A Lovely Word @ Homotopia

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor
Poet Jade Anouka
Poet, actor and writer Jade Anouka.

11 November 2020 Entrance is free — Visit now

Head to the mouth of the Mersey for a very special special of A Lovely Word, as Liverpool’s most eclectic spoken word night teams up with Homotopia Festival 2020, taking place 29 October to 15 November. Also based in Liverpool, the UK’s leading and longest-running LGBTQIA arts and culture festival this year takes “show your working” as its theme – in other words, you may not have the answer, but you are making a plan for how to get there.  

A Lovely Word welcomes Jade Anouka into the headliner limelight… As an actor on both stage and screen, it’s something Jade should be well versed at – she also uses those talents to write her own plays, poetry and prose.

The collective behind A Lovely Word definitely have a plan. The Everyman’s long-standing live literature night has already been online, in May, June and July, it’s been in the park, during the halcyon days of August and September, and it’s been back online since the start of October, when Polari-shortlisted poet Dean Atta helped mark Black History Month. For November, A Lovely Word welcomes Jade Anouka into the headliner limelight.

As an actor on both stage and screen, it’s something Jade should be well versed at – she also uses those talents to write her own plays, poetry and prose, including an essay – Hotspur, Superwoman – in the Virago anthology I Call Myself A Feminist: The View from Twenty-Five Women Under Thirty, published in 2015, and the TED Talk Being Black, Being a Woman, Being ‘Other’, which she performed in 2018.

On the acting front, London-born Jade’s TV credits include Doctor Who, His Dark Materials and Channel 4’s Chewing Gum, while her most recent work is Her & Her, commissioned as part of the BBC Arts Culture in Quarantine series. She has been commended in the Ian Charleson Awards, rewarding the best classical stage performances in Britain by actors under the age of 30, for her performance as Ophelia in Hamlet at Shakespeare’s Globe and for her take on Mark Anthony in Julius Caesar at The Donmar Warehouse – part of an all-female Shakespeare trilogy, directed by Phyllida Lloyd, in which Jade also played The Tempest‘s Ariel and Hotspur in Henry IV

Jade published her first collection of poems in the form of the 32-page pamphlet Eggs on Toast in 2017, with Poetry Space. Fellow poet and author Laura Dockrill says: “Jade’s beautiful poetry is no frills. Brave, raw and exposing, Jade’s writing is an open book where the words are carefully plucked pearls, fit for the neck of any human just growing, falling and making their way in the world.”

A Lovely Word @ Homotopia will be livestreamed on Facebook and Youtube (search for A Lovely Word). Online open mic slots of four minutes maximum are available and performers should sign up in advance between now and midday on 6 November – get in touch by emailing alovelywordpodcast@gmail.com and note that for this Homotopia special, poets identifying as LGBTQIA will be prioritised. “Show your love and appreciation for all other poets,” say the ALW team, no hateful language is tolerated. If you fancy building your skills in performing poetry before then, A Lovely Word’s Alex will be running a free scratch session exclusively for LGBTQIA folks, giving you a chance to workshop your poem and explore your voice as a performer. The workshop takes place via Zoom on Saturday 31 October, 12-2pm – there are just 10 places available, so get in touch ASAP to reserve your place via alovelywordpodcast@gmail.com.

A Lovely Word is completely free, supported by the Everyman & Playhouse and Arts Council England.

11 November 2020 Entrance is free Visit now

Where to go near A Lovely Word @ Homotopia

family 3
Museum
Blue Planet Aquarium

Blue Planet Aquarium is home to animals from all around the world, one of the UK’s largest collections of sharks and a 71-metre underwater tunnel to see them from!

hotel 1
Liverpool
International Inn

A pleasant and affordable place to stay in Liverpool, International Inn is hidden away in a quiet street but still close to everything you need.

hotel 2
Liverpool
Hotel
Kabannas Liverpool

Kabannas Liverpool offers a choice of comfortable rooms, from private doubles to shared options to suit all needs and group sizes.

hotel 2
City Centre
Hotel
The Liner Hotel

The Liner Hotel offers accommodation in style, with comfort, luxury and a seasonal menu in a central Liverpool location.

wine bar
City Centre
Restaurant
The Oracle

The Oracle is a mysteriously classy cocktail bar with magicians performing tricks at your table, right in the centre of Liverpool

cinema 2
Cinema
Plaza Community Cinema

The Plaza Community Cinema is truly a unique community resource with big releases, special screenings and affordable tickets.

What's on: Literature

Yellow poster with Weird as Folk written on it
Until
LiteratureManchester
Weird As Folk exhibition at The Portico

The Portico Library’s latest exhibition, Weird As Folk, runs through to November and invites you to explore and reimagine folklore via texts selected from the collection, which includes 100 books of English folklore.

free entry
Kate Mosse
Until
LiteratureLeeds
Farsley Lit Fest at various venues

As part of the 2024 Farsley Literature Festival, join us in the shop as cosy crime writer Jonathan Hall chairs an evening of discussion with Tom Hindle and Rachel North. The panel will explore the lure of a glamorous location for thriller writers.

from £8.00

Culture Guides