Mark Mace Smith

The Runny Honey Bunny

I had a bunny
worth more than money
on a day so sunny
he jumped in runny honey
but that wasn’t funny
for the bunny…..

Mark Mace Smith (aka Thud Dub) is a poetry slam champion – he’s won competitions across the country, from Brixton to Barrow, including the Glastonbury Festival and on BBC Radio 4. Slams are a great way to perform poetry;  people in the audience give you a score so if you win you know that your poem has hit the spot. ‘Dub poetry’ is a form of poetry spoken to music or with a rhythmic, reggae and hip-hop influenced style.

Mark was born in London, then moved north to study philosophy, politics and then journalism in Preston. He won a Guardian newspaper award for the best student newspaper. He’s published his poetry in ‘A Head Full of Green’ and written articles in The Guardian, The Manchester Evening News and the Lancashire Evening Post. He supports West Ham United, but he has a soft spot for Preston North End. He also likes painting, percussion, photography and acting.

Mark will ask you questions and encourage you to ask him questions back – but he reserves the right not to answer! He says that a good starting point for writing poetry is ‘the moment that you are in’.

What young people say about Mark Mace Smith:

• ‘Top banana, cool dude, sorted man – very big.’
• ‘Mark was ace.’
• ‘I liked the man he was mint.’
• ‘Wicked, funny, made me happy.’
• ‘Runny honey bunny was really good because I got to act. Words are really interesting.’