Writer & Creative Facilitator
It’s the Yorkshire Festival and Refugee Week next week which means that there are a host of brilliant events across the North which celebrate the diversity, stories and talent of the region. There is a wonderful week-long Migration Matters festival in Sheffield and Wakefield, and as part of this Verse Matters is running a …
Continue reading “Refugee Week, African Stories in Yorkshire & Postcolonial Education”
There was a fantastic mix of words and music at Verse Matters in October. Shelley Roche-Jacques kicked off the evening with a lovely reading which explored the historical role of women writers. This was an apt opener, given the continuing inequalities in publishing, particularly for women, and for Black and Asian writers. In 2005 the Free-Verse-Report asked why so few …
After another fantastic night in August, Verse Matters is back on Thursday 10 September with more talented artists. There’ll be fantastic poetry from the formidable Toria Garbutt (A Firm of Poets), beautiful music from Lou Richards and poetry from the wonderful Genevieve Carver (Paper Boat Poets). There’ll also be open mic performances from Iranian musician/ MC MoLi Nik (ASSIST), Katherine …
The launch of Verse Matters was wonderful. Helen Mort kicked the evening off by reading a few of her fantastic new poems, taking us from the irritations of ‘blonde jokes’ to the diets of climbers. As Helen was about to read her final poem, a phone chipped in with precision timing: “You have reached your destination”. It certainly …
There’s some fantastic spoken word and poetry events going on in Sheffield at the moment. Up Scribe – a group who have been working with homeless and vulnerable people at the Cathedral Archer project – recently launched a book of fiction, memoir and poetry by the writers they have been working with. The book, called Lights Through the Shadow, …
There are some fantastic events on this weekend in South Yorkshire. You can head to Rotherham to a poetry workshop run by A Firm of Poets and ROMP, followed by performances by Ralph Dartford, Victoria Garbutt, Gav Roberts, Alison Dunne and Wayne Dyson. In Sheffield there will be fantastic performances and readings by Kei Miller, Ben Wilkinson, Kayo Chingonyi, …
Continue reading “South Yorkshire Poetry Festival, 22-24th May”
We’re getting closer to going live with Verse Matters: a new feminist arts event that I am setting up in Sheffield. We’re teaming up with a fantastic new cafe at The Hide on Scotland Street where we’ll be running every first Thursday of the month from 7.30pm. Verse Matters provides a platform for poetry, spoken …
The South Yorkshire Poetry Festival kicked off last night with more than a splash of Henderson’s Relish at the Fat Cat in Sheffield. Four poets performed their work as part of Gorilla Events’ Pound a Poet. Sarah Chomasin’s set, which included “Misogynist Sandwich” jostled alongside some striking open mic performers, including Anamoli Meraki. The crowd was super supportive and there was …
Rachel Bower