Saturday 5 May 2024: Bad Betty Live
Bad Betty Live is a night of dynamic poetry and music, showcasing world-class artists and local favourites in a warm and inclusive setting, hosted by Bridie Squires and Jake Wild Hall.
Meet Cara:
Cara Thompson is a writer, performer and artivist based in Nottingham, UK. A proud descendant of Jamaican migrants who came to Britain as part of the pioneering 'Windrush generation', Cara's work explores the richness and complexities of her Caribbean-British heritage while inviting audiences to unpack our shared histories, heartaches and humanity. Cara's poetry has been featured and commissioned by Penguin Random House, Huffpost, Oxfam, the NHS Leadership Academy, UNESCO, Simon and Schuster and more. In 2021, Cara won UNESCO Cities of Literature's international slam poetry competition Slamovision with her poem 'Island Screams (Where Are You From)'.
Outside of poetry, Cara is also a musician, facilitator, programmer, and an active member of Nottingham's creative community. Since 2023, Cara has been an Assistant Director of Nottingham Poetry Festival. In 2024, Cara served as Lead Artist of the Nottingham based poetry collective, GOBS, co-directing their development programme and live showcase 'Earth' at Nottingham Playhouse. Cara is also a founding member of the Nottingham Black Creatives Network, and hosted the group's debut residency at Saltbox Presents throughout April 2024.
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Blog:
Interview with Cara Thompson (Nottingham College)
Check out my interview with Christena and the Journalism students of Nottingham College about my poetry journey!
Part of a Story That Started Before Me: Poems About Black British History
Find Cara's poem 'The Prime Minister's in the Front Garden' in Part of a Story That Started Before Me,here.
Don’t Blame the Blacks
Find Cara's poem 'Island Screams' in Don't Blame the Blacks by George Powe, here.
Podcast - Where I Belong: The Legend of the River Mumma by Cara Thompson (New Perspectives Theatre)
Check out my episode from the New Perspectives Nottingham-Baghdad podcast project, 'The Legend of the River Mumma', here.
Interview - Cara Thompson: Creative, Candid, Champion (Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature)
Read my full interview with Charlotte Smyth here.
Interview - We Are Notts: The Power of Words with Cara Thompson and Meg Turner (BBC Radio Nottingham)
Listen to the full episode of We Are Notts here.
Crowdfunder - George Powe Blue Plaque Campaign / Don’t Blame the Blacks (Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature)
Learn about the George Powe Blue Plaque campaign and the reprint of George's seminal pamphlet Don't Blame the Blacks, featuring 'Island Screams', here.
Tuesday May 3 2022: Nott Another Poetry Night: Cara and Bep (BARA)
A relaxed open mic poetry night ran by Jay Sandhu at the Robin Hood in Sherwood, featuring double-headliner act Cara Thompson and Rebecca 'Bep' Summerscales (BARA).
Saturday 7 May 2022: Full Moon Showcase with GOBS Collective
Join dynamic Nottingham spoken word collective – GOBS – for an evening of full-moon-inspired poetry performances punctuated by the incredible sounds of Randolph Matthews. GOBS have been in residency at Nonsuch Studios for the past few months, working together with Lead Writers Ioney Smallhorne and Bridie Squires, as well as a host of incredible artists – including Apples and Snakes’ John Berkavitch – to produce a showcase of poetic talent.
Saturday May 14 2022: Roger McGough: Safety In Numbers @ Lakeside Arts
What will we have learned from stillness and silence?From sharing, not taking? Waiting not pushing?Whispering not shouting? Dawdling not rushing?
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