by 2025 winner Trystan Lewis, the old winner crowning the new.

The Poets

Asiyah (she/her) https://www.instagram.com/xii.asiyah/