We are gathered in York Hall, Bethnal Green, to be ‘KO’d by the power of words’ as the booming voice of compere Doc Brown tells us, the echo resonating around the school gym style room. Filled with tables of chattering people, munching and drinking whilst they soak up the literary genius of performers, the night is centred around a boxing ring. Literally, it’s a slam. Tonight it’s the opportunity of ‘book nerds to meet the boxing hards who used to beat them up’ – and those book nerds come out victorious.
Opener and bull running story teller, Bill Hillman’s set is dense and colourful with words, but less easily eloquent than other speakers, which is not to take anything away from the quality of his prose.