Simon Mole is a London-based poet, emcee, and theatre maker and one part of the Chill Pill Collective.
"A while back I noticed that my use of my free time had changed in an unexpected way. The thing I was most excited about doing was making bread. I was only 27, and somewhere along the line pottering about the kitchen listening to people on the radio talk about minor football games I wasn't interested in had become my favourite hobby.
"Worried I was getting old before my time, and genuinely interested as to how I was getting such a kick out of baking, I set aside a day to do some writing at the same time as making a loaf of brown wholemeal. I discovered that one of the main reasons it made me feel so good was because of the pauses in the process.
"As a general rule I'm a busy man and often find that when I do get a chance to sit down and chill I have that niggling feeling I should be doing something productive. Making bread allows me to do nothing at all for large chunks of time when the dough is resting or rising, but for once this lack of activity doesn't worry me. I am doing something vital and necessary. I am making bread.
"I was an emcee for years, as half of a hip hop duo Mole & Iris, and as the rapper for a ten piece live band. I was also making theatre/performance art and whilst trying to combine this with hip hop I stumbled across spoken word. Haven't looked back since.
"What I love about spoken word is the way it allows me to throw together poetry, rap, story-telling, character-based stuff, and anything else I fancy - following on from that, what inspires me most about the poetry/spoken word scene in London and the rest of the UK is the huge range of styles and approaches around. As part of Chill Pill, I help to put on nights where we actively try to find artists with a contrasting but complimentary vibe. For example pairing UK hip hop emcee Mystro with story-teller/poet Rachel Rose Reid, or putting poet/playwright Sabrina Mahfouz on alongside sax-rap legend Soweto Kinch."
For listing of Simon's upcoming shows, check out his website simonmole.com.