In a nutshell

Six poets explore and discuss identity and belonging in Brexit Britain

Go on…

‘A nation is an imagined political community’ Benedict Anderson

‘National identity is complicated by many things. Mainly I think by who has access to it, and who doesn’t.’ Eavan Boland

‘I had no nation now but the imagination.’ Derek Walcott, from ‘The Schooner Flight’

How can contemporary poetry in the UK contribute to new and vital conversations about identity and belonging? Six poets perform and discuss their work in the wake of a referendum that exposed bitter divisions in the UK – in terms of race, class, education, generations, and ideas about nationhood and globalisation.

All proceeds go to Refugee Action: http://www.refugee-action.org.uk/

What to Expect

Poetry performance and discussion exploring issues of national identity and belonging from a wide range of viewpoints and experiences, featuring Kayo Chingonyi, Ruth Padel, Nia Davies, Siddhartha Bose, Claire Trevien, and Clare Pollard. Poetry performances will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session. The audience will be encouraged to explore and consider their own ideas about national identity and belonging.

Who’s Involved

Somewhere in Particular is dedicated to celebrating and exploring unsung places and spaces, bringing live poetry out of theatres and small bare rooms and into the world. We invite the most exciting and talented emerging and established poets to perform at site-specific events that actively engage with community and environment.

Kayo Chingonyi is a fellow of the Complete Works programme for diversity and quality in British Poetry and the author of two pamphlets, Some Bright Elegance (Salt, 2012) and The Colour of James Brown’s Scream (Akashic, 2016). His first full-length collection, Kumukanda, will be published in June with Chatto & Windus.

Ruth Padel’s latest collections are Tidings, on homelessness (‘a magical narrative poem,’ Observer) and The Mara Crossing on migration .She is Reader in Poetry at King’s College London, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and Chair of the 2016 Judges for the T S Eliot Prize.

Nia Davies‘s newest publication is Çekoslovakyalılaştıramadıkl arımızdanmısınız or Long Words (Boiled String, 2016) and her first full-length collection All fours is out from Bloodaxe in 2017. Her poems have been translated widely, recently into Bengali and Mandarin. She edits  Poetry Wales and has worked on several transcultural literature projects.

Siddhartha Bose’s books include Kalagora, Digital Monsoon and Back and Forth. Sid has been featured on BBC 4, BBC Radio 3, and BBC Asian Network. His plays include London’s Perverted Children and The Shroud. Sid was a Leverhulme Fellow at London University, has guest-edited Wasafiri, and made a film, Animal City.

Claire Trévien is the anglo-breton author of The Shipwrecked House (Penned in the Margins, 2013) and Astéronymes (Penned in the Margins, 2016). She founded Sabotage Reviews. Her poetry has been published widely including in POETRY (Chicago), The Sunday Times, and The Guardian.

Clare Pollard’s translation of Ovid’s Heroines (Bloodaxe, 2013) has recently toured as a one-woman show with Jaybird Live Literature. Her fifth collection is Incarnation (Bloodaxe, 2017). Her website is www.clarepollard.com.

What people are saying

‘Bloody wonderful’ (audience member on BODY at Wilton’s Music Hall)

‘Poetry, but not as we know it’ (audience member on The Bawdy Bard at Wilton’s Music Hall)

Why does Rich Mix matter?

‘Rich Mix provides a space in which new public art and entertainment can develop and grow, reflecting and resonating with its communities. Rich Mix enables a diverse range of people to experience and participate in the arts, contributing to a more innovative and inclusive arts scene in East London.’

Find out more

Web: http://www.somewhereinparticular.org

Twitter: @somewhereinpart

Facebook: SomewhereInParticular/ 

Things you should know

This event in suitable for ages 16+

Latecomers welcome between performances.