Tuesday 7 February 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Join us at Quay Words to welcome acclaimed poet Roger Robinson and award-winning author and photographer Johny Pitts as they ask:
What is it like to be black in Britain today, particularly if you live outside of the urban, metropolitan centres?
Roger and Johny joined forces to explore this issue in their stunning new book, Home Is Not A Place. Featuring photographs, poetry and essays, it is a visual poem reflecting on the complexity, strength and resilience of Black Britain. In their journey around the UK, the writers uncover hidden stories of black people living in the unlikeliest of places, from rundown seaside resorts to rural beach locations. Come and hear these tales, which echo across centuries of the black experience, transforming and illuminating the history of Britain.
Co-produced by Speaking Volumes, Sprung Sultan and Coastal Carolina University
About the authors
Johny Pitts is a writer, photographer and broadcaster known for his work in exploring African–European identities. He is the curator of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR) award-winning Afropean.com, and the author of Afropean: Notes from Black Europe.
In recognition of his work, he has received the Jhalak Prize, the Bread & Roses Award for Radical Publishing, the Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding and the European Essay Prize. The recipient of the inaugural Ampersand/ Photoworks Fellowship, his photography has been exhibited at Foam (Amsterdam), E-Werk (Freiburg) and the Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago). As part of the Friends of Europe thinktank’s European Young Leaders 2022 programme, Johny has been selected as one of the next generation of young leaders involved in shaping Europe’s future. He is also a member of University College London’s European Institute Advisory Board. www.johnypitts.com
Roger Robinson is a writer who has performed worldwide. He is the winner of the 2019 T.S. Eliot Prize and the 2020 RSL Ondaatje Prize. He was chosen by Decibel as one of 50 writers who have influenced the Black British writing canon. His latest collection, A Portable Paradise, was a New Statesman book of the year. He is an alumnus of The Complete Works and was shortlisted for The OCM Bocas Poetry Prize, The Oxford Brookes Poetry Prize and the 2020 Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry, as well as being commended by the Forward Poetry Prize. Roger has received commissions from, among others, The National Trust, London Open House, BBC, The National Portrait Gallery, V&A, INIVA, MK Gallery and Theatre Royal Stratford East, where he also was associate artist. He is an experienced workshop leader and has toured extensively with the British Council. His workshops have been part of a shortlist for the Gulbenkian Prize for Museums and Galleries and were also a part of the Webby Award winning Barbican’s Can I Have A Word. Roger is co-founder of both Spoke Lab and the international writing collective Malika’s Poetry Kitchen. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist for King Midas Sound and has also recorded solo albums with Jahtari Records. Roger was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2020. www.rogerrobinsononline.com
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This event will be in-person at Exeter Custom House. We have increased capacity at Quay Words events, so you may be sitting next to someone who is not in your household. We are still taking precautions to ensure our audiences are protected from Covid 19. We will be keeping windows open to ensure good ventilation in the building so you may want to bring an extra layer. Please do not attend Quay Words events if you have symptoms of Covid-19 or are feeling unwell.
You can find out more about the accessibility of the Custom House here. If you have any access needs you’d like to discuss with us before the event you can contact us on quaywords@literatureworks.org.uk
Image by Piotr Sell