Join us for a special evening with Kwame Dawes as he shares readings from his collected works, including poems from his Forward Prize-winning collection, Progeny of Air and his more recent book, Sturge Town: Poems. The reading will be followed by a Q&A session, chaired by curator-producer Melanie Abrahams. 

Throughout the evening, he’ll explore the phrase ‘Walk Good’, a warm Jamaican blessing offered at parting, and consider its deeper resonance: the acts of blessing, the journeys of poetry and literature, and the connections we encounter and carry with us over time and across borders.

A partnership between the Centre for New Writing and Renaissance One, supported by Peepal Tree Press.

A Caribbean Story: Love Finds Us Eventually.

Ol' Man Swanny with Renaissance One and supported by Leeds Playhouse presents WINDRUSH BY SONG, a Dance meets Music and Theatre show about togetherness and community: two hearts that mix up an’ mek somting sweet. After discovering an old photo, a brother and sister are transported to 1940’s Nevis, the Home of Sorel and Ginger, their Grandparents.

Through a Caribbean lens, we see Sorel and Ginger’s journey first apart and then together; leaving Home, arriving on cold shores, finding each other in love and forming a family, all while enduring racist Britain.

Join international, national and local poets and wordsmiths of Caribbean heritage for a dynamic and unforgettable evening of poetry, discussion and community togetherness at Bristol Old Vic. 

The event includes live performances from international headline poet Shara McCallum (OCM Bocas Caribbean Poetry Prize winner), legendary UK-based poets Anthony Joseph (T. S. Eliot Prize winner) and Malika Booker (2 x Forward Prize winner), alongside exhilarating poetry performances from Bristol poets including Sukina Noor, Kaycee Hill and Poetical Dash and hosts Muneera Pilgrim and Edson Burton. 

The evening will also include panel discussion that explores themes of diasporas, nature and wellbeing and features Shara McCallum, Melanie Abrahams, Zakiya McKenzie and Shawn Sobers, plus feelgood music from DJ Style.

The evening takes on a ‘liming’ aspect of going with the flow or hanging out, a cultural practice from Trinidad which happens in many parts of the Caribbean and around the globe. Add poetry and music to this, and you’ve an occasion for socialising, art and togetherness. The event will be BSL interpreted.

John Agard and Philip Nanton – Caribbean Sensations

An evening of poetry, musicality and entertainment by acclaimed poets John Agard (recipient of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry) and Philip Nanton who is visiting the UK from Barbados, to showcase Caribbean culture. Produced by Renaissance One and hosted by arts curator Melanie Abrahams.

In 2020, writer and academic Corinne Fowler co-authored a report investigating the colonial histories of National Trust properties. Colonial Countryside, co-edited by Corinne, is an anthology of creative work by ten global majority writers, accompanied by historical commentaries, exploring National Trust houses with significant colonial histories.

This event brings together author, academic and creator of the Colonial Countryside project Corinne Fowler, author and academic Malachi McIntosh, playwright Casey Bailey and historian Miranda Kaufmann, with chair Jonathan Davidson and offers readings from Colonial Countryside, a panel discussion and Q & A with the audience.

The Colonial Countryside project is produced by Renaissance One and Peepal Tree Press and supported through funding by Arts Council England.

Join us in an event celebrating performance, oratory and rhythm with two of the UK's most sought after poets, John Agard and Mark Gwynne Jones, with guest pianist and songwriter Rob Dimbleby.  The show will feature Mark Gwynne Jones performing with Rob Dimbleby, a solo performance by John Agard of new poems and classic favourites and, a finale of an improvised collaboration between all three artists to round up the evening.

The event is produced by Renaissance One and Wirksworth Town Hall and is supported through funding from Arts Council England.

Poetry phenomenon and British cult legend Dr John Cooper Clarke announces his new UK tour: In Celebration of World Poetry Day.

John Agard supports an evening of Dr John Cooper Clark

Fans can expect a one-of-a-kind journey through poetry by one of the world’s most important and entertaining spoken word artists. Performing classic numbers including Chickentown and Beasley Street as well as brand new material from the new collection “WHAT”, John will bring his unique perspective and incredible work to his biggest audiences yet – with plenty of laughs along the way. John will also be joined by special guest John Agard.

Renaissance One presents an afternoon of poetry, music and liming at Lewes Library to showcase the Caribbean culture that has helped to transform Britain. Featuring the acclaimed John Agard, Grace Nichols and special guests, with hosting by Melanie Abrahams, it offers fun for all the family.

John Agard is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.  An internationally renowned Guyanese poet, playwright and writer for both adults and children, he has lived in Lewes since the late 70s. He is a recipient of the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry and also BookTrust's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021. Acclaimed Guyanese poet Grace Nichols has published nine adult collections including the ever popular ‘The Fat Black Woman’s Poems’ and ‘I is a Long-Memoried Woman’ which won the 1983 Commonwealth Poetry Prize.  She is a fellow and Vice-President of the Royal Society of Literature. As one of the poets studied on the GCSE syllabus, she was awarded The Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry by Her Majesty, the Queen in 2021.

This event is free but booking is essential.  Suitable for 4 years and ove

Join us to celebrate the publication of The Leap Cycle tetralogy of middle grade novels by Patience Agbabi, with a special-guest appearance from Ellah Wakatama, Editor-at-Large at publisher Canongate. 

Hear Patience read from her books and be in conversation with Ellah and put your questions to her in this lively online event. We are particularly delighted to be marking the publication of the fourth and last novel of the series, The Past Master, which was published in February.With time travel, friendship, and the fate of the world at stake, these adventurous books following neurodivergent time-traveller Elle Bíbi-Imbelé Ifíè have won multiple awards and found a special place on countless children’s bookshelves.

The event will be hosted by literature curator Melanie Abrahams, is produced by Renaissance One with Canongate Books and is developed through funding by Arts Council England.

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Come on down for our great big spoken word summer salon – celebrating and marking multicultural Britain and showcasing some of the lived experiences and historical moments that have shaped it as it is today. Have supper on us as we swap experiences, bond over poetry and build on our previous and successful salon in July 2022.

Share your work as part of a rich and inclusive open mic and experience the acclaimed, Renaissance One’s Unknown Soldier – a one-woman performance and multi-media installation bringing to life the hidden family narrative of poet-artist Seni Seneviratne and her father’s experiences as a Royal Signalman in the North African Desert War. Based on the Peepal Tree published poetry collection, the show explores Seni’s father’s return to England from the war, his marriage and life growing up as a mixed race family in the 1950s in Leeds.

If you would like to share something as part of the open mic, email hello@wordpoetry.co.uk – work connecting with themes of togetherness, home and belonging are particularly invited.

The evening is produced as a partnership between WORD!, Renaissance One and BrightSparks.

Leeds Lit Fest presents an event offering unmissable readings by and an in-conversation between poets Emily Zobel Marshall and Adam Lowe, both of whom have debut collections with powerhouse publisher Peepal Tree Press.

Marshall’s Bath of Herbs explores the complexity of mixed-race, hybrid identities and relationships to the English and Welsh mountains, fells, rivers and shorelines from an ‘othered’, unmappable, positionality. As well as an exploration of having and negotiating multiple identities, it is also a love letter to family and the importance of making and shaping your own creative path through language, reflection and action.

Lowe’s Patterflash is a PBS Recommendation, receiving acclaim from The Big Issue and featuring on BBC radio and as a collection of poems, it displays a variety of language registers, ' high' and ' low' in tone and sometimes making use of Polari, the gay street language that simultaneously reveals and conceals, excludes and invites, estranges and makes familiar.

Both authors explore their mixed and Caribbean heritages and the reflections and conversation will include reflections on race, intersectionality, the transformation of LGBTQ+ and mixed race identities over time, the value of wordplay for autonomy and navigating spaces, and art and poetry as resistance.

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Experience a moving one-woman performance and multi-media installation which brings to life the hidden family narrative of poet-artist Seni Seneviratne and her father's experiences as a Royal Signalman in the North African Desert War. 

Join us online for a festive social offering readings, conversation, music, where Tony Fairweather takes us on a journey through captivating storytelling, highlighting the triumphs, challenges and experiences of the Windrush Generation.