Dean Atta online at Queer Contact 2021
Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor
Join Dean Atta for this special event happening as part of Queer Contact Festival 2021, which runs 28 April until 1 May and features other writers including Young Identity performers Roma Havers and Ella Otomewo, who will be curating Outspoken. This showcase of Queer artists who have an innovative approach to literature welcomes Billie Meredtih, Jasmine Gardosi and Yandass Ndlovu featuring Alexis Bailey.
In this fantastic event for literary lovers and spoken word poets and performers, taking place via Zoom, Dean Atta will be reading some excerpts from The Black Flamingo and discussing his works with host Adam Lowe.
Back to Dean, though, an award-winning author and poet. His debut poetry collection, I Am Nobody’s Nigger, was shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize while his debut novel, The Black Flamingo, was awarded the 2020 Stonewall Book Award, and shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal, YA Book Prize and Jhalak Prize. The Black Flamingo follows the life of mixed-race gay teenager Michael and his discovery of drag culture. Says Dean of the book: “I didn’t want this story to look away from difficult topics, such as race and sexuality. But there are times in the story when Michael doesn’t fully understand what he’s seeing or experiencing.”
His critically acclaimed writing often deals with themes of race, identity, gender, sexuality and growing up, and Benjamin Zephaniah says: “Dean Atta’s poetry is as honest as truth itself.” Named as one of the most influential LGBT people in the UK by the Independent On Sunday and described by Time Out London as “one of the UK’s finest poets”, Dean’s work has appeared on the BBC and Channel 4, and he has a regular column in Attitude. He is based in Glasgow, and is co-director of the Scottish BAME Writers Network and a patron of LGBT+ History Month. He is also a member of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen, founded by Malika Booker and Roger Robinson.
In this fantastic event for literary lovers and spoken word poets and performers, taking place via Zoom, Dean Atta will be reading some excerpts from The Black Flamingo and discussing his works with host Adam Lowe, a writer, educator, publisher and performer, and the UK’s LGBT History Month Poet Laureate. The event will be live captioned.
Following the reading, at 3pm, Dean is leading an hour-long online poetry workshop for Queer Contact, called Which Flag To Wave. Using flags as metaphors to discuss pride in various forms, including sexuality and nationality, in this free workshop, suitable for both beginners and experienced writers, you will look at poems by Bashabi Fraser, Danez Smith, Hannah Lavery, John Agard and Keith Jarrett, and Dean will guide you to write your own poem. Just email boxoffice@contactmcr.com to book your free workshop place.
