Sea Swim | Meet the Poet Megan Chapman AKA MCMC Spoken

My passion for words started in the form of rap, to begin with. I heard an Eminem album played by a friend whilst in Spain and I've never looked back. I loved the combination of music and words telling a shared story cutting through gender, class and everything else. I guess I have carried this message on in the hope that my words offer a collective voice to those that may need one. My topics vary and represent my world and the much bigger connection of humankind. Poetry, spoken word has always been my outlet and way of processing and communicating, and relating to others. The spoken form allows me to connect to people, and as I always say thank you for your ears, you're my inspiration to create. 

I have always had a strong connection with the water. My family have always been water lovers and I have surfed since I was about 14 years old, so it is very much part of my life. I love the feeling of gliding across the ocean on my feet whilst time stands still. There is the uncertainty of not knowing when the next wave is coming, and it grounds you to the moment. In the surf and the ocean, you must be very present and in touch with the environment and the movement and motion of the waves. The social side of surfing and swimming is a big draw for me too, and you are never expected to finish a sentence if a wave is on your horizon but there is always time to find each other on the shore and reconnect as you warm up.

When the waves are flat, you’ll find me heading to the beach for a swim but overall, I enjoy the experience more during the warmer months. When I was creating and researching the piece for Red and the Sea Mist robe there was luckily a flat spell (no surf) and a heat wave all at the same time – so I got in the water a fair bit! I went out for several swims for days in a row and took the time to observe my own experience in and out of the water. I watched others making their way to the beach as they slowly prepared to immerse themselves in the water and cool their minds and bodies. I also spoke with a few fellow swimmers and asked how they felt about it so I could get a broader sense of how others interact with the water. The brief was open – to capture an early morning walk along the coast path and a swim in the sea before the sun begins to rise and the day lightens as the sea mist fades. 

Metaphors and rhymes are my staples so with such a flexible brief I felt able to immerse myself (sorry). There was one morning that a piece of green seaweed kept sticking to me and I thought I want to get this in the poem. I like the seclusion that the sea provides so I wanted to include that feeling as well. I have always enjoyed early mornings, so the inspiration was already deeply embedded in me, I just needed to let it surface, excuse the pun.

Rain or shine, I'm getting wet. You can’t see my body in the sea, I'm doing this for me 

This is one of my favourite lines in the poem. Physically you are free from the gaze of others or yourself and you can simply just be, move and swim with the motion of the sea. The robe colour, Sea Mist is gorgeous, and it all fitted together quite effortlessly. It's so comfortable and snuggling after that water too, it’s perfect. 

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Megan performs her written works and music at festivals throughout the UK. Based in Cornwall she works within a range of creative mediums including spoken word, rap and poetry. She was most recently featured on BBC Radio 4 talking and reciting her rhymes. 

If you’d like to follow her you can on Instagram, Facebook or contact her via her website below: 

https://mcmcchapman.wixsite.com/mcmc 

https://www.instagram.com/mcmc_spoken/ 

www.facebook.com/MCMCSPOKEN