Sharing poetry live is one of the things that makes me feel most like me. I am at home behind the mic. Even when there are nerves, tiredness, and on occasion, sickness. Once the first few words have left my lips, the other things fade away. For however many minutes I have, I am locked in, I am all in, I am me.

Start As I Mean To Go On

My first poetry feature of 2026 was at Victoria Baskerville’s book launch on the 17th of January. I had been asked to open and close the event with some of my poetry. It was a beautiful evening, and to quote a cousin who came with me, inspirational as well. Find out more about Victoria’s book here (Waterstones)

‘I Am‘ was the opening poem. The origin story of this piece was a line sent to me by Rhoda Fisher in 2019:

I am all the identity you need.

Rhoda was working on her ‘I Am’ series, and she wanted to pair some poetry with some of the portraits. She sent me that line and asked if I could use it as a prompt for a poem.

From that kernel of a line came this poem, and it’s still connecting with people (inc. me) nearly 7 years later. Press play on the video above; if even one line resonates, I’ll feel I have fulfilled my purpose. To move people. Or as the late Octavia Butler put it,

…Make people FEEL! FEEL! FEEL!

Setting my Intentions

This January reminder prompted me to decide that in 2026, I want at least one poet feature per month (i.e. headline, paid) per month. This isn’t just about getting paid, though as a part of knowing my worth and working towards being a Creative full-time, paid opportunities are a necessity,

It is primarily about having something each month that feels like home. Gifting myself that January feeling of being more me, every month. If you want to help me make this a reality, please fill out the booking enquiry form . Provide as much detail as possible; let’s see if our purposes align and turn ideas into tangible action.

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