The Common Press Poetry Night + Open Mic are quickly becoming popular events for writers and poets to showcase their work and launch poetry collections. This month we are thrilled to celebrate Black History Month on October 22nd from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The evening will be hosted by Livia Kojo Alour and there will be some readings from Keith Jarrett 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 7 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
7:00 pm - Doors open
7:15 pm - Poetry readings & discussion.
7:45 pm - Break
7:50 pm - 8:45 pm - Open mic slots
About Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett is a former UK Poetry Slam Champion and FLUPP International Poetry Slam Winner from London. He rose to prominence on the city’s performance poetry scene and was one of the first writers to study on the groundbreaking Spoken Word Educators programme at Goldsmiths University, along with Raymond Antrobus and Dean Atta.
His first poetry show, Identity Mix-Up, interrogated the use of racialised labels and markers; it debuted at Edinburgh Fringe in 2013 and received five-star reviews. His debut pamphlet, I Speak Home, was published by Eyewear in 2015. This was followed by the collection Selah (Burning Eye, 2017), and a play, Safest Spot in Town, performed at the Old Vic and on BBC Four. That year, Jarrett was also named by London’s Writer Development Agency Spread the Word as an LGBT Hero.
About Livia
Livia Kojo Alour is an award-winning Nigerian–German–born poet, musician, and theatremaker based in London. Her solo show Black Sheep rose to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022. The show was awarded the Birds of Paradise Award for Exceptional Theatre. Livia is the author of Rising of the Black Sheep, a daring memoir-style poetry collection published by Polari Press London. She also has a 10-year touring career as a sword swallower under her belt. During this time she won several awards with different companies and performed a residency in Las Vegas. Her minimalist art piece the Female Sword Swallower’s Moon Calendar has been touring museums in Europe since 2019. In 2017 Livia held an inspirational TEDx talk about her life-threatening sword accident and overcoming fear. As a musician, she combines vocals and spoken word in a unique way to address cultural issues and speak about personal experiences. Livia’s show Black Sheep is scheduled for a second U.K. tour in autumn 2023 followed by a concert Europe tour as the supporting artist to Anne Clark.
Please note that the bookshop area is fully accessible, Sadly our disabled toilets are not available due to some ongoing venue construction work.