Podcast appearances and mentions of Malika Booker

This week on The Verb Ian McMillan is joined by Paul Farley, author of the bird-centred 2019 poetry collection 'The Mizzy'. Especially for The Verb he's written us a brand new poem that considers birds on our workplace, inspired by new 'Nature Postive' building regulations.Malika Booker is tackling this week's 'Neon Line' poem. Booker won the Forward Prize for 'Best Single Poem' in 2023 and she takes us through the 2024 winners, who have recently been announced. Linguist and author of 'You're All Talk', Rob Drummond brings us up to speed on langauge change.And there's a brand new comission from Kate Fox on Strictly Season as well as a reading from her new book 'On Sycamore Gap' - inspired by the famous tree near Hadrian's Wall that was felled last yearPresenter: Ian McMillan Producer: Jessica Treen

The appeal of 'the road less travelled by', Emily Brontë as self-help guru, a new way to look at Little Red Riding Hood and the 'little miracles' we might notice when we care for the elderly; Ian McMillan celebrates poems that explore all of these ideas with his guests, the poets Len Pennie, Malika Booker, Kate Fox, and Michael Symmons Roberts.Michael Symmons Roberts' poetry collections include 'Drysalter', 'Mancunia' and 'Ransom'. This week Michael explores Robert Frost's poem 'The Road not Taken' and sheds light on the strange power of the 'neon' line in the poem (a memorable line that takes the poem to another level) 'I took the road less travelled by'.Kate Fox is a stand up poet, spoken word artist and broadcaster, her latest poetry collection is 'Bigger on the Inside'. Kate has written a new poem for The Verb in which Emily Brontë advises us that most of our thoughts 'are nowt but hill fog' and that problems can be solved by 'a walk or a big dog', or 'a walk with a big dog'.Malika Booker is the only poet to have won The Forward Prize for best single poem twice - she reads one of those winning poems, 'The Little Miracles' for The Verb. Malika founded the groundbreaking poetry workshop 'Malika's Kitchen' with Roger Robinson. Her books include 'Pepper Seed' and her poetry can be found in the 'Penguin Modern Poets' series.Len Pennie's collection 'Poyums' is a best-seller, and explores domestic violence and misogyny with energy, wit and inventive rhyme, It's written in a mixture of Scots and English. Len has a huge following on social media, partly down to her celebration of a 'Scots word of the Day'. For The Verb, she reads a poem about telling the story of a relationship in your own words, and considers the influence of Robert Burns.

The American author Marilynne Robinson is celebrated as a writer of fiction and non-fiction that raises philosophical questions about how to live an ethical life. In her latest book, Reading Genesis, she explores the stories in the Bible and God's promise of enduring covenant with humanity.The writer Naomi Alderman grew up with stories from the Old Testament, and although no longer a believer, attests to the power and strangeness of these ancient stories. She wishes they were as popular as the Greek myths.The poet Malika Booker grew up in Guyana where she says the King James Bible was ubiquitous. Its language has influenced her own work, and in recent years she has set herself the task of creolising the Bible, infusing its stories with the cadences of home.Producer: Katy Hickman

In this episode of The Poetry Exchange, we talk with one of poetry's greatest leading lights, Malika Booker, about the poem that has been a friend to her: ‘The Domestic Science of Sunday Dinner' by Lorna Goodison.Malika Booker, currently based in Leeds, is a lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, a British poet of Guyanese and Grenadian Parentage, and co-founder of Malika's Poetry Kitchen (A writer's collective). Her pamphlet Breadfruit, (flippedeye, 2007) received a Poetry Society recommendation and her poetry collection Pepper Seed (Peepal Tree Press, 2013) was shortlisted for the OCM Bocas prize and the Seamus Heaney Centre 2014 prize for first full collection. She is published with the Poets Sharon Olds and Warsan Shire in The Penguin Modern Poet Series 3: Your Family: Your Body (2017). A Cave Canem Fellow, and inaugural Poet in Residence at The Royal Shakespeare Company, Malika was awarded the Cholmondeley Award (2019) for outstanding contribution to poetry and elected a Royal Society of Literature Fellow (2022).Malika has won the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem TWICE: in 2020 for 'The Little Miracles' (Magma, 2019), and most recently in 2023 for 'Libation', which you can hear her read in this episode.'Libation' was first published in The Poetry Review (112:4). ‘The Domestic Science of Sunday Dinner' by Lorna Goodison is published in Turn Thanks by Lorna Goodison, University of Illinois Press, 1999.You can read the full text of ‘The Domestic Science of Sunday Dinner' on our website.P.S. don't forget you can pre-order your copy of Poems as Friends – The Poetry Exchange 10th Anniversary Anthology – which is published by Quercus Editions on 9th May 2024. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded by Malika Booker for Poem-a-Day, a series produced by the Academy of American Poets. Published on January 5, 2024. www.poets.org

The city of Leeds seen through public art past, present and future. In this edition, Malika Booker considers an architectural sculptural frieze located on Abtech House, 18 Park Row, Leeds (formerly West Riding Union Buildings) created in 1900 by the stonemason and sculptor Joseph Thewlis. The sculpture depicts emblematic figures related to Leeds commerce at the time, linked to the abundance of textile industry and mills in Yorkshire and Leeds. As a member of the Caribbean community living in Chapeltown, she is particularly interested in the Minerva Goddess presiding over these figures, as well as the figures depicting the bank's relationship with empire. She is caught by the multicultural portrayal of figures representing different aspects of Industry and the world, but of particular interest is the depiction of an enslaved African figure lifting and bending over bales of cotton. This lyrically poetic essay considers the changing visual, political, social and environmental changes that the sculptural frieze has witnessed and the ways in which the world has moved away from this depiction of black bodies. Malika is and international writer, double winner of Forward Prize for Poetry and Douglas Caster Cultural Fellow at University of Leeds.Writer/reader, Malika Booker Sound designer, Alisdair McGregor Producer, Polly ThomasContains some historical racial terminology. Looking at Leeds is a co-commission between BBC Radio 3 and The Space with funding from Arts Council England. A Thomas Carter Project for BBC Radio 3.

Ian McMillan hosts a special performance edition of The Verb recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's Contains Strong Language Festival in Leeds. Featuring poetry from Hannah Silva, Khadijah Ibrahiim, Malika Booker, Cecilia Knapp, Toria Garbutt and Testament.

Ian McMillan is joined by poets Michael Symmons Roberts, Kate Fox, Jacob Polley and sound designer Amanda Priestley to celebrate the rich variety of new poetry commissions written for the BBC's centenary year. The show includes work from the Sound First scheme (Radio 3 and BBC Contains Strong Language working together to find the best emerging sound design talent in the UK) - three poems with evocative sound design. Also, we share the very last commission in our Something New series, by Sinéad Morrisey - called Charm. Sound First work featured: Speaker - poem by Jacob Polley, sound designer Nicky Elson Atlas - poem by Joelle Taylor, sound designer Amanda Priestley Root Your Words in the Earth - poem by Malika Booker, sound designer Louis Blatherwick

Inner city life in Chicago's Bronzeville and the experiences of ordinary people inspired the first poetry collection published by Gwendolyn Brooks in 1945 and she followed this with a sequence of poems Annie Allen and a novella Maud Martha depicting Black women entering adulthood. Chicago based poet Peter Kahn, editor of an anthology of modern poets responding to the writing of Brooks, and poets Malika Booker and Keith Jarrett join Shahidha Bari to discuss the themes and textures in Gwendolyn Brooks' writing and what it means to write a Golden Shovel poem, whilst literature scholar Sarah Parker and pattern maker Gesa Werner talk about putting on an exhibition about fashion and poetry which features a poem by Brooks. Producer: Robyn Read Poets in Vogue curated by Sophie Oliver, Sarah Parker and Gesa Werner runs Feb 17th to June 25th 2023. It includes a skirt that belonged to Sylvia Plath, a reconstruction of Anne Sexton's red ‘reading dress', creative interpretations of Audre Lorde's, Edith Sitwell's and Stevie Smith's signature looks, a fabric-adaptation of a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks and the clothes-performances of Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. Peter Kahn edited The Golden Shovel Anthology: New Poems Honoring Gwendolyn Brooks. His own poetry collection Little Kings is published by Nine Arches Press. In the Free Thinking archives you can find Noreen Masud on the aphorisms of Stevie Smith https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000srj1 A discussion Landmark: Audre Lorde hearing from her children, Jackie Kay and Selina Thompson https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0004my0 and during February's Queer History month on BBC Sounds - a Words and Music episode celebrates Audre Lorde's writing https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ql9k Sophie Oliver discusses Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000

This week on The Verb we're celebrating the birthday of Apples and Snakes, who've been pioneering spoken word poetry for 40 years. Ian McMillan is joined onstage at the BBC Contains Strong Language Festival in Birmingham by six poets who've been involved with Apples and Snakes over the years; Casey Bailey, the current Poet Laureate of Birmingham, award-winning poet Kayo Chingonyi, Roy McFarlane, Muneera Pilgrim and Malika Booker, co-founder of the writer's collective Malika's Kitchen. Presented by Ian McMillan Producer Cecile Wright

Adelle Stripe's Ten Thousand Apologies: Fat White Family and the Miracle of Failure charts the gripping chaos and self-sabotage of a classic " drug band with a rock problem". She shares something in common with all our guests this week, who all stand at the crossroads of words and music. Her book describes a band who while plumbing the depths of personal behaviour and let's be honest - personal hygiene - maintain a strangely pure artistic vision. Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon has also been trying to bottle the lightning of musical creativity on the page. He's edited and annotated a comprehensive collection of Sir Paul McCartney's lyrics. Paul explains how to look anew at songs we know so well and considers a talent that the best songwriters and poets often share: mimicry. Malika Booker reads a specially commissioned poem in our Something Old, Something New section, taking as her inspiration a line from The Verb Manifesto. From the archive, we hear Tony Harrison's Them and Uz. Anthony Joseph has been on a quest to learn more about a father he describes as largely absent. The result is "Sonnets for Albert", which explores the sonnet form yet infuses it with calypso and the natural delivery of his father's voice. Anthony performs his poem "Rings" for us. And Edmund Finnis tells us about Out of the Dawn's Mind, currently touring with the Soprano Ruby Hughes. He describes the challenge, not of capturing music on the page, but of travelling in the other direction, and bringing five poems of Alice Oswald from the page to musical life. Presented by Ian McMillan Produced by Kevin Core

The post The Garden of Gethsemane by Malika Booker appeared first on A Mouthful of Air.

In 2002 a new radio programme was born. It was almost called 'Saturday Speakeasy', but Radio 3 finally settled on 'The Verb'. This is our twentieth anniversary programme, so as you might expect it's packed with energetic language-play, poetry, and prose, and with five new commissions, as we reflect on the ways in which writing and performance have changed in the last two decades, and ask what might happen over the next twenty years. Ian's guests are poets Kate Fox, Malika Booker, Ira Lightman, Luke Wright, Cia Mangat (who was born the same year as The Verb), and novelist Toby Litt. We also present a piece of mystery audio which stars the award-winning poet Joelle Taylor. As if that's not enough for one week, in this episode we launch a brand new recurring feature called 'Something Old, Something New' celebrating the BBC's role in commissioning and broadcasting poetry over the last hundred years. In each programme over the next year we'll be sharing a remarkable poem from the archive, and a contemporary poet will present a new commission. This week you can hear the Irish icon and public poet W.B.Yeats reading his poem 'Song of the Old Mother' in 1935, and our contemporary poet is Luke Wright; he reads a poem called 'Covehithe Beach'.

Poet and presenter Malika Booker sits down with Peepal Tree Press' founder and managing editor, Jeremy Poynting, to discuss the different ways Caribbean writers explore food. With readings from Kwame Dawes, Marcia Douglas, Khadijah Ibrahiim, Malika Booker and John Lyons. The next few podcasts will think about Covid's effect on our relationships with our kitchens, as well as looking at selections of writing from the Caribbean diaspora about what food means to Caribbean writing and culture. Produced by Melody Triumph for Peepal Tree Press. Thumbnail artwork: 'Rainbirds', by Stanley Greaves. Music: Chris Cambell. With special thanks to Arts Council England and the Clarissa Luard Award. Visit www.peepaltreepress.com/blog/new-caribbean-voices-podcast

Songs To Live By is a podcast celebrating different generations of Black culture through the shared love of music. Host Vick Hope is joined by two guests, who grew up at different times, to share the songs that shaped their lives. In this episode, Vick is joined by the poet Malika Booker and singer songwriter Samm Henshaw. Producer: Abla Klaa

What makes a good manifesto? Are they better if they are sloganeering or questioning? Radio 1's Greg James and co-writer Chris Smith's new book is like a manifesto for the imagination, Malika Booker co-founded a poetry workshop that has transformed the literary landscape, and Kathryn Williams' songs always chart new territory - they join Ian McMillan to help him shape The Verb Manifesto which will be launched in the autumn. Malika Booker founded the poetry workshop 'Malika's Poetry Kitchen' alongside fellow poet Robert Robinson twenty years ago, inspired in part by the American writer June Jordan's ideas in 'Poetry for the People: A Revolutionary Handbook' . The workshop has included many of our most exciting poets, and an anthology celebrating the workshop is published on 5th August, called 'Too Young, Too Loud, Too Different' ( edited by Maisie Lawrence and Rishi Dastidar). Greg James and Chris Smith have turned an idea that came to Greg in a dream, into a novel for children called 'The Great Dream Robbery'. With a an acute ear for the sound of language, and a Dadaist expertise in the absurd , Greg and Chris celebrate the power of the imagination and the power of Llamas ( with bananas) - but will these things make it into our manifesto? Celebrated for her songwriting, Kathryn Williams' first novel 'The Ormering Tide' (Wrecking Ball Press) may have a listening manifesto at its heart. Its narrator is a curious listener, both to the natural world, and the people on her island. It's Rozel's listening which gives the reader hints of something mysterious that happened a long time ago -and which unsettles the present. As Kathryn has such an acute sensitivity to place, we asked her to write a special song to celebrate the places where manifestos are conceived.

Hinkle/ Yaya introduces her concept of The Keepers and The Seekers in relationship to her residency at the 18th Street Art Center in Los Angeles in 2017. During her residency she worked on her long-term Kentifrica project. Kentifrica is contested geography that Hinkle/Yaya has been developing a research platform for since 2011. Hinkle/Yaya discusses why we hold on to the things we feel compelled to carry and pass down via memory, actions, and the objects that we hold on to. She contemplates larger questions concerning if something or someone can ever truly be erased. Hinkle/Yaya reads from Modern Poets Three: Your Family, Your Body that features the work of Malika Booker, Sharon Olds, and Warsan Shire 2017. She features two poems by Malika Booker: Brixton Market and How Our Bodies Did This Unfamilar Thing.

In the second of our two podcasts celebrating World Poetry Day, Malika Booker chats with fellow poet and Manchester Writing School lecturer Andrew McMillan about his award-winning work. Andrew discusses his creative process and the meaning behind some of his most critically-acclaimed work, as well as reading exclusive pieces from his new anthology. Content warning: Andrew’s first recited poem ‘George’ deals with infant loss.

In the first of two podcasts celebrating World Poetry Day, Andrew McMillan chats with fellow poet and Manchester Writing School lecturer Malika Booker about her award-winning work. Malika reads her Forward Prize-winning poem 'The Little Miracles', discussing its creation and meaning, as well as how it feels to receive such a prestigious award for such a personal piece.

This episode `Past & Present` is a collaboration between Peepal Tree Press and Stanza 2021 - Scotland’s International Poetry Festival. Malika Booker asks two Peepal Tree Press poets to share dead poet ancestors who have influenced them. Nii Ayikwei Parkes speaks passionately about the influences of *Atukwei Okai and Kamau Brathwaite on his own writing. While Monica Winsome Minott weaves an engaging tale of the impact of Kamau Brathwaite on her poetics. Malika Booker also reveals an admiration with the poet Louise Bennett that began during her childhood. The New Caribbean Voices celebrates the best of Caribbean and Black British literature and culture. Produced by Melody Triumph for Peepal Tree Press. Artwork featured `Rainbirds` is by Stanley Greaves. Music by Chris Campbell. With special thanks to Arts Council England and the Clarissa Luard Award.

This sixth episode features two Black British writers. Here the poet and presenter Malika Booker speaks in depth to Yorkshire based writer Seni Seneviratne, about the art of writing, Seni’s writing shed, her commission as part of the Colonial Countryside Project: National Trust Houses Reinterpreted and her recent collection Unknown Soldier. Then Welsh based poet Marvin Thompson reads his poem The Baboon Chronicles from his debut poetry collection Road Trip. Both of these Black British Poets featured collections have been Poetry Book Society Recommendations. The New Caribbean voices podcast celebrates the best of Caribbean and black British literature and culture. Produced by Melody Triumph for Peepal Tree Press, Artwork featured `Rainbow` is by Stanley Greaves. Music by Chris Campbell. With special thanks to Arts Council England and the Clarissa Luard Award.

In this fifth episode poet and presenter Malika Booker converses with Trinidadian-born British novelist Monique Roffey in their office at Manchester Metropolitan University. They speak about Roffey’s prize winning novel, Mermaid of Black Conch (Winner of the Costa Book of the Year 2020) then the writer shares an excerpt from her enchanting novel. We then travel to Brooklyn Caribbean Literary Festival to hear Trinidadian poet Lauren K. Alleyne reading from her collection Honeyfish. The New Caribbean voices podcast celebrates the best of Caribbean and black British literature and culture. Produced by Melody Triumph for Peepal Tree Press, Artwork featured `Rainbow` is by Stanley Greaves. Music by Chris Campbell. With special thanks to Arts Council England and the Clarissa Luard Award.

**NEW ILLUSTRATED BOOK - RELEASED 19 NOVEMBER** We bring you exciting news that Bedtime Stories for the End of the World has partnered with Studio Press and illustrator Inkquisitive to create a wonderful illustrated book featuring stories from Malika Booker, Kayo Chingonyi, Inua Ellams, Will Harris, Helen Mort and Joelle Taylor. We speak to the writers and give a sneak preview of their stories ahead of the book's release on 29 October.  To buy a copy, visit bit.ly/InkTales Find out more about the podcast and catch up with all of our previous episodes at: endoftheworldpodcast.com

A full length show where writer and multi-disciplinary artist Malika Booker discusses the relationship between mourning and celebration, and reads a profound and moving poem written during lockdown. Show hosts - Naomi Woddis/Alba Frederick Originally broadcast on Reel Rebels Radio Music : Gavin O’Brien - Citóg  

In this episode enjoy an interview with J Edward Chamberlin, author of Come Back to Me My Language - West Indian Poetry plus readings and conversation from the archives, when Peepal Tree authors gathered at 17 Kings Avenue prior to the inaugural Leeds Lit festival in 2019. Listen out for Roger Robinson talking about his hopes for his then forthcoming collection, A Portable Paradise. Featuring host and curator, Malika Booker, Ted Chamberlin, plus readings from Degna Stone, Nick Makoha, Seni Seneviratne, Roger Robinson, Desiree Reynolds, Jacqueline Bishop and Anthony Joseph.

This special extended episode features a round-up by Jeremy Poynting of some of the important books published by Peepal Tree Press in the last decade, Malika Booker in conversation with writer Anton Nimblett, poetry from Unwritten: Caribbean Poems After the First World War edited by Karen McCarthy Woolf, and read by Tanya Shirley, Ishion Hutchinson, Vladimir Lucien and Malika Booker herself, plus an exclusive interview with 2020 T.S. Eliot prize-winner Roger Robinson! The New Caribbean Voices podcast celebrates the best of Caribbean and Black British literature and culture. Produced by Melody Triumph for Peepal Tree Press. Artwork featured 'Rainbirds' is by Stanley Greaves. Music by Chris Campbell. With special thanks to Arts Council England and the Clarissa Luard Award. Visit https://www.peepaltreepress.com/blog/new-caribbean-voices-podcast

Leeds Lit Fest podcast host https://www.schwa.space/peter-spafford (Peter Spafford) goes on a ramble with http://malikabooker.com/about/ (Malika Booker) through the parks, libraries, nail salons, churches and streets of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapeltown,_Leeds (Chapeltown), Leeds and discover the connections between a sense of place and fruitful writing. Malika Booker appeared at the 2020 Leeds Lit Fest as part of the festival's Launch Party in February. Support this podcast

Poet and presenter Malika Booker talks in depth to Jamaican writer and artist Jacqueline Bishop in this second episode of Peepal Tree Press's literary podcast. Plus Leone Ross reads her short story, 'President Daisy', drawn from her latest book, Come let Us Sing Anyway. Produced by Melody Triumph for Peepal Tree Press. Artwork featured 'Rainbirds' is by Stanley Greaves. Music by Chris Campbell. With special thanks to Arts Council England and the Clarissa Luard Award. Visit https://www.peepaltreepress.com/blog/new-caribbean-voices-podcast

Poet and presenter Malika Booker sits down with Peepal Tree Press’ founder and managing editor Jeremy Poynting to discuss everything from where the idea for the #NewCaribbeanVoices podcast began to why it is such an important platform going forward. Plus “Book Reviews Round-up” with Shivanee Ramlochan, and an exclusive excerpt from Barabara Jenkins' latest novel, De Rightest Place. Produced by Melody Triumph for Peepal Tree Press. Artwork featured 'Rainbirds' is by Stanley Greaves. Music by Chris Cambell. With special thanks to Arts Council England and the Clarissa Luard Award. Visit https://www.peepaltreepress.com/blog/new-caribbean-voices-podcast

This week poets Malika Booker, Natalie Linh Bolderston and Olga Dermott-Bond bring to life traditional stories of powerful women. We hear about the West Indian temptress La Diablesse, Vietnamese Warrior Triệu Thị Trinh, and the Irish giant-trickster Oonagh McCool. Find out more and catch up with Series One at:endoftheworldpodcast.com@goodbyeworldpod  

Bedtime Stories for the End of the World returns on Monday 16 September, bringing you another six episodes of poetry for our apocalyptic age. Each episode will feature brand new poetry from some of the best UK poets, including: Malika Booker, Andrew McMillan, Sabrina Mahfouz, Kei Miller, Helen Mort, Jack Underwood and many more. Subscribe to make sure you don't miss en episode. For more information visit endoftheworldpodcast.com, or contact us on Twitter or Instagram @goodbyeworldpod

Poet Daniel Cockrill invites Poet and Playwright Nick Makoha round his house for a chat. During this chat they explore the visceral space between fact and fiction to reveal certain truths that can’t necessarily be explained by these other fields. They also attempt to answer the Poet Waffle Big Question: Where do problems come from? Topics covered include: My Shed, Educational Projects, Charlie Dark, Malika Booker, Roger Robinson, Jacob Sam La Rose, Polarbear, Inua Ellams, Humour, How Humour Can Help You Understand The World and How It Can Make The World Better, Writing, Learning To Be A Poet, Mastering Your Craft, What Words Can Do, Building A Universe Out Of Words, Encouraging Imagination and Creativity, and Playing Through The Problems.

Poet Daniel Cockrill invites, poet, spoken word artist, broadcaster Laurie Bolger round his house for a chat. During this chat they explore the visceral space between fact and fiction to reveal certain truths that can’t necessarily be explained by these other fields. They also attempt to answer the Poet Waffle Big Question: What is the best thing that ever happened to you? Topics covered include: Bang Said The Gun, Introductions, Golden Gun Award, Dave Martin, Homemade Fudge, The Roebuck Pub, Hosting, Jack White, Martin Galton, Rob Auton, Touring, Loneliness On The Road, Rural Touring, The In Crowd, Reality Of Touring, Why Do We Do This?, Office Work, Hospitality Industry, Pressure, Shop Work, Luxuary Bubble Bath, Mother’s Day, Getting Out Your Comfort Zone, Getting Out Of Town, University Of Brighton, Photographic Technician, Debt, London, Poetry Community, Poetry In Education, Workshopping, Making a Living, Hosting, Stress, Jacob sam La Rose, Nick Makoha, Charlie Dark, Malika Booker, Roger Robinson, Asking for Help, Lightning Bolt Moments, Disney Land Parade, Jon Bon Jovi, Gibraltar, Elton John, Slash, Guns N Roses, Cooking For One, Learning To say No, Burnout, Leyton Orient v Wrexham, Earning Money, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Commissions, International Women’s Day, Being Serious, Making Things Look Easy, Talking To Strangers, Elephant, Craft, Making Something Every Day.

Dying and death is something we will all experience in our lifetime: the loss of a loved one, fear of dying or perhaps trying to extend our lives. Malika Booker, Rachel Clarke and Tony Walter explore different perspectives on dying. Malika Booker is a British Caribbean writer, Her collection Pepper Seed was published by Peepal Tree Press in 2013 and The Penguin Modern Poets Series 3 in 2017. She is currently a LHRI Fellow at Leeds University where she is conducting a creative research project gathering memories and anecdotes about Caribbean funerals, wakes and nine nights. Rachel Clarke is a current NHS doctor, former television journalist and author of Your Life in My Hands. She works in palliative medicine, believing that helping patients at the end of life experience the best quality life possible, is priceless. Professor Tony Walter is a sociologist who works with the University of Bath's Centre for Death & Society. He has written and lectured on diverse aspects of death in the modern world. His latest book is What Death Means Now (Policy Press).

To mark 100 years since the end of the First World War, The Verb presents ‘Unwritten', a special edition of the programme telling the neglected stories of those who fought in the British West Indian Regiment, and the stories of those they left behind, through a series of new poems. 15,600 men from the Caribbean served everywhere from Messines to Egypt, Passchendaele to Palestine – and many received medals for their bravery. However, as the poet Karen McCarthy Woolf comments, ‘The wartime stories of these Caribbean servicemen were largely unheard at the time and have remained so ever since…We know many of their names and the roles they played, but we have few first-hand accounts to tell us what their lives were like during the conflict… “Unwritten: Caribbean Poems After the First World War” is an attempt to address this gap in the narrative.' Those poets commissioned by this project, writing and researching new work, come from both the Caribbean, and the Caribbean diaspora. Performing are: Jay Bernard, Jay T John, Ishion Hutchinson, Kat Francois, Tanya Shirley, Vladimir Lucien, Charnell Lucien, Malika Booker and Karen McCarthy Woolf. Recorded at the Contains Strong Language Festival in Hull, ‘Unwritten' is a co-commission by 14-18 Now, The British Council, and BBC Contains Strong Language. As part of the Unwritten project, many of the poets involved visited Jamaica. All the poems in this programme are included in the book ‘Unwritten: Caribbean Poems After The First World War', published by Nine Arches Press in partnership with Wrecking Ball Press. Full versions of the broadcast poems can be heard in The Verb podcast. https://www.1418now.org.uk/ https://www.britishcouncil.org/

No need to RSVP just turn up and tune in to Free Thinking's end of year salon. Matthew Sweet is our host and he's promising wit and wisdom as well as a host of guests: Jake Arnott, Malika Booker, Neil Brand, David Aaronovitch and Katherine Cooper. Malika Booker co-founded Malika's Poetry Kitchen in 2001 to create a nourishing and encouraging community of writers dedicated to the development of their writing. She is currently the Douglas Caster Cultural Fellow at the University of Leeds. Her first poetry collection was called Pepper Seed and she also writes dramas. Jake Arnott is the author of six novels including The Long Firm and The Fatal Tree. He took part in the tenth anniversary tour of the Polari LGBT literary salon. Dr Katherine Cooper teaches at the University of East Anglia and is researching the PEN archive and gatherings involving authors including H.G. Wells, Graham Greene and Margaret Storm Jameson. She is a BBC Radio 3 and AHRC New Generation Thinker. Neil Brand is a composer, dramatist and author and regular silent film accompanist at the BFI National Film Theatre and at the Barbican in London. David Aaronovitch is a journalist, broadcaster and author of books including his memoir Party Animals: My Family and Other Communists; Producer: Zahid Warley

Malika Booker reads two poems at the Rich Seams Poetry Gala at Durham Book Festival 2017. Introduction by Andrew McMillan.

Fuel, Roundhouse and King’s Cultural Institute present Waiting… in a hairdressers by Malika Booker in collaboration with Emily Butterworth Waiting… in a hairdressers is the sixth in our new series of podcasts called While You Wait, each of which is a different meditation on the idea of waiting and created by artists in collaboration with academics from King's College London. Waiting… in a hairdressers has been made by poet Malika Booker in collaboration with Emily Butterworth, Senior Lecturer, Department of French at King's College London. While You Wait is funded by Arts Council England and a Wellcome Trust Arts Award.

Book Slam's 25th podcast finds Jonathan Safran Foer discussing a dog for dinner, Paul Murray reading from his brilliant novel, 'Skippy Dies', poetry from Malika Booker and music from Plaster Of Paris and Valentina. Patrick's just had a baby, Elliott's just had a Cornetto.