Look Who's In Town

Contact: Wheatsheaf Pub 25 Rathbone Place London W1T 1JB

Matthew Siegel, Mona Arshi and Karen McCarthy Woolf were nominated for the Forward Best First Collection Prize in 2015, which Mona won with Small Hands. While Matthew is on this side of the Atlantic, Jill Abram has got them together again plus special guest Yomi Sode for a unique reading.

Matthew Siegel teaches literature and writing at San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The subject of his book, Blood Work, is the struggle to remain whole in the face of Crohn’s disease, and was described by Mark Doty as a genuine contribution to the literature of illness. It won the Felix Pollak prize in USA and was subsequently published by CB Editions in UK. http://www.matthewsiegel.us

Mona Arshi worked as a Human rights lawyer for a decade before she retrained as poet. She is currently poetry mentor for the Jerwood/Arvon programme and recently read for the Royal Society of Literature at the TS Eliot memorial reading. Small Hands was published by a new imprint, Pavilion Poetry, part of Liverpool University Press. George Szirtes commented, It is unusual to find a first book as beautiful as this. www.monaarshi.com

Karen McCarthy Woolf trained as an editor at 17 and worked as a radio news presenter before turning to poetry. An Aviary of Small Birds was a Fenton Aldeburgh prize finalist, a Guardian/Observer book of the year and described as extraordinarily moving and technically flawless in The Poetry Review. Her work has been exhibited by Poems on the Underground, transformed into choreography and dropped from a helicopter over the Houses of Parliament. mccarthywoolf.com/

Yomi Sode balances the fine line between Nigerian and British cultures, which can be humorous, loving, self-reflective and uncomfortable. He is a member of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen and has just been selected for phase 3 of The Complete Works mentoring programme, following in illustrious footsteps including Mona’s (phase 2) and Karen’s (phase 1) – watch this space! http://www.iamgreeds.com/

Jill Abram is Director of the collective Malika's Poetry Kitchen and a Tideway Poet. She presents her poems regularly in London and occasionally further afield, including Ledbury Poetry Festival, Paris and USA. Jill has produced poetry events including MPK Tenth Anniversary Showcase, The Shuffle at the Poetry Café and book launches for Kim Moore and Tania Hershman. Website coming soon: jillabram.wordpress.com

Price: £5.00

Time: 7.30pm (doors 7pm)