Join us for an evening with one of the most revered voices in Caribbean and Global poetry, Kwame Dawes.

We will celebrate his work, his special relationships with writers and communities and decades long connection with Leeds, and his valued role as the Poet Laureate of Jamaica.  

Dawes will read from his works and be in conversation with special guest poets Jason Allen-Paisant and Malika Booker who will also delight us with readings from their works.

Created as a collaboration between cultural and civic organisations Peepal Tree Press, Renaissance One, Leeds Libraries and Out of Many People, this event foregrounds our connections across art, heritage and community and marks the ways in which Jamaican and wider Caribbean heritage has transformed Britain and continues to offer spaces for connection.

Booking opens soon so mark this special occasion in your calendar!

Since the 1990s Kwame has edited numerous poetry collections as the Poetry Editor of Peepal Tree Press and been a mentor and a long-term supporter to many of the leading UK and international poets of today, including Roger Robinson, Nick Makoha, Karen McCarthy Woolf, Chris Abani and more.

Guests will have the opportunity to meet the acclaimed poet and author at a post-conversation book signing. Light refreshments will be available.

Kwame Dawes is a poet, scholar and musician who has written over thirty books, including his latest poetry collection Sturge Town and a Forward Prize-winning book Progeny of Air.  His work has been deeply shaped by the rhythm, spirituality, and power of reggae and has been described ‘the music of survival and transcendence (by Martin Espada). He is the current Poet Laureate of Jamaica and the Artistic Director and a co-founder of the Calabash International Literary Festival. Dawes has received national honors in Jamaica including the Order of Distinction Commander Class.