Headfirst Editor's Pick
"A showstopping Lyrafest celebration of queer creativity! Headed up by powerhouse poet Joelle Taylor, one-time UK slam champion whose collection ‘C+nto & Othered Poems’ stormed the T. S. Eliot prize with its electric reconstructions of lesbian counterculture in 90s London. Plus open mic spots TBA for you LGBTQ+ Bristolian bards – keep your eyes peeled."
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A event held at Arnolfini on Thursday 1st May. The event starts at 19:30.
✅ Live Streamed (book a ‘Live Stream Ticket’ at checkout)
All Lyra Fest venues are wheelchair accessible. Our full 2025 Access Information Pack is available at www.lyrafest.com.
Date: Thursday 1st May 2025
Venue: Arnolfini
Time: 19:30 - 21:30
Tickets: £8 (£10 solidarity, £5 concessions)
A raucous celebration of queer poetry headlined by T. S. Eliot prize-winning Joelle Taylor, with support from Oluwaseun Olayiwola and Ifẹ Grillo. Plus an epic open mic for queer poets! Hosted by Aish Humphreys and Sam J. Grudgings.
There are five open mic tickets available in advance (buy an ‘Open Mic Ticket’ to secure one). There will be an additional five places available on the night - the names will be drawn out of a hat.
Followed by a DJ set from Caleb Parkin.
Presented in association with Fitzcarraldo Editions.
Joelle Taylor:
Joelle Taylor is the author of 4 collections of poetry and one novel. Her most recent collection C+NTO & Othered Poems won the 2021 T.S Eliot Prize, and the 2022 Polari Book Prize for LGBT authors. C+NTO is currently being adapted both for theatre, and into a television screenplay, and was featured on Radio Three documentary Butch. She is a co- curator and host of Out-Spoken Live at the Southbank Centre and tours her work nationally and internationally in a diverse range of venues, from Australia to Brazil. She is a Poetry Fellow of the University of East Anglia and the curator of the Koestler Awards 2023 and has judged several poetry and literary prizes including the Jerwood Fellowship, the Forward Prize, the Eric Gregory Awards, and the Ondaatje Prize. Her novel The Night Alphabet was published in Spring of 2024 and was named both a Spectator and Guardian Book of the Year. Her most recent radio programme A Young Girl’s Guide to Horror was broadcast at the end of last year on BBC Radio Four. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and the 2022 Saboteur Spoken Word Artist of the Year. She was recently honoured with a DIVA Award for Excellence and named as number 15 in the Independent’s 2024 Pride Power list. Her next collection Maryville will be published by Bloomsbury in November 2025.
Oluwaseun Olayiwola:
Oluwaseun (Seun) Olayiwola is a poet, critic, choreographer and performer based in London. He has been published by The Guardian, The Poetry Review, PN Review, Oxford Poetry, the Telegraph, the Times Literary supplement and elsewhere. His choreographic work has been presented at the V&A, The Place, The Central School of Ballet, and Studio Voltaire. Seun has an MFA in Choreography from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where he was a Fulbright Scholar in 2018-2019. He lectures in dance at the Kingston School of Art, and is a member of the inaugural Rose Choreographic School at Sadler's Wells.
Ifẹ Grillo:
Ifẹ Grillo is an award-winning writer, performer and educator known for their innovative and comical exploration of humanity. Ifẹ’s work has been published by Penguin Books, Verve Poetry Press and BBC Arts. They’re a previous winner of the National University Poetry Championships and are a National Poetry Slam finalist. Their one-man show, ‘Ode to Heros’, debuted at the UK Young Artist Festival. Alongside five other artists, they created ‘Language is a Queer Thing’, which debuted at the BBC Poetry Festival and went on to be performed at the Mumbai International Literature Festival.
In 2023, they performed at the International G20 Summit in Delhi, representing the UK. They’re currently one of the Resident Artists at the Pervasive Media Studio in Bristol. They also serve as Vice Chair of NSPCC’s Board of Trustees. Currently, they help lead on the University of Bristol’s antiracism work. As a random fact, they’re also a former World Junior Debate Champion
Part of Lyra – Bristol Poetry Festival 2025
#LyraFest
Filters:
Live Event ✓
Online/Streamed ✓
Entry requirements: 16+, any under 18s accompanied by 21+ adult 1:1 ratio
All Lyra Fest venues are wheelchair accessible. Our full 2025 Access Information Pack is available at www.lyrafest.com.
Date: Thursday 1st May 2025
Venue: Arnolfini
Time: 19:30 - 21:30
Tickets: £8 (£10 solidarity, £5 concessions)
A raucous celebration of queer poetry headlined by T. S. Eliot prize-winning Joelle Taylor, with support from Oluwaseun Olayiwola and Ifẹ Grillo. Plus an epic open mic for queer poets! Hosted by Aish Humphreys and Sam J. Grudgings.
There are five open mic tickets available in advance (buy an ‘Open Mic Ticket’ to secure one). There will be an additional five places available on the night - the names will be drawn out of a hat.
Followed by a DJ set from Caleb Parkin.
Presented in association with Fitzcarraldo Editions.
Joelle Taylor:
Joelle Taylor is the author of 4 collections of poetry and one novel. Her most recent collection C+NTO & Othered Poems won the 2021 T.S Eliot Prize, and the 2022 Polari Book Prize for LGBT authors. C+NTO is currently being adapted both for theatre, and into a television screenplay, and was featured on Radio Three documentary Butch. She is a co- curator and host of Out-Spoken Live at the Southbank Centre and tours her work nationally and internationally in a diverse range of venues, from Australia to Brazil. She is a Poetry Fellow of the University of East Anglia and the curator of the Koestler Awards 2023 and has judged several poetry and literary prizes including the Jerwood Fellowship, the Forward Prize, the Eric Gregory Awards, and the Ondaatje Prize. Her novel The Night Alphabet was published in Spring of 2024 and was named both a Spectator and Guardian Book of the Year. Her most recent radio programme A Young Girl’s Guide to Horror was broadcast at the end of last year on BBC Radio Four. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and the 2022 Saboteur Spoken Word Artist of the Year. She was recently honoured with a DIVA Award for Excellence and named as number 15 in the Independent’s 2024 Pride Power list. Her next collection Maryville will be published by Bloomsbury in November 2025.
Oluwaseun Olayiwola:
Oluwaseun (Seun) Olayiwola is a poet, critic, choreographer and performer based in London. He has been published by The Guardian, The Poetry Review, PN Review, Oxford Poetry, the Telegraph, the Times Literary supplement and elsewhere. His choreographic work has been presented at the V&A, The Place, The Central School of Ballet, and Studio Voltaire. Seun has an MFA in Choreography from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where he was a Fulbright Scholar in 2018-2019. He lectures in dance at the Kingston School of Art, and is a member of the inaugural Rose Choreographic School at Sadler's Wells.
Ifẹ Grillo:
Ifẹ Grillo is an award-winning writer, performer and educator known for their innovative and comical exploration of humanity. Ifẹ’s work has been published by Penguin Books, Verve Poetry Press and BBC Arts. They’re a previous winner of the National University Poetry Championships and are a National Poetry Slam finalist. Their one-man show, ‘Ode to Heros’, debuted at the UK Young Artist Festival. Alongside five other artists, they created ‘Language is a Queer Thing’, which debuted at the BBC Poetry Festival and went on to be performed at the Mumbai International Literature Festival.
In 2023, they performed at the International G20 Summit in Delhi, representing the UK. They’re currently one of the Resident Artists at the Pervasive Media Studio in Bristol. They also serve as Vice Chair of NSPCC’s Board of Trustees. Currently, they help lead on the University of Bristol’s antiracism work. As a random fact, they’re also a former World Junior Debate Champion
Part of Lyra – Bristol Poetry Festival 2025
#LyraFest
Filters:
Live Event ✓
Online/Streamed ✓
Entry requirements: 16+, any under 18s accompanied by 21+ adult 1:1 ratio
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