The Common Press Poetry Nights are quickly becoming popular events for writers and poets to showcase their work and launch poetry collections. This Pride Month, we are thrilled to feature three talented poets: Jay Mitra, Lorcan Black, and Taz Rahman, on June 26th from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM. The evening will be hosted by Tanaka Fuego and there will be some will readings from all three poets, as well as a Q&A session.
We invite all our poetry lovers to attend to listen to talented and powerful queer voices. . As well as hearing from our old favourites we'd love to hear from some new faces too - if you would like to read at the poetry night, drop arrive at 6:30 pm to sign up. There will also be spaces on the night to sign up and hop on stage. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that everyone on the list will get the opportunity to read, but we would like to fit in as many people as possible.
🍷 Please note this invite is BYOB, you are welcome to bring your drinks to enjoy the night. There will be lots of soft drinks and hot drinks available to purchase from our bookshop.
Schedule
6:30 pm - Doors open
6:45 pm - Poetry collection reading & discussion with Jay Mitra, Lorcan Black and Taz Rahman
7:30 pm - Break
7:45 pm - 8:45 pm - Open mic slots
About Jay Mitra
Jay Mitra (they/he) is a punk poet and creative non-fiction writer from Yorkshire, currently based in London. Their poetry has been published in Acumen Poetry, Drawn To The Light Press, Ink Sweat and Tears, and Broken Sleep Books’ Queer Icons anthology. They were the Bronze prize winner in the Creative Non-Fiction category of the Creative Future Writers’ Awards 2023 and was selected as one of Apples and Snakes' 40 Future Voices in Poetry. Jay has been featured on BBC Radio 6 and Radio 3’s The Verb and has also performed in a variety of festivals including BBC’s Contains Strong Language, Manchester Pride, and Manchester Punk Festival. Currently, he is pursuing a career in teaching and working as a freelance writer and facilitator. You can find out more about them on Instagram and Twitter @punkofcolour.
About Lorcán Black
Lorcán Black is an Irish poet. His poetry has been published in The Tomahawk Review, Stirring, Letters Journal, The Rush, Grim & Gilded, New Writing Scotland, The Los Angeles Review & The Stinging Fly, amongst numerous others. He is a Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee and has been longlisted and shortlisted for the Two Sylvias Prize and The Paris Literary Prize respectively. His first collection, Rituals, was published by April Gloaming Publishing in 2019. His second collection, Strange Husbandry, a Forward Prize nominee, is forthcoming in July from Seren.
About Taz Rahman
Taz Rahman’s first collection ‘East of the Sun, West of the Moon’ was published by Seren Books in February 2024. His poetry has been published in Poetry Wales, Interpreter's House, Bad Lilies, South Bank Poetry, Anthropocene, Honest Ulsterman, Planet, Barddas, Abridged, Propel, The Lonely Crowd, Atrium, Acropolis Journal and in various anthologies. He is an editor of the climate emergency journal Modron and serves as the committee chair for Poetry Wales. He founded Wales’ first Youtube poetry channel, the award-winning 'Just Another Poet'.
Host: Tanaka Fuego
Tanaka Fuego is a groundbreaking queer poet whose evocative verses challenge societal norms and celebrate the diversity of human experience. Known for their lyrical mastery and raw emotional depth, Fuego's poetry delves into themes of identity, love, and resilience, offering a powerful voice for the LGBTQ+ community.
Please note that the bookshop area is fully accessible, Sadly our disabled toilets are not available due to some ongoing venue construction work.