Jo Durrant presents: Poetry’s social conscience

Description

Thursday 5th June 7pm – in Script Haven

Poetry has a social conscience, a voice for the lesser heard, guidance, and illumination. That’s why we write and shine a light for the world.

Jo Durrant explores the social power of poetry with esteemed poets Jemima Hughes, Claire Tedstone, James Scott-Howes, and Anna Saunders.

Jemima Hughes is a mental health and sexual violence awareness activist and multi slam winning performance poet. Jemima’s debut poetry collection Unorthodox, published with Verve Poetry Press in 2020, challenges perceptions of living with sexual trauma and mental health difficulties.

Claire Tedstone is a self taught artist and poet from the West Midlands, taking inspiration from the natural world and her lived experience, sharing her visual art and poetry in the hope of raising awareness about what it can be like to like with invisible disabilities such as mental illness, functional neurological disorder, myalgic encephalitis and fibromyalgia and how nature, creativity and community can help improve wellness.

James Scott-Howes is Leicester’s premier Screamo poetry dandy. On stage he is a maelstrom of energy. James’ tongue twisting odes to mental health struggles and triumphs, love, mortality, self-acceptance and the frothing rage incited by discarded trolleys, has earned him a reputation as a one-of-a-kind spoken word artist, performing feature sets up and down the country for the last five years. In July 2024 James published his debut collection ‘Unstable Boi; Poems of Love, Despair and Nu-Metal’ through Mini Poetry Press. A book that was described as ‘fiercely compassionate lyrical genius’ by poetry legend Jemima Hughes.

Anna Saunders has been described as ‘a poet who surely can do anything’ by The North, ‘a modern myth maker’ by Paul Stephenson, and Tears in the Fence said of her ‘Anna Saunders’ poetry is reminiscent of Plath – with all its alpha achievement and radiance’. She is also the Executive Director of Cheltenham Poetry Festival and works as a creative writing tutor and mentor,  communications specialist,  journalist, broadcaster and  copywriter/editor.