Matthew Caley’s debut Thirst [Slow Dancer, 1999] was nominated for The Forward Prize for best 1st collection.
He’s read everywhere from The National Portrait Gallery to Wayne-Hollway Smith’s salons, The Gypsy Hill Tavern,
The Novi Sad International Poetry Festival, Prague’s Alchemy, for Paris Lit Up; at The Globe Theatre to The Morden Tower, Newcastle upon Tyne
and on BBC Radio 3’s The Verb. His 5th collection Rake is due from Bloodaxe Books January 28th 2016.
Alex Bell lives and works in London. Her work has appeared in Magma, The Rialto, Poetry Wales and The Quietus, and will be included in the Best British and Irish Poetry anthology forthcoming from Eyewear in 2016. She is the co-organiser of a series of poetry and karaoke nights in Farringdon.
Uzma is a daughter of the Punjab, a native of Cardiff, and a resident of London. During the day she is a public sector manager and by night a habitual verse fiend. She has been writing poetry as far as she can remember, and draws inspiration from the Muslim, Welsh and Pakistani aspects of her heritage. She counts Moniza Alvi and RS Thomas among some of her influences.
Jon Sayers trained as an actor and singer at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has published poems and translations in journals in the UK and USA, including Magma, The Rialto, Kaffeeklatsch, Literary Review and The Squaw Valley Review. He is Chair of Magma Poetry, Deputy Chair of The Poetry Society trustees and is currently serving as Poet in Residence at Sunday Assembly, London. He’s currently engaged in a challenging project to translate the works of Jacques Prevert into English verse. He has read (and sung) his poems in venues around London and the UK. His website is: jonsayers.net.
Composer, vocalist & pianist Sorana presents pieces from this year’s album ‘Our Lady of Stars’ – fourteen songs based on contemporary music structures – featuring Calum Gourlay (bass), James Maddren (drums), and Joe Wright (saxophone & electronics).