BIO:
Stanley Iyanu is a performance poet and writer from London. His spoken word poetry style has been described as having the ‘gentle power of a slow ocean building’. His poems have been published in the Poetry Society magazine, 14Poems, in international poetry journals and several anthologies including Queerphoria – Queer Joy, Verve Voices. A multi-slam winner, he has performed across the UK for Apples & Snakes, BBC Radio London and the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Incorporating unique perspectives: queer identity, British Nigerian heritage, a love of folklore and mythology, Stanley Iyanu brings wit, tenderness and charm into his writing and performance: a quiet storm of enigmatic poetry.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Stanley Iyanu takes the reader on a poetic voyage in search of the beautiful boys four characters and sections: the Libertine, the Outcast, the Villain, and the Joker.
Exploring themes of mythology, memory, modern love, and loss, the beautiful boys takes a humorous look at the pitfalls of dating in a city in your 30s to losing friends to suicide to finding love in oneself and in one’s community.
the beautiful boys is a love letter to the defiant, dejected, and deeply enigmatic.
BIO OF ADEYEMI KWADWO AGBEKO (AKA)
Dale Carrington writes poetry under the name Adeyemi Kwadwo Agbeko. A nurse by background and a digital transformation professional, he brings the same close attention to language that he brings to systems and people. His debut collection, The Christening, explores the moral weight of ordinary moments - the small choices, silences and accommodations that quietly make a life - shaped by his Caribbean heritage, and by his lived experiences of being black and gay in the UK. Written in plain, direct language for readers who don’t usually reach for poetry, his work illuminates rather than judges.
BIO OF JESS MURRAIN
Jess Murrain (she/they) is a queer, interdisciplinary creative of British-Caribbean heritage working across live art, performance, film, and poetry. This year she was resident poet and writer-in-residence at Bethlem Gallery in association with Creative Future. Jess is also the co-founder and Artistic Director of Art Wife, an experimental, live art company whose most recent live work, NEUROQUEER, was commissioned by Bradford 2025 City of Culture. Jess was recently longlisted for the National Poetry Competition and her poetry has been recognised through several awards, including the Derby Poetry Prize (2026), the Out-Spoken Prize in Poetry and Poetry-Film (2023) and Ledbury Poetry Prize (2021), with poetry/essays appearing in Callaloo, The Poetry Review, bath magg and Magma. She’s an alum of Southbank New Poets Collective, and her poetry pamphlet ‘One Woman-Horse Show’ was published by Bad Betty Press in 2022.
PROVISIONAL RUNNING ORDER FOR ONLINE LAUNCH:
- Start time: 7pm
- Welcome intro by Stanley Iyanu
- Adeyemi Kwadwo Agbeko: 7:05pm – 7:15pm
- Jess Murrain: 7:20pm – 7:30pm
- Stanley Iyanu 7:35pm – 7:50pm
- End time: 8pm
Ticket: £5
Pay What You Can* - no questions asked
Please note that the book launch is intended for an adult audience and the poems read may contain challenging language and/or adult themes.
- 18+ and no refunds
- tickets cannot be resold or used at future events