Ep. 131 - Zena Edwards

This week Repeat Beat Poet is in conversation with poet, author, broadcaster, activist, and longstanding rabble-rousing doyenne of UK poetry, Salena Goddena. The pair reflect on Salena's career in poetry and literature, the inspirations behind her debut novel Mrs Death Misses Death, and have a good chat about the complications and joys of writing to and through an embodiment of Death; like how facing loss and grief can teach us how to live, love, survive, and fight for a better world. There's also chat about being a flaneuse, and writing while walking around mystical East London.

The terms hard-working and “jack of all trades” get thrown around a lot, but Sarah Callaghan really embodies the two. She’s been a comedian for over ten years with shows across the world from Australia to Austria, and she made the move into poetry when she used it as a tool to work through a difficult period of her life. Poetry was a space that allowed for what comedy didn’t; a space where messages didn’t necessarily have to be funny to be let out and to be seriously received by an audience. It gave her a space to speak more openly about mental health. We also discuss the importance of creative collaboration, share some performance stories, and the difficulties of navigating the trappings of social media.

This week Peter deGraft-Johnson (The Repeat Beat Poet) speaks to poet , educator, and writer Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan. The pair start by speaking about overcoming the fears of speaking your truth publicly, learning to trust readers and publishers outside of immediate live audiences, and Suhaiymah's journey discovering poetry. Next, we jump into the thick fogs of British colonialism, spend some time naming and shaming it and discussing the legacy of inequality it leaves in how histories are held and taught in our libraries, archives, and museums. Across an hour that felt like a minute, Suhaiymah also squeezes in some self-care tips, and gives another beautiful answer to the perennial ultimate question - why poetry?

“A lot of the ethos that I learned from the punk scene – D.I.Y politics, inclusivity, that kind of thing – I brought with me into Burning Eye Books” - Bridget Hart

This week Peter deGraft-Johnson (The Repeat Beat Poet) speaks to Hip Hop artist and former Sheffield Poet Laureate, Otis Mensah. They discuss how the concept of introspective documentarianism underpins Otis' work of building a personal identity and creative voice around artistic truth and vulnerability, through rap and poetry. There's also talk of surviving and decrying racial capitalism, and a breakdown of Otis' tenure as laureate.