Poetry is my therapy - I hope people hear my accent and feel inspired

A young poet who calls the spoken word her "biggest form of therapy" says the growing popularity of sharing poetry online is because people "have a lot to say".

Georgia Griffiths, 26, from Merthyr Tydfil, said writing poetry helped her to make sense of the world in today's "very political climate".

She hopes people from working class backgrounds will hear her Valleys accent and be inspired to "just write and share their work".

The "poetry" hashtag has amassed more than 93 million posts on Instagram alone.

Matt Nõmme, 35, from Cardiff, who also writes and performs poetry, said the artform was of the simplest and most accessible ways to express yourself.

Warning: This article contains a reference to suicide

"We're living in a very political climate and people have a lot to say," said Georgia.

"That's why spoken word poetry is on the up, you're seeing so many more videos on Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, and things like that."

Her poems explore themes including domestic violence, Welsh identity and being working class.

Having won the Glastonbury Slam Competition and recently competed at the World Slam, she wants to show that poetry is for everyone.

Georgia said she was "really lucky" to grow up with a creative dad who encouraged her to do "something you love" and believed "money wasn't the main focus".

"I just used to write poems about my friends and I would share them with people," said Georgia.

At 18, Georgia moved to Australia where a close friend died by suicide.

"I was really struggling," she said.

"I was halfway across the world away from everybody, and one day I just found myself writing a poem to him."

After returning to Wales five years later, she performed the poem at a memorial event and was struck by how many people connected with her words.

"People said I'd explained exactly how they felt and what they were going through," she said.

The response led to more performance opportunities and eventually inspired her to publish a poetry book.

Georgia said her poetry was inspired by the world around her.

"If I'm on public transport and someone says something, that can trigger a poem inside me," she said.

"It's just kind of this thing that comes over you when you're writing.

"I'm watching the news or something, and I get this feeling, and I write down the poem, and I don't usually go back and edit it."

She described her style as "real, raw and honest", using accessible language and rhythm rather than complex words.

Many of her poems draw on her experiences of growing up in Merthyr Tydfil.

"I think growing up working class you see a lot of the world through a different lens, and my main thing with poetry is that I want to give a voice to people who are sometimes voiceless," she said.

Georgia has recently competed in a slam poetry competition in Paris, won a competition at Glastonbury Festival, and has been invited to perform at an event in Madagascar.

"There's a lot more poetry events popping up, because people are writing poetry, and they want to share what they have to say," said Georgia.

Matt Nõmme, 35, from Cardiff, said writing and performing poetry was a "way for me to explain the world around me and kind of break it apart".

Matt said he wrote his first poem while sat bored in A&E with a family member in 2019.

By 2023, he "plucked up the courage" to go along to an open mic night event in Cardiff and read some of his poems.

"I kind of never looked back," he explained.

Matt said his poetry was mainly comedic, adding that he enjoyed performing to people "who didn't like poetry or thought they didn't like poetry".

He said he liked it when people changed their opinion and realised it was "accessible".

"I almost laughed at myself attempting poetry, and then the fact that it resonated with people has been a really nice surprise," said Matt, adding that he found it "very cathartic".

One of his most famous poems is about tourism at Pen Y Fan, which went viral online.

"So for instance, the frustration of Pen Y Fan doesn't have to come out of something lashing out against over-tourism," he said.

"You can just take the mick out of that and people get it from just one line. It sometimes tickles that. You know, like that funny bone."

Matt encourages others to write, describing it as one of the simplest and most accessible ways to express yourself.

He said that in a world focused on technology, where people can become caught up in making videos or perfecting production, writing requires nothing more than a pen and paper.

"There's really no excuse not to write," he said.

"It's kind of like if I don't do a poem, I can only sort of blame myself for not writing."

Matt said the simplicity of writing had been "liberating", allowing him to capture ideas anywhere - whether on his phone, on paper or whatever is at hand.

"I write on my phone, write about anything I've got on my mind. Whatever is the most fun at the time."

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, a list of organisations that can provide help and support is available via the BBC Action Line.