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Windrush Festive Party

  • Newcastle City Library United Kingdom (map)

An invitation to meet and to hear poems from two of the nation's much-admired and appreciated authors for children and adults, John Agard and Grace Nichols and special local guests. Both authors write and speak movingly about the Windrush and the Windrush generations and their impact on and legacy to Britain and the morning will be an opportunity to celebrate and mark the value of British-Caribbean writing, art and culture to our contemporary life. There will also be live musical performances from Tobago Crusoe and Hannabiell Sanders.

The event is part of Seven Stories Windrush Programme which runs from 2021 - 2022 and offers a hybrid mix of live and online events and education activity. It is supported by Renaissance One.

This event is suitable for all the family and is not ticketed, you can drop-in whenever you wish between 12 and 3pm. Capacity at the City Library is still limited due to social distancing requirements so admission will be on a first come, first served basis and you may be asked to wait if the room is full when you arrive.

Bios

Grace Nichols is a Guyanese poet, novelist and a writer and editor of children’s books based in England. Her first poetry collection, I is a Long-Memoried Woman won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize and was adapted for radio and film. Nichols was one of six leading Black British poets interviewed for the Observer in 2020 and her poems are studied as part of in the English GCSE curriculum. She has authored many poetry collections including The Fat Black Woman's Poems, Sunris, Picasso, I Want My Face Back and her latest, Passport To Here and There, which was published last year.

John Agard is one of Britain's foremost cross-cultural voices. He is well known for his inspiring work with young people and adults, particularly his visits to schools, and his poems are featured in the English GCSE anthology. Known for his mischievous satirical wit, Agard has toured around the world to give readings and in 2012 he was a recipient of the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. His books for children and adults include We Brits, Alternative Anthem, Einstein, the Girl Who Hated Maths and most recently The Coming of the Little Green Man.