F R Kesby
Headliner F R Kesby is a writer and creator from Leeds. They have a string of publishing credits including Strix, Riggwelter, Picaroon, Laldy and Wanton Fuckery as well as having headlined for events such as Stirred, Word Space, neurodiVERSE and Verse Matters. Their debut pamphlet “Shul” was published by Maytree Press. When not poeting about town they are a postgraduate linguistics and gender studies student and work in the charity sector. They describe themselves as a queer disability activist who wants to make the world better. Others describe them as “a difficult bitch with a big mouth”. We’ll let you decide which is true. (Spoiler alert; it’s both.)
Find out more here.
Rick Dove
Once voted “most likely to start the revolution” Headliner Rick Dove is an award-winning, mixed-heritage, neurodivergent, and disabled poet and activist from South West London. Arriving on the London Spoken Word scene in 2015, Rick has performed feature sets across the UK and internationally bringing his signature blend of lyrical storytelling to stages including ParaPride, Enrich Festival, The Wandsworth Arts Fringe, the Brighton Fringe, the Edinburgh Fringe, Greenbelt, Shambala, and the Margate Bookie Festivals.
Dubbed “one to watch” by TS Eliot Prize winner Roger Robinson, Rick has been widely anthologised since 2016, with work appearing in magazines, anthologies, and on spoken word albums; he has produced two solo collections with Burning Eye Books, Tales From the Other Box (August 2020), and Supervillain Origin Story (May 2023); and was crowned UK Poetry Slam Champion at the Royal Albert Hall in July 2021.
Over the years, Rick has been commissioned to write with Poetry Takeaway, Imperial College, the HouseFound Symposium (for the Level Centre), and as part of the Raze Collective’s 2022 Let Us Raze You Cohort.
Equally at home on a stage, a page, or a march, Rick has a vision of a fairer world and wants to take you with him.
Find out more here.
Mark Cazaly
Support Artist Cazaly was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and has grown to embrace the spoken word as a result of having it briefly taken away.
Prior to poetry Cazaly unintentionally scanned their own face to the point of hospitalisation, chased projections of Betty Page whilst dressed in white spandex, inserted as many pieces of raw spaghetti into their beard as possible whilst hovering over a pan of boiling water, printed out a photograph of their own teeth to scale to see what they would look like in their mouth, and shaved their face whilst covered in duct tape in an attempt to turn their beard inside out.
Cazaly is intrigued where words will take them…
NDE Poetry (No Dry Eyes Poetry)
Support Artist Sylvia Marie (She/Her) is a dynamic performance poet from York, making her mark in spoken word as a physically disabled and audhd artist. With over a decade of writing and studying the craft, she now channels this passion into No Dry Eyes Poetry (NDE Poetry), a project that showcases her raw, unapologetically emotional work with a powerful call for change. Through NDE Poetry, Sylvia aims to build a community of passionate artists and activists. Her aspirations include founding a literary journal and publishing her debut poetry collection, Shadows & Sanctuary.
Her journey into spoken word began in 2017 at the Buckinghamshire Poetry Festival, where she earned third place. Inspired, she went on to study poetry at the University of York. In 2022, she took the stage at York’s much-loved Say Owt Slam, where she placed second—a turning point that led to performances at the Leeds & York Literature Festival, After a brief hiatus and navigating the high’s and low’s of new motherhood, she took off again in August, with the honour of competiting in Huddersfield’s InkSpill Slam. Sylvia has been the support act for book launches of ’Dolls’ by Hannah Davis and ’Lampoonery of the Shallow’ by Oliver Lewis. Her work has also been recognised in various literary circles, with publications in Dipity Press, Querencia, and Poets’ Choice. In 2023, she was highly commended in the Hive South Yorkshire Young Writers Competition.
Sylvia is deeply thrilled to participate in Poetry For All 2024, an event close to her heart as a working-class artist. This opportunity aligns with her mission to help dismantle the barriers that disabled and marginalised creators often face in the poetry world. She has found her home in the York poetry and writing community and can’t wait for all the fun yet to come!
Find out more here.
Natasha Tingle
Support Artist Natasha Tingle is a mentally and physically disabled writer and performer centred around Wigan, Bolton and Manchester. She loves the power and playfulness of words. She creates visual poetry that leans heavily into metaphor. She especially seeks to connect with spoken word audiences and share her quirky inner world.
Sheba Arts says “Natasha is a great poet and highly skilled facilitator whose warm and vibrant energy brings out the best in those around her.”
She has led and facilitated a number of community writing groups over the years as well, including working with children and young people in the community and in schools, marginalised and vulnerable adult groups and neurodivergent people. She seems to meet the needs in the community around her. She currently runs Spilt Ink Writers weekly in Bolton library.
She has a poetry collection, Open Book: Ink In The Rips.
Find out more here.
Sarah Cox
Sarah is a BSL/English Interpreter. She specialises in performance interpreting, and developed a passion for integrated BSL interpreting after training with Ramps on the Moon. Integrated/interpreted shows include Standing at the Sky’s Edge (Gillian Lynne Theatre/Sheffield Crucible), Macbeth (Leeds Playhouse) and She Loves Me (Sheffield Crucible).
Jen Phoenix
Jen Phoenix is a freelance British Sign Language interpreter from Bradford, whose love of camp fires, tie dye and life outdoors has earned her the sign name ’Hippy’.
Her passion for accessible theatre finds her more often in the background supporting access for cast and crew but she is certainly no wallflower, taking every opportunity to perform with her own choir and providing stage interpretation for a range of events. Having made her debut this year as a fully integrated performance interpreter in Mother of the Revolution (Archipelago Arts Collective) she continually strives to break down barriers for deaf and disabled performers and audiences within theatre and the arts.
Rose Drew
Host and PfA Founder Rose Drew’s favourite place in all the world is in front of an audience: of students, anthropologists, poets, book readers at a launch event, historians. Rose is a performance poet, publisher, teacher, and anthropologist, and loves editing manuscripts, which is sort of like archaeology: uncovering a truth, carefully, while keeping its essence intact. Rose deals with pesky impairments and lately a health issue. She writes about death & skeletons, love & grief, nature & disability. Rose is tall on the inside.
Find out more here.
Fay Roberts
Host and Web-Wrangler Fay Roberts is a performance poet, musician, storyteller, events host, award-winning voice actor, Artistic Director for Spoken Word at PBH’s Free Fringe, and an enormous geek. During weekdays, ze persuades people to make lists and say no to shiny things. For every role, there is a different hat, and a spreadsheet to match. Zir first full collection, Spectral, came out with Burning Eye in March 2022, and ze describes it as “a kind of poetry concept album, with illustrations”.
Find out more here.
Sandy
After many years working in print as a Graphic Designer, Videographer Sandy ’stumbled’ upon video, and has never looked back. He now sees himself as a supportive videographer wotking almost exclusively in the arts and with some, no lots of wonderful organisations!
Find out more here.
Poetry For All 