Black Lives Matter – Readings and Conversation with John Wesley’s New Room

As part of Black History Month, John Wesley’s New Room is hosting a free evening of poetry and conversation which also ties in with National Poetry Day on 7 October.

Image: Dr Edson Burton - Black Lives Matter, Poems for a New World.

The event, which is being held online via a Zoom webinar, will feature work shared by poets from a diverse range of backgrounds, who have all recently been featured in the anthology ‘Black Lives Matter – Poems for a New World’ which was published by CivicLeicester in November 2020. 

The keynote speaker - poet, writer and historian Dr Edson Burton - will be sharing some of his own poetry and taking part in a Q&A with the two hosts, anthology editor Ambrose Musiyiwa and Rev Dr Catherine Okoronkwo, a vicar in Swindon who is also the Bishop of Bristol’s Advisor on Racial Justice. Both Ambrose and Catherine are published poets and writers.

Poets featured in the anthology who are taking part include Rosalie Alston, Tanisha Barrett, Richard Byrt and Barbara Saunders.

Tickets to this free online webinar can be booked through the New Room website.

Mandy Briggs from John Wesley’s New Room said: “We are looking forward to hosting this evening of poetry, not just to mark Black History Month and National Poetry Day, but also to continue to contribute to the ongoing conversation about race, culture and identity in Bristol.”

Anthology editor Ambrose Musiyiwa said: "Black Lives Matter: Poems for a New World encourages the reader to imagine and work towards a world where Black Lives Matter. This is work that many in Bristol have been doing for decades, if not centuries. The poets featured in the anthology and I feel honoured that Bristol is hosting us. We are looking forward to the readings and conversation and to learning from the experience that Bristol has."