Storytelling Poets - Kingston Curzon

Sinnead Singson

An event celebrating the Writing Cultures’ Festival of Storytelling in the Cafe space of the Kingston Curzon Cinema (The Bentall Centre).

30th January 2025

Eleanor Wilders,
David Spittle,
SJ Fowler,
Marcia Knight Latter,
Simon Tyrrell,
Cameron Wade,
Matt Sokulsky,
Danica Ignacio,
Bob T Bright,
Bella Weerasinghe,
Julia Rose Lewis,
Sinnead Singson

Eleanor Wilders

It was a night of performances that explored the many ways we can tell a story, how we might turn a tale, be it tall or short, into a journey and sometimes a destination. The Café at the Curzon Cinema in Kingston-upon-Thames provided free popcorn for the audience at the Writer's Kingston poetry night, and it proved to be a huge success. Eleanor Wilders kicked off proceedings by launching her dazzling debut poetry pamphlet Offal, from Sampson Low Ltd, buy a copy at sampsonlow.co/2025/01/29/offal-eleanor-wilders/

The night was part of Writing Cultures’ Festival of Storytelling, which continues to run until the March 14th 2025, with events at The National Gallery, workshops and happenings across Kingston University, as well as an exhibition. The performance of the night belonged to Sinnead Singson with her sheep in wolf's clothing tale, which ended with the dynamic poet walking out into the wilds of the Bentall's Centre. She will be launching her debut pamphlet ‘hot milky’, at the The Poetry Society Cafe on February Thursday 27th 2025 (7pm start, Free event).

Cameron Wade

Cameron Wade is a writer, poet and amateur astronomer working in London. He is the poetry editor of 3AM magazine and his work has been commissioned by the National Gallery. He launched his debut chapbook of poetry, I Smell Metal, in January 2023. His story was an macabre estate agents' eye view of an apartment painted in tins of blood, leper coloured paint, and a menagerie of pests and creepy crawlies. 

Bob T Bright

Bob T Bright is a poet, yogi and educator based in Kent, with an MA in TESOL and PGDip in Poetic Practice from RHUL. His poems have appeared in publications such as Bedford Square anthology, Vallum Magazine, Pamenar Magazine, Firmament, Permeable and the Seen as Read anthology (KUP). His debut pamphlet 'Gongfarmer, I love thee' was published in 2023 by Sampson Low. 

Simon Tyrrell

Simon Tyrrell has participated in exhibitions and performances at the Poetry Society Café, Westminster Reference Library, Rich Mix, Willesden Gallery, and at The Museum of Futures with Writers’ Centre Kingston. He published his debut poetry collection 'Presently' in 2022. He is part of the PoPoGrou collective and last year published the critically acclaimed 'Proceedings of the Remediators' alongside Jane Partner, Sarah Messerschmidt, and Sylee Gore. 

Steven J. Fowler 

Steven J. Fowler or SJ Fowler (born 1983) is a contemporary English poet, writer and avant-garde artist, and the founder of European Poetry Festival. His work has become known internationally for his "innovation in the field of live literature". Concerned with the potential of liveness, as opposed to the traditional poetry reading, his repertoire spans a diverse range of experimental practices, including improvised talking performances, action painting and pugilistica.

David Spittle

David Spittle is a poet, filmmaker and essayist. Following his pamphlet, BOX (HVTN, 2018), Spittle has published three poetry collections: Decomposing Robert (Back Herald Press, 2023), Rubbles (Broken Sleep Books, 2022), and All Particles and Waves (Black Herald Press, 2020). He runs an ongoing series of interviews with filmmakers talking-about-poetry and poets talking-about-film, the first volume Light Glyphs (Broken Sleep Books, 2021) includes interviews with John Ashbery, Guy Maddin, Andrew Kötting, Iain Sinclair, So Mayer, Lisa Samuels and many others. Spittle's films have screened in festivals and been broadcast on the BBC and, alongside filmmaking, his film criticism has appeared in Sight & Sound and as part of select Blu-ray releases. He continues independent research across film and philosophy.

Julia Rose Lewis

Julia Rose Lewis is a writer and teacher.  She is interested in the ways in which philosophy of science can be incorporated into poetry. She has published nine pamphlets, the most recent of which is Nearly Identical Sharks (Broken Sleep Books 2023).

Marcia Knight-Latter 

Marcia Knight-Latter is a poet and writer, who studied Creative Writing with Psychology at Kingston University. She published a chapbook with Sampson Low titled ‘Ramblings External’ in 2019, and has performed her poetry at venues such as Rich Mix, Rose Theatre and The Museum of Futures.

Matthew J. Sokulsky

Matthew J. Sokulsky studied creative writing as an undergraduate at Kingston University, London, and in March of 2023 was commissioned by The National Gallery for his literary work. A selection of his poetry has also been published under the banner of Sampson Low Publishers, London.

Danica Ignacio is a Filipino writer currently studying at Kingston University. In January 2024, her work was commissioned by the National Gallery and can also be found on @eventualantiques on Instagram & danicaignacio.substack.com. Her writing often explores themes of anthropomorphism as well as other sorts of fantastical concepts that enhance less fantastical realities through poetry & prose.

Bella Weerasinghe

One of the most exciting new poets on the Kingston University creative block, Bella Weerasinghe has already chalked up an impressive list of performances, most recently at the National Gallery in January 2025.

Football and Literature - Writers Kingston

SJ Fowler and Jules Sprake

Jules Sprake and SJ Fowler
Tom Jenks
Peter Dunkley and Ian Brady
Matt Sokulsky
Marcia Knight Latter
Julia Rose Lewis
Safia Kamel

Kingston University Town House
Courtyard Space
12th December 2023

Matt Sokulsky

The game of games, the great game, the beautiful ball game - a night of weird and heartfelt literary celebration! Writers of all kits shared poetry, fiction, non-fiction and performance on the world’s most popular sport, in all its facets, from the abstract to the obvious. With local and visiting writers alongside students and staff of Kingston University, it was a memorable night in the RIBA award winning Town House in Kingston. 

Marcia Knight Latter and Julia Rose Lewis

This event will also saw the launch of the collaborative poetry pamphlet, by Sprake and Fowler, A Seasons of Seasons from Sampson Low publishing.
https://sampsonlow.co/2023/12/12/a-seasons-of-seasons-sj-fowler-jules-sprake/ 

A Seasons of Seasons

A unique document in experimental poetry that celebrates the bone deep passion and pain football inflicts upon its followers. Written ostensibly to follow the turbulent 2022 / 2023 premier league season from the perspective of two lifelong fans of Crystal Palace and Everton respectively, A Seasons of Seasons then spirals out in the mass language ether of the world’s most popular game. Unusual for it’s methodology as well as its content, dragging in British poetry revival stalwarts alongside Pier Paolo Pasolini, Roy Hodgson and Sean Dyche, this book is a fusion of poetry, found text, collage, illustration, redaction and ground up collaboration.

Tom Jenks

“Football, like poetry, is an artform that not so much encourages obsession as demands it. The back and forth between Fowler and Sprake perfectly captures this baroque particularity. Talking about football with a poet is usually like talking about tofu with a mountain lion: they know what it is, but they don’t see how it applies to them. So it’s a pleasure to read A Seasons of Seasons, a text, at last, for the intersection of the Venn diagram, perfect for a cold, wet Tuesday night in Stoke.”
Tom Jenks

 Ian Brady and Peter Dunkley

Julia Rose Lewis

Safia Kamel

Poetry Camarade - Kingston University Town House

Benedict Taylor and SJ Fowler

Pairs of poets and writers presented new collaborations, all made especially for this event! Works of live literature, from the literary to the performative, marked a night that showcased the energy and potential of collaboration for writers. Drawing from staff, students, alumni, local and visiting writers, this event continued the grand tradition of the Camarade, which has seen over 500 events of it’s kind across the world. 

Featuring : Katerina Koulouri and Alban Low / Cameron Wade / Safia Kamel and Marcia Knight Latter / Emma Jeremy and Simon Tyrrell / Matt Sokulsky and Martin Wakefield / SJ Fowler and Benedict Taylor / Virna Teixeira and Mark Rutter / Jieyi Sun / Tim Atkins

Benedict Taylor works in contemporary composition, modern string performance and improvised music in the British and European new music world. The central focus of his work is in new composition for live performance, film, theatre, contemporary dance, art installation, and electroacoustic composition. In performance, he predominantly works within improvisation, new composition and 20th/21st century music. SJ Fowler is a contemporary English poet, writer and avant-garde artist, and the founder of European Poetry Festival. He has produced a diverse body of work across poetry, performance, experimental theatre, visual poetry, concrete poetry and sound poetry, short stories and non-fiction. 

Virna Teixeira and Mark Rutter

Virna Teixeira is a Brazilian poet, writer, translator and publisher based in London. She is the editor of independent poetry project Carnaval Press and the literary magazine Theodora. Her poetry books and poetry pamphlets were published in Brazil, Portugal, Mexico, Peru, Argentina and the UK. Virna has presented her work in several poetry festivals in South America, U.S. and Europe, and has experience as a curator in international poetry festivals in São Paulo and Lisbon. The poems of Mark Rutter have appeared in magazines throughout the English-speaking world. He lived in Maine from 1990-2002, and two collections of his poetry were published during that time. In 1995 he began collaborating with book-artist and printer Walter Tisdale, of Tatlin Books on a series of artist’s books, illustrated folios, and broadsides. Their most recent work is Homage to Andrei Tarkovsky, and they are currently collaborating on a new artist’s book, Swimming in Spruce Cove.

Emma Jeremy and Simon Tyrrell

Emma Jeremy poems have appeared in Poetry London, Magma, Rising and Poems in Which. In 2018 she was a winner of The New Poets Prize, and her pamphlet Safety Behaviour was published by The Poetry Business in 2019. Her debut collection sad thing angry is forthcoming in 2023. Simon Tyrrell has participated in exhibitions and performances at the Poetry Society Café, Westminster Reference Library, Rich Mix, Willesden Gallery, and at The Museum of Futures with Writers’ Centre Kingston. He published his debut poetry collection 'Presently' in 2022. He is part of the PoPoGrou collective.

Martin Wakefield and Matt Sokulsky

Martin Wakefield is a poet from London. He has published books and pamphlets with Hesterglock Press (Jungle Gym / Poems You Can't Colour In), Steel Incisors (Handsfree with Bob Modem) and Sampson Low (Emptpy Poems). Matthew Sokulsky is poet and writer, born in Muswellbrook, New South Wales in 1999. He currently lives in London, having studied at Kingston University. Commissioned by The National Gallery, he published his debut pamphlet The Book of Matthew in 2023.

Marcia Knight Latter and Safia Kamel

Marcia Knight-Latter is a poet and writer, who studied Creative Writing with Psychology at Kingston University. She published a chapbook with Sampson Low titled ‘Ramblings External’ in 2019, and has performed her poetry at venues such as Rich Mix, Rose Theatre and The Museum of Futures. Safia Kamel published her debut pamphlet Smrt with Sampson Low in 2022, and has performed her work across London, including at the National Gallery.

Cameron Wade

Cameron Wade recently launched his debut pamphlet, I Smell Metal, at Waterstones in Kingston upon Thames.

Jieyi Sun

Jieyi Sun is a contemporary jewellery artist-researcher and multidisciplinary maker. Her artworks are based on experiential life, placing the self in the social-cultural context to be investigated, and thus obtain the inner-outer connection of "dialogue", meanwhile, exploring the value of art and survival, whose artworks reflected the philosophical consideration and future foresight.

Tim Atkins

Tim Atkins is a Poet, Playwright, and Prose Writer, and his work has been widely published in the USA, Canada, UK, and Europe. His writing has been studied at postgraduate level in Harvard University and at the Sorbonne.

Writers Kingston Student Showcase 2023

Matt Sokulsky

SJ Fowler - Introduction
Poets
Rhian Parker
Richard Howson
Marcia Knight Latter
Saloni Lodha
Oscar Rodriguez
Jessica Pritchard
Isaac Blake
Safia Kamel
Stan Dimitrov
Matt Sokulsky
Cameron Wade

March 14th 2023
Waterstones Bookshop, Kingston-upon-Thames

Cameron Wade

A showcase event, bringing the energy and innovation of Writers Kingston to a late night opening of the Bentall Centre’s Waterstones bookshop. This evening presented current Kingston students and recent alumni, together, each offering short readings and performances of poetry, exploring the range and possibility of contemporary literature. 

Safia Kamel

There were be performances by Cameron Wade and Matt Sokulsky who launched their debut publications with Sampson Low, part of our longstanding student poetry pamphlet series.

Richard Howson

In Matthew Sokulsky’s brilliant debut publication, religion remains unsimple. Revealed in a suite of poems as strange, jarring and complex as its namesake. Questioning, while enveloping religious realities, this booklet of surreal admiration celebrates the essentially human, eccentric and faith-ish in poems from a new voice in Australian and British literature. Matthew Sokulsky is poet and writer, born in Muswellbrook, New South Wales in 1999. He currently lives in London, having studied at Kingston University and … he has been commissioned by The National Gallery and this is his debut publication.
www.sampsonlow.co/wck-pamphlets

Stan Dimitrov

Designed to evidence the remarkable contemporary and innovative poetry being written by current and recent Kingston University Creative Writing students, this series of beautifully designed pamphlets each features a suite of poems, most often on one theme or in one style, by a solo author. The series mark the first publications of many poets who are very likely to be significant presences on the UK scene and beyond in the coming years.

SJ Fowler

“Kingston University brings together students from all over the world, from as wide a range of backgrounds and cultures as can be found in the UK. It creates a community that cross pollinates influences and ideas, and this is inevitably reflected in the work the students create. The university does not get enough credit for this – it is, I have seen, a vibrant, harmonious environment where originality and difference can be transformed into exciting and innovative expression. The students are hungry for that which is innovative, that which allows them to express the true size and complexity of their experience and their community at the university. This series of poetry pamphlets reflects that. The work is utterly contemporary, it is exciting and energetic. It is, I hope, the best kind of representation of what Kingston University stands for – intelligent, unique and various in its character.”
Series editor, SJ Fowler
www.writerskingston.com

Rhian Parker

Saloni Lodha

Oscar Rodriguez

Jessica Pritchard

Isaac Blake

Marcia Knight Latter