October News…

If you see October, can you ask it where it’s gone? 😀 I can’t believe it’s morphed into November! This is always the busiest time of year for me but it feels like it more so than ever this year.

It’s been all go with Off the Shelf Festival of Words and various Hive related events including readings from Lauren Hollingsworth Smith and Georgie Woodhead with TS Eliot winning poet Roger Robinson, and Warda Yassin was crowned Sheffield’s new poet laureate (which is just brilliant news!) earlier this month – and it actually involved a live event, albeit at a very distanced Crucible Theatre. She’s also been shortlisted in the Women’s Poetry Prize. So proud of her and how she’s flying right not. Also her work on Hive’s Mixing Roots project.

I’ve been working away on lots of podcast content in between teaching, and designing and editing an anthology of poetry and fiction by the Sheffield Children in Care Council. It’s just back from the printers and I’m so pleased with how it’s turned out and all the work of the young people; many of whom, wouldn’t have called themselves writers not so long ago. I’ve been working with them on Zoom for the last few months and I’m going to miss them! They’ve written some brilliant work too, including some really powerful group pieces.  You can join us on Zoom for their launch on Thursday 12th Nov (link to follow). They really deserve your ears!

I’ll leave this here with a wonderful podcast I recently put together – Young, Gifted & Black, (in collaboration with REMA for Black History Month) showcasing the voices of up and coming local young poets of African heritage I have the pleasure of working with via Hive. They are: Taina Maneus, Verta Lune, Danae Wellington, Warda Yassin and Sile Sibanda. I hope you’ll bring joy to your ears by listening it >>