Steve Larkin, poet, Hammer & Tongue inventor, royal entertainer, youth worker, university lecturer, prison poet, the list goes on. He is also presenting his own one-man show at the North Wall tomorrow night. Katherine MacAlister meets the man behind the words.

I was expecting Steve Larkin to turn up in his usual punk t-shirt and quiffed hair for our interview, so was surprised to be shaking hands with a man in a suit.

But then again Steve was about to perform for Prince Edward on his visit to Oxford, so had to tone it down a bit.

“They asked me to do something on the Jubilee, but I told them I didn’t really do stuff like that,” Steve laughs. “But I do have a standard ditty I pull out for such occasions.”

That’s hardly a surprise, because after all this is the man behind Hammer and Tongue – the live stand-up poetry craze sweeping through the country – and former poet-in-residence at HMP Grendon in Aylesbury.

As a result of his “life-changing” year there teaching poetry to lifers, he wrote N.O.N.C.E, his new one-man show, which he describes as “dramatic story-telling”.

“It’s a dark subject lightened with jokes and laughter,” he says “and when I tried it out in Canada some people said it was the best thing on that summer. So I’m proud of it because every single word is considered and it took me two years to write. It’s my Under Milk Wood or The Waste Land if you like. And yes it gets me emotional in a positive way because I relive it every time. But doing it in your home town is different and I’m terrified,”

he laughs.

Still, teaching poetry to Category-B sex offenders has its own issues. “It’s part of the socialising and humanising process and HMP Grendon has the lowest re-offending rate as a result. And it works because some of the inmates could barely summon up a sentence at the beginning, but by the end they shone and were full of confidence.”

But do they deserve it? “That’s irrelevant,” Steve says quickly, “because we need adequate rehabilitation because the rapists and paedophiles will be going back out to face the public at some point. But I made a conscious effort not to find out what they were in for, although inevitably that came out in their poetry.

“So N.O.N.C.E is an examination of that because it’s important that no subject is taboo. Plus there’s my anger issues and some personal stuff that happened that year.”

Heavy then? “Well yes, but as a poet I want to have an impact and being more diverse helps with exposure,” he says.

A far cry from the spontaneous and liberating immediacy of Hammer and Tongue. For those of you who haven’t witnessed Steve’s monthly poetry slams, you’re missing out.

Anyone can turn up and try out their own original work on stage. The audience are the judges and determine how long the contestants should stay on and who wins, by using score cards. Its fast, energetic and the crowds love it.

“I set up Hammer & Tongue in 2002 when I moved to Oxford from Leeds. I had taken my poetry as far as it could go up there and expected things to be better in London. But I was disappointed so thought I should start off something myself,” the 36-year-old tells me. “And having witnessed my first poetry slam in America, it was so vibrant I thought we could do with something like that over here,” he explains.

Starting off at the Brickworks on Cowley Road, Hammer & Tongue grew out of its premises almost instantly as the word spread. Steve now has monthly slams in Brighton, London, Oxford, Bristol and Cambridge as well as an annual grand-slam competition.

In short, Hammer & Tongue is a massive success and has shaken up poetry in a big way. “Yes it snowballed really quickly,” Steve says. “It’s done a lot to show that poetry is a viable source of entertainment and a good night out which people take to.”

* N.O.N.C.E. is on for one night only tomorrow night at the North Wall. Call the box office on 01865 319450 or see thenorthwall.com The next Hammer & Tongue is the Valentine Slam on Tuesday, February 14, at the Old Fire Station. Go to hammerandtongue.co.uk