Zena Edwards
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Zena Edwards
Zena Edwards (born 1960s) is a British writer, poet, performer and multidisciplinary collaborator, who explores her African roots in work that utilises her musical talents. She has performed internationally at festivals, as well as in schools and colleges. She has been described as "one [of] the most unique voices of performance poetry to come out of London". Biography Of Caribbean heritage and African descent, she was born in Hackney, London, Hackney and brought up in Tottenham, North London, the only child in a single-parent family. She graduated in Drama and Communications studies from Middlesex University and also studied at the London International School of Performing Arts. Her career as a performance poet spans more than two decades and in her extensive worldwide travels (supported by the British Council, UK Arts International, Apples and Snakes, The Roundhouse and 57 Productions) she has shared a stage with the likes of Linton Kwesi Johnson, Sonia Sanchez, Lemn Sissay, Je ...
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Hackney, London
Hackney is a district in East London, England, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern London Borough of Hackney, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross and includes part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Historically it was within the county of Middlesex. In the past it was also referred to as ''Hackney Proper'' to distinguish it from the village which subsequently developed in the vicinity of Mare Street, the term ''Hackney Proper'' being applied to the wider district. Hackney is a large district, whose long established boundaries encompass the sub-districts of Homerton, Dalston (including Kingsland and Shacklewell), De Beauvoir Town, Upper and Lower Clapton, Stamford Hill, Hackney Central, Hackney Wick, South Hackney and West Hackney. Governance Hackney was an administrative unit with consistent boundaries from the early Middle Ages to the creation of the larger modern borough in 1965. It was based for many ce ...
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The Last Poets
The Last Poets are several groups of poets and musicians who arose from the late 1960s African-American civil rights movement's black nationalism. The name is taken from a poem by the South African revolutionary poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, who believed he was in the last era of poetry before guns would take over. The original users of that name were the trio of Abiodun Oyewole, Gylan Kain, and David Nelson. The versions of the group led by Jalaluddin Mansur Nuriddin and Umar Bin Hassan had the largest impact on popular culture. The Last Poets were one of the earliest influences on hip-hop music. Critic Jason Ankeny wrote: "With their politically charged raps, taut rhythms, and dedication to raising African-American consciousness, the Last Poets almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for the emergence of hip-hop." The British music magazine ''NME'' stated, "Serious spokesmen like Gil Scott-Heron, The Last Poets, and later Gary Byrd, paved the way for the many socially committ ...
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21st-century British Women Writers
The 1st century was the century spanning AD 1 ( I) through AD 100 ( C) according to the Julian calendar. It is often written as the or to distinguish it from the 1st century BC (or BCE) which preceded it. The 1st century is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. The 1st century also saw the appearance of Christianity. During this period, Europe, North Africa and the Near East fell under increasing domination by the Roman Empire, which continued expanding, most notably conquering Britain under the emperor Claudius (AD 43). The reforms introduced by Augustus during his long reign stabilized the empire after the turmoil of the previous century's civil wars. Later in the century the Julio-Claudian dynasty, which had been founded by Augustus, came to an end with the suicide of Nero in AD 68. There followed the famous Year of Four Emperors, a brief period of civil war and instability, which was finally brought to an end by Vespasian, ninth Roman emperor ...
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Margaret Busby
Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's youngest and first black female book publisherJazzmine Breary"Let's not forget" in ''Writing the Future: Black and Asian Writers and Publishers in the UK Market Place'', Spread the Word, April 2013, p. 30. when she and Clive Allison (1944–2011) co-founded Margaret Busby"Clive Allison obituary" ''The Guardian'', 3 August 2011. the London-based publishing house Allison and Busby (A & B) in the 1960s. She edited the anthology ''Daughters of Africa'' (1992), and its 2019 follow-up ''New Daughters of Africa''. She is a recipient of the Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature.Natasha Onwuemezi"Busby to compile anthology of African women writers" ''The Bookseller'', 15 December 2017. In 2020 she was voted one of the "100 Great Black Britons".
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Daughters Of Africa
''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora, edited and introduced by Margaret Busby,Tonya Bolden"Book Review: Two Types of Revelation – ''Daughters of Africa''" ''Black Enterprise'', March 1993, p. 12. who compared the process of assembling the volume to "trying to catch a flowing river in a calabash". First published in 1992,Kinna"Daughters of Africa edited by Margaret Busby" Kinna Reads, 24 September 2010. in London by Jonathan Cape (having been commissioned by Candida Lacey, formerly of Pandora Press and later publisher of Myriad Editions), and in New York by Pantheon Books, ''Daughters of Africa'' is regarded as a pioneering work, covering a variety of genres – including fiction, essays, poetry, drama, memoirs and children's writing – and more than 1000 pages in extent ...
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The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of ''The Guardian'' in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of ''The Guardian'' free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for ''The Guardian'' the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. Since 2018, the paper's main news ...
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Lyn Gardner
Lyn Gardner is a British theatre critic, children's writer and journalist who contributes reviews and articles to ''The Stage,'' '' Stagedoor'' and has written for ''The Guardian''. Theatre critic and educator A graduate in drama and English from the University of Kent, Gardner was a founding member of the ''City Limits'' magazine, a cooperative for which she edited the theatre section. Later, she was a contributor to ''The Independent''. Gardner joined ''The Guardian'' as theatre critic in 1995, and remained on the paper for twenty-three years, taking a particular interest in fringe and more alternative theatre, while Michael Billington covered the most mainstream productions. Latterly she was writing 130 reviews and 28,000 words of features annually, as well as 150 posts a year for an online blog for the paper, begun in 2008. The paper discontinued her blog in 2017 citing cost pressures, and the following year let her go. Since June 2017 Gardner had been an Associate Editor o ...
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English PEN
Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' association with 145 centres in more than 100 countries. The current President of English PEN is Philippe Sands. The Director is Daniel Gorman. English PEN celebrates the diversity of literature and envisions a world with free expression and equity of opportunity for all by supporting writers at risk and campaigning for freedom of expression nationally and internationally. English PEN also hosts events and prizes to champion international literature, showcase the diversity of writing, and celebrate literary courage. By supporting literature in translation into English and developing opportunities for publishers, translators and translated voices, English PEN aims to encourage diversity in the literary landscape. History English PEN was foun ...
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Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and with the Royal Opera House, itself known as "Covent Garden". The district is divided by the main thoroughfare of Long Acre, north of which is given over to independent shops centred on Neal's Yard and Seven Dials, while the south contains the central square with its street performers and most of the historical buildings, theatres and entertainment facilities, including the London Transport Museum and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. The area was fields until briefly settled in the 7th century when it became the heart of the Anglo-Saxon trading town of Lundenwic, then abandoned at the end of the 9th century after which it returned to fields. By 1200 part of it had been walled off by the Abbot of Westminster Abbey for use as arable l ...
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Poetry Café
The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society in 1912. Its first president was Lady Margaret Sackville. From its current premises in Covent Garden, London, The Poetry Society publishes ''Poetry Review'', Britain's leading poetry magazine. Established in 1912, it provides a forum for poems from both new and established poets. Its current editor is the poet Emily Berry, who succeeded Maurice Riordan in 2017. The magazine's editor from 2005 to 2012 was Fiona Sampson. There is a Poetry Café on the ground floor of the Poetry Society's premises, and performance space in the basement, rooms being available for hire. Awards The society organises several competitions, including the British National Poetry Competition, the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award,
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Albany Theatre
The Albany is a multi-purpose arts centre in Deptford, south-east London. Facilities include a flexible performance space holding up to 300 seated or 500 standing and a bar, two studio theatres, a performance cafe and rehearsal / meeting rooms. The Albany currently hosts a varied programme of events including music, spoken word, theatre, club nights, and children's shows. Several arts and community organisations are based at the Albany including spoken-word promoters Apples & Snakes and Heart n Soul, who provide opportunities for artists with learning disabilities. History The Albany was originally established as The Deptford Fund in 1894 as a philanthropical group aimed at assisting the local community that had suffered since the closure of the dock in 1869. The fund took on a physical home when the purpose-built "Albany Institute" was opened in 1899 by its namesake, the Duchess of Albany. A daughter-in-law of Queen Victoria, the Duchess was an active patron of the Deptford Fu ...
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Birmingham Rep
Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre companies and one of its most consistently innovative. Today The Rep produces a wide range of drama in its three auditoria – ''The House'' with 825 seats, ''The Studio'' with 300 seats and ''The Door'' with 140 seats – much of which goes on to tour nationally and internationally. The company retains its commitment to new writing and in the five years to 2013 commissioned and produced 130 new plays. The company's former home, now known as "Old Rep", is still in use as a theatre. History Foundation and early years The origins of The Rep lie with the 'Pilgrim Players', an initially amateur theatre company founded by Barry Jackson in 1907 to reclaim and stage English poetic drama, performing a repertoire that ranged from the 16th cen ...
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