The Live Poetry Book Club
Welcome to The Live Poetry Book Club, a summer book club exploring and celebrating live readings from black + mixed heritage writers.
For those who love nothing more than reading a good book (ones that move us and inspire us and allow us to see the world differently) and for those who adore listening to a writer bring their work into being through performance, at each of these unique events we will listen to the poet read their work in person, then take their collections home to enjoy afterwards.
June 29th we welcome Jasmine Gardosi. Jasmine Gardosi is the former Birmingham Poet Laureate and an Honorary Doctor of Letters. They are a multiple slam champion, beatboxer, winner of the Out-Spoken Prize for Poetry and winner of the Saboteur Award for Best Spoken Word Performer 2023. Their work exploring identity, LGBTQ issues and mental health has appeared on Button Poetry, at the Tate Modern, Glastonbury Festival, Symphony Hall and BBC. They were featured on Sky Arts' BAFTA-winning show Life & Rhymes and their poem about the pandemic, filmed on a rollercoaster, was broadcast across America on PBS. They have taken their poetry across Europe, including at Romania’s Transylvania International Spoken Word Festival, and Estonia’s historical, first-ever queer poetry slam for Baltic Pride.
We will also be joined by Eliza Shaddad. Eliza Shaddad is a Cornwall-based musician and songwriter of Scottish-Sudanese heritage. Her work centres around grunge-laden guitar riffs and raw, confessional lyricism exploring questions of identity and emotion. She is a graduate in Philosophy and Jazz, and her work has been championed by tastemakers such as Zane Lowe (Beats 1) and Lauren Laverne (BBC Radio 1) and supported by the likes of Rolling Stone, The Sunday Times, The Independent, Refinery29, and FADER.
10:30-12:00, MMI St Agnes. You can book now via the ticket link on this page.
So come, one and all, join us at the MMI St Agnes for this final very special morning of language.
Tickets are just £5 and include a free poetry book of the writer's work and free refreshments.
Concessions available, no questions asked, just reach out
Made possible through Arts Council Uk and Emblaze