Poetry Stanza - Guest Poet: Birdspeed + Open-Mic on 2 November

Trowbridge Poetry Society Stanza is looking forward to welcoming poet and performance artist Safiya Kinshasa, AKA Birdspeed, to share her work at Drawing Projects UK on Saturday, 2 November 2019 from 2-4pm. There will also be the opportunity for the audience to perform their own poems at the open-mic.  

British born Barbadian raised artist Birdspeed incorporates poetry, storytelling, satirical humour and movement into her performances.  Her writing is often a combination of social commentary and auto- biographical tales including themes on: Caribbean culture and folklore, afrofuturism, black feminism, and mental health (especially in black working class communities).

Birdspeed is the Edinburgh Fringe Slam Champion 2019 and the 2019 Hammer and Tongue UK National Slam Champion. In addition to the UK, Birdspeed has also performed in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Los Angeles and headlined at significant US venues such as the Bowery Poetry Club (NYC) and The African American Centre (Philadelphia).  She is currently the Manhattan Arts Festival Poet Laureate. Birdspeed performed her first play, ‘The Firebird’ at the Salisbury Theatre Playhouse and has facilitated workshops in a variety of organisations including a men’s prison.

Birdspeed is published in the following anthologies: Alter Egos Anthology (Bad Betty Press, 2019), Use Words First (Own It, 2019) and Words on Windrush (Empoword, 2019).  Birdspeed has also self-published her first pamphlet Bloom (2019) which is endorsed by Junior Marvin from The Original Wailers.

Trowbridge Poetry Society Stanza is held on the first Saturday of the month at Drawing Projects UK from 2-4pm and is convened by Josephine Corcoran. Tickets are £5 on the door.