To celebrate the launch of her debut poetry collection with Burning Eye Books, local spoken word artist and musician Carys Hannah will be reading some excerpts from her book at The Night Owl and has invited some friends to share the stage with her. Expect some open mic jam shenanigans too.

Acts confirmed so far include:

Poetry:
Carys Hannah
Nafeesa Hamid
Jasmine Gardosi
Tarik Ross-Cameron
Jack Crowe

Music:
Transits
Seventh Syndicate
Sam Stealth
Tehillah Henry

DJs:
Anjin
Vickers

More TBA!

About the author:

Carys Hannah (formerly known as Carys ‘Matic’ Jones) is a Birmingham-based poet, musician, and educator. She has headlined numerous spoken word events and performed at several festivals in the UK and South Korea, including Evidently, Wordsmiths, Mouths Wide Shut, Howl, Shambala, Boomtown, and the Gwangju World Music Festival, and has written for the publications Blues and Soul Magazine, Culture M, Eloquence, and Groove Korea. Her work has been showcased on BBC Introducing, OHTV, and The Word is Bond. In 2015, Carys took her autobiographical one-woman show Professional Nomad to the Edinburgh Fringe festival where she won the Hammer and Tongue slam and progressed to the national finals at the Royal Albert Hall. Carys is the founder and former host of Lyrically Minded, an open mic based in Seoul. She has also released an experimental hip hop album, and plans to record more music in the future. Her poetry has been described as ‘rhythmic’, ‘magnetic’, and ‘courageous’.

About the Book:

How do you navigate your own path when you have no sense of direction? ‘Broken Compass’ is a collection of poems, vignettes, snapshots, and stories accumulated over the past decade. Carys Hannah covers an array of themes including failed relationships, mental illness, social issues, education, travel, and muddling through adulthood.

‘The compassion in Hannah’s eye falls on intimate learning opportunities in everyday life that remind us what it means to be human, and her heart documents them in rhyme and vivid image to bring the sentiment home. But this is not a sentimental collection – the edgy mc flow in her poems transports you through the ‘story of the moment’ in unexpected and satisfying ways.’ – Zena Edwards.
‘The pieces I like best are the uplifting dragon and graffiti stories, the short ‘Sheets’ poem, and the last practical musing upon being in the present, which I found to be a grounding reminder about self-appreciation.’ – John Hegley

Free entry, but please bring cash if you would like to purchase books or merchandise from any of the artists.