Katie Ailes
Dr. Katie Ailes is a poet, researcher, producer, and educator focusing on spoken word poetry. Since 2015 she has worked with I Am Loud Productions in multiple capacities, including as a producer, publicist, and performer, and she currently leads their educational programming. In 2022 Katie researched, scripted, and hosted the podcast ‘Building Stories,’ commissioned by Edinburgh City of Literature and Historic Environment Scotland. She has co-devised and performed spoken word shows with Loud Poets across the UK, including at the Edinburgh, Prague, and Brighton Fringe Festivals. Her poetry has been published widely and her poem “Outwith” was chosen as one of the Scottish Poetry Library’s Best of the Best Scottish Poems in 2019. Katie’s PhD focused on the performance of authenticity in contemporary UK spoken word. Katie is also a classically trained dancer and choreographer interested in the intersection between speech and movement, as explored in her cinepoems “Polos” and “Breathing Space”.
