Former Poet Laureate for Scotland Jackie Kay reads from her new collection and shares stories from decades of involvement in political activism, from Reclaim the Streets to Gay Pride to Greenham Common to Black Lives Matter. Woven through the collection are poems reflecting on the loss of her parents and profound change, love and celebration. Jackie will be in conversation with poet Joelle Taylor.

Jackie Kay was born in Edinburgh. A poet, novelist and writer of short stories, she has enjoyed great acclaim for her work for both adults and children. Her novel Trumpet won the Guardian Fiction Prize. She has published three collections of stories: Why Don’t You Stop Talking; Wish I Was Here; and Reality, Reality; two poetry collections: Fiere and Bantam; and a memoir, Red Dust Road. From 2016 to 2021 she was the third modern Makar, the National Poet for Scotland. She lives in Manchester and is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Salford.

Joelle Taylor is an award-winning poet, playwright, author and editor. Her most recent poetry collection C+NTO & Othered Poems won the 2021 TS Eliot Prize, and the 2022 Polari Book Prize for LGBT authors; her debut novel The Night Alphabet was published in 2024. She is a co- curator and host of Out-Spoken Live at the Southbank Centre, and tours her work nationally and internationally.