To coincide with the book's one-year anniversary on 21 September, Merle Collins' Ocean Stirrings: A Work of Fiction in Tribute to Louise Langdon Norton Little, Working Mother and Activist, Mother of Malcolm X and Seven Siblings is now available from Audible. Merle is also celebrating the anniversary with a UK tour next month. Don't miss out!
A selection of Poems on the Underground posters featuring poets from Scotland and beyond will be on display at the Scottish Poetry Library during the 2024 Edinburgh Festival.
The exhibition is free to visit during opening hours and will run until early autumn.
It includes the poem "By Yourself, Boy" by Nii Ayikwei Parkes.
Nii also reads the iconic poem "Sumer is Icumen in" (Anon).
The longlist has been revealed for the Polari First Book Prize 2024, which includes Adam Lowe's debut collection Patterflash.
Adam said, "I am honoured to be in the company of such stellar writers! This is an extremely competitive longlist, so to even place is fantastic news."
You can now watch the recording of Jeda Pearl's Edinburgh book launch, at Lighthouse Books, via YouTube. Thank you to everyone who attended or watched the livestream for making this such a special event!
Time Cleaves Itself: Poetry Night with Jeda Pearl and Friends
Date: 23 July 2024
Time: 7–8pm
Venue: Lighthouse Bookshop, 43-45 West Nicolson Street, Edinburgh EH8 9DB
Price: Free, but you can purchase a voucher or book to support the bookshop and organisers
Book online
Nii Ayikwei Parkes recently spoke to Rippling Pages about the fictional island setting of his novel Azúcar. You can watch the video below (or click to go to YouTube).
Also, if you haven't already, remember to check out Nii's work on Poems on the Underground. Nii's poetry is available to read/listen online, for those who can't see it on the Tube in person.
The Guardian has published an article on the Dig Where You Stand project, where Peepal Tree author Désirée Reynolds is digging through history to find the stories of African-Caribbean people in Sheffield.
“Archives are like time travel,” says Désirée Reynolds, an artist in residence at Sheffield City Archives, who has been burrowing into the thousands of items in the northern city’s annals in search of black history since 2021.
Author Sathari Kam, who writes as Meiling Jin and S. Kam, has published a collection of poems with Pegasus Elliot MacKenzie. Sathari's collection Poetry of the Soul in 8 movements invites the reader to join her on the noble hero's journey. She has also released a new album of children's songs, Footprints in the Forest, which she wrote and produced herself. It can be streamed and downloaded on BandCamp.
Over on Bookshop.org, Merle Collins has shared a selection of books in the Political Fiction. The list covers Merle Collins' inspiration for her latest historical fiction novel, Ocean Stirrings.
