The Common Press Poetry Night + Open Mic has quickly become a popular event for writers and poets to showcase their work and launch poetry collections.
Join us on 16th December from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM for an evening of poetry & OPEN MIC, hosted by Kitty.
If you’d like to read at the poetry night, arrive at 7:00 PM to sign up. There will also be opportunities to sign up on the night and hop on stage. Please note that while we will do our best to accommodate as many readers as possible, we cannot guarantee that everyone on the list will have the chance to perform.
Headline Poet- Hongwei Bao (he/him)
Hongwei Bao (he/him) is a Nottingham-based queer Chinese writer, translator and academic. He is part of the Fifth Word Playwrights, GOBS Collective, Paper Crane Poets and Nottingham Playhouse Writers' Room. He is also a Middle Way Mentee for writing fiction and a New Earth Theatre theatremaker. His work explores queer desire, Asian identity, diasporic positionality and transcultural intimacy. Hongwei is the author of Dream of the Orchid Pavilion (poetry pamphlet, Big White Shed, 2024), The Passion of the Rabbit God (poetry collection, Valley Press, 2024), Queering the Asian Diaspora (nonfiction, Sage, 2024) and Self-Portrait as a Banana (Poetic Edge, 2025).
Hongwei Bao's latest collection, Self-Portrait as a Banana, is a candid exploration of his queer, diasporic, East Asian identity and cross-cultural relationships. Appropriating, subverting and queering cultural tropes like the banana, rice and beckoning cat, and identities such as queerness and Chineseness, this is a powerful journey. A bold, humorous and refreshing celebration of queer desire, identity and cultural differences.
