Verse Matters
with KATE FOX, SALENA GODDEN, COR/PO PERFORMANCE with ANGELINA ABEL & OTHERS,
MINA SALAMA, HIVE YOUNG WRITERS & OPEN MIC
Moor Theatre Delicatessen, 17 The Moor, Sheffield, S1 4PF
Saturday 27 May
7.30pm to 10pm
Pay what you can (on the door only)

Kate Fox has made a living as a stand-up poet for ten years. Being funny and Northern is sometimes a help and sometimes a hindrance and she’s doing a PhD about why. She is a regular speaker on panels and radio shows and a writer of poems, stories and journalism. Sometimes they let her on Radio 4. Her car radio is tuned to Radio 2. She is currently making #Lass War on the man-heavy Northern Powerhouse. See blog for details.
http://katefoxwriter.wordpress.com
Twitter: @katefoxwriter

Salena Godden is one of the UK’s foremost poets, and a regular headliner at festivals and literary events both at home and abroad. She’s been driving her art form for over 25 years, and is well loved by names ranging from Irvine Welsh to Kate Tempest. Her new album LIVEwire documents her remarkable career, with live recordings placed alongside studio tracks and archive material. It was shortlisted for this year’s Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry, and received a 5* review in The i Paper.
“Salena Godden is everything that the Daily Mail are terrified of” – Kerrang Magazine.
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Album

COR/PO brings together the tradition of African oral history with an innovative performance choreographed by Angelina Abel. With its cinematic visual component conceived by filmmaker Joao Paulo Simoes, the project achieves intensely poignant moments which highlight the human condition through the extremes of slavery. The backbone of COR/PO is the pioneering Angolan poetry of Mauricio de Almeida Gomes, yet the project is designed to incorporate a wide range of other forms of artistic expression – which will always be informed by the background and heritage of each contributor.

Angelina Abel was born in Angola and raised in Portugal by a family of dancers and performers. Angelina arrived in Sheffield 13 years ago and established the dance series Mulembas d’Africa and Mamawe Festival of intercultural dance, to explore, celebrate and teach heritage dance from the diaspora.

Mina Salama was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1979. After graduating from the University of Alexandria, he worked as a nay, piano and keyboard soloist player in the Oriental Orchestra of Alexandria Opera House from 2004 to 2012. He has written and arranged songs and music for Cairo Opera House and Alexandria Opera House. Now based in the UK, he has joined the Manchester International Roots Orchestra as a soloist, and is a guest musician with Oxford Maqam.

Hive South Yorkshire is a writer development project for young writers, age 14 to 25, in the region. Through writing activities, such as writing groups, writers’ days with professional writers, live events & residentials, and by signposting wider opportunities, we support young writers to develop, whatever their background, ability or interest – from improving literacy, to pursuing a hobby or writing career. Hive works with partners to provide outreach opportunities to help remove barriers that prevent some young people accessing, enjoying, and developing their writing.

Verse Matters is an inclusive feminist arts collective based in Sheffield. Verse Matters provides a supportive space for people to come together and share their work, showcasing poetry, storytelling, music and comedy in a friendly, safe environment. Events are open to all. http://versematters.wordpress.com

Verse Matters Facebook event
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Update (15 May 2017): please note that Solomon O.B (previously advertised as part of this programme) will not be appearing. We are, however, pleased to confirm that Salena Godden will now be appearing at this event.