Audre Lorde (1934-92) described herself as ‘Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet’. Born in New York, she had her first poem published while still at school and her last in the year of her death in 1992. Her extraordinary belief in the power of language – of speaking – to articulate selfhood, confront injustice and bring about change in the world remains as ... Show More
Jan 28
Geoff Dyer & Gareth Evans: Homework
Geoff Dyer has written books on every subject under the sun; now, at last, he turns his hand to memoir. Homework is his account of his childhood and adolescence in provincial England, as the only child of a dinner lady and a sheet-metal worker, and the opportunities afforded by t ... Show More
57m 20s
Jan 21
Francesca Wade & Lara Pawson: On Gertrude Stein
Francesca Wade’s biography, Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife, follows on from her acclaimed Square Haunting (Faber, 2020) to present a portrait of one of 20th century modernism’s most rowdy and confounding geniuses, in what Lisa Appignanesi has described as both a ‘discerning literar ... Show More
1h 7m
Jan 14
Vittles Issue 1 Launch: Robin Craig, Amy Key & Waithera Sebatindira
Since its founding, the online food and culture publication Vittles has sought to disrupt mainstream ideas of what food writing looks like. To mark its fifth anniversary, Vittles produced its first print issue – an engaging mix of newly commissioned articles and a selection of so ... Show More
1h 10m
Dec 2023
Because You Were Mine: Book Launch and Poetry Reading
In their latest collection of poems, Cave Canem Poetry Prize winner Brionne Janae dives into the deep, unsettled waters of intimate partner violence, queerness, grief, and survival.
This event took place on July 6, 2023.
“I’ve decided I can’t trust anyone who uses darkness as a m ... Show More
1 h
Dec 2022
Naomi Shihab Nye — I Feel Sorry for Jesus
What’s it like to be owned by the world, to have populations claiming you, to have millions speaking on your behalf? Naomi Shihab Nye takes a close look — from a distance — at Jesus, and herself.Naomi Shihab Nye is a professor of creative writing at Texas State University. From 2 ... Show More
15m 27s
Jun 2018
Elisa New on Poetry in America and Beyond
<p>Elisa New believes anyone can have fun reading a poem. And that if you really want to have a blast, you shouldn't limit poetry to silent, solitary reading - why not sing, recite, or perform it as has been the case for most of its history?</p> <p>The Harvard English professor ... Show More
54m 10s
Jan 2021
#309 Kate Elizabeth Russell: Writing Fiction & Setting Boundaries
Kate Elizabeth Russell is a writer, based in Oregon. Her debut novel, My Dark Vanessa, was published in 2020 and has been translated into thirty-five languages. It’s been both a Sunday Times Bestseller and a New York Times Bestseller. Stephen King himself described it as ‘a hard ... Show More
30m 51s
Aug 2019
'Pick up the book and read': Canadian poets on the legacy of Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison's literary and academic career was honoured with a Pulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her writing explored, celebrated, questioned and critiqued the space of black lives in America, up until her death on Monday at the age of 88.
Today ... Show More
19m 24s
Jun 2017
#82 Reni Eddo-Lodge: Books, Privilege, Feminism & Structural Racism
Reni Eddo-Lodge is an award winning writer and author of the forthcoming Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race. Her new book Why I'm published by Bloomsbury Books in the UK, Australia & New Zealand on 1st June 2017, and the United States on 5th December 2017. 2015 ... Show More
31m 28s
Apr 2018
#124: Reni Eddo-Lodge (Live at Waterstones) On Boundaries & Owning Your Creative Output
Reni Eddo-Lodge is an award winning journalist, author, and podcaster.Her debut non-fiction book, Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race was published in summer 2017 to critical acclaim.She also has a new podcast out which you can find on iTunes! You can listen to i ... Show More
43m 11s
<p>Eliza Griswold joins Kevin Young to discuss her poetry sequence "<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/23/first-person" target="_blank">First Person</a>," featured on<span> </span><a href="http://newyorker.com/" target="_blank">newyorker.com</a>. Griswold is a po ... Show More