Wolverhampton Literature Festival 2020

FRI 31 JAN – SUN 2 FEB 2020 w w w. w o l v e s l i t e r a t u r e fe s t i v a l . c o . u k

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4 CONTENTS Pre-festival events Friday 31 January Saturday 1 February Sunday 2 February Children and Families At a glance Venues and Accessibility

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www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

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DAY X MONTH

WElCOmE TO WOlvERhampTON’S 4Th aNNUal lITERaTURE FESTIval This popular event is now entering its fourth year and thanks to funding from Arts Council England it is now a regular feature on the city’s calendar.

We have a great variety of entertainment lined up for the three-day festival with over 70 different events across many venues. Visitors will be able to listen to talks, watch performances and take part in practical workshops.

BOOKING INFORMATION This year all event tickets can be purchased or booked through eventbrite.

All chargeable tickets are subject to a booking fee.

For further information on fees please visit www.eventbrite.co.uk and for festival information visit www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk.

WITh ThANKs… The festival has been made possible by generous contributions from artists and local businesses which celebrate the creativity of our city. We are very grateful for the support of Arts Council England and our other partners, the Express & Star and the University of Wolverhampton in bringing the festival to life.

KEY

Theatre and Performance

Workshops

Poetry

Children

Music, Art and Film

Storytelling

Literature, Talks and Readings

Experience

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk WolvesLiteratureFestival.co.uk

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PRE-FESTIVAL EVENTS

SATURDAY 25 JANUARY 10.30am – 2.30pm

7.30pm – 10pm

pOSTCaRd pOETS

pOETRY Slam

City Centre Watch out for Poets, Prattlers and Pandemonialists, who will be out and about in Wolverhampton City Centre, handing out poetry postcards and promoting the festival.

Arena Theatre Fifteen contenders make their way to Wolverhampton from all over the country to share their poems in the hope of winning a paid slot at next year’s festival.

Tickets: www.wlv.ac.uk/arena-theatre

MONDAY 27 JANUARY

THURSDAY 30 JANUARY

7.30pm

2pm

SaNdI TOKSvIg lIvE! NaTIONal TREvOR

pUblIC lECTURE bY mIChaEl ROSEN: WhaT dOES IT mEaN TO UNdERSTaNd a STORY?

Grand Theatre Expect tall stories, fascinatingly funny facts, really silly jokes, a quick fire Q&A and a quiz.

Don’t expect tap-dancing, leotards or a forward roll.

Tickets: www.grandtheatre.co.uk

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Chancellors Hall Join Michael Rosen, Internationally renowned children’s novelist and British Children’s Laureate, followed by book signing event!

Tickets: Free

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

– 8pm m p 7 | n a Fri 31 J

S– W E h T T a S gO CERYS m K O O C d l I EW ic and some WhERE Th od, poetry, mus

lebrate fo etry and a Matthews to ce strations, a sprinkling of po will be ys er C Slade Rooms r te as dc and BBC broa erys Matthews me food demon Join musician of world history. Expect so here the Wild Cooks Go. C s W curious aspect her new folk cook-book om fr o tw or t. song after the even signing books e) (+ booking fe Tickets: £16

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

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FRIDAY 31 JANUARY

pOaRTRY – IT’S a maSh Up ExhIbITION OpENINg NIghT Newhampton Arts Centre PoArtry is a collaboration project between poets and visual artists culminating in an exhibition of art inspired by art. It works by randomly pairing participants, then letting them loose for three months to inspire and create. The only rule is that each pairing must produce two new pieces of work.

OpENINg NIghT: Fri 31 Jan • 7pm – 9pm ExhIbITION: Sat 1 Feb to Sun 9 Feb • 11am – 4pm Tickets: Free

1pm – 1.30pm

JEFNY aShCROFT NURSE bROWN FROm JamaICa Wolverhampton Art Gallery She is a mystery: who is the young black woman in this 1956 portrait? Is her striking gesture a sign she was a Rastafarian? Is she still alive today?

Jefny Ashcroft and artist Joy Baines bring you an interactive talk, seeking your views on a picture that was created in the Windrush era and that is fast becoming iconic.

Tickets: Free

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FRIDAY 31 JANUARY

2pm – 3pm

4pm – 5pm

pUNJabI WOmEN'S WRITINg gROUp - KUlI KOhlI

KERRY hadlEY-pRYCE pSYChOgEOgRaphY OF ThE blaCK COUNTRY

Wolverhampton Art Gallery The Punjabi Women’s Writing Group share poems and stories about family life and history.

This event features Kuli Kohli who helps to run Blakenhall Writers’ group and has set up the Punjabi Women’s Writing Group.

Tickets: £3 (+ booking fee)

Wolverhampton Art Gallery The Black Country has its own dialects, traditions and culture. This talk takes psychogeography at its word, off the beaten track, and into an analysis of how writers deal with the region as a ‘sensation of place’.

Tickets: £3 (+ booking fee)

5pm – 6pm

6.30pm – 7.30pm

REgENERaTEd TEENagERS pRESENT bOOK bINgO!

davId INSTONE – SpORTS WRITINg

Wolverhampton Art Gallery This is bingo designed to keep you guessing, with each number relating to a book or piece of literature – The Two Towers, Twelfth Night, even 50 Shades of Grey. We’ll have book puns, classic bingo calls, and most importantly, book-themed prizes!

Tickets: £4 (+ booking fee)

Wolverhampton Art Gallery David has written about sport all his working life, authoring more than a dozen books about Wolverhampton Wanderers and covering the club for the Express & Star. Hear about the big Molineux personalities and stories, the scrapes and the exhilarating, exciting but sometimes uneasy role of the local correspondent.

Tickets: Free

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

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FRIDAY 31 JANUARY

7pm – 8.15pm

INvISIblE vOICES - ThE aRT OF SOUTh aSIaN aCTIvISTS Wolverhampton Art Gallery Join a lively panel discussion hosted by multi award-winning artist and producer Dawinder Bansal featuring Raj Kaur Khaira, founder of the global Pink Ladoo project and author of Stories for South Asian Supergirls.

Shareefa Energy is a young British Muslim spoken word poet, writer and workshop facilitator. Shareefa’s poetry has been featured on the BBC One Show, Channel 4 and ITV and is the author of her debut poetry collection Galaxy Walk.

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Sarvjit Sra is a male artist who will exhibit his latest photographic and thought-provoking exhibition called Girl Child.

Listen to these fascinating British Asian artists sharing how they use art and writing to empower and raise the invisible voices of South Asian women and girls across the UK and around the world.

There will be a meet and greet after the event.

Tickets: £10 (+ booking fee)

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

FRIDAY 31 JANUARY 8pm – 9.30pm

ThE aNTIpOET aNd NICK lOvEll Wolverhampton Art Gallery Come along to the headline poetry event for the festival with The Antipoet and Nick Lovell.

The Antipoet perform with a wry blend of anarchocynicism and comic observation.

The Antipoet, Paul Eccentric and Ian Newman, are together the world’s finest exponents of beatrantin’ rhythm ‘n views!

Nick Lovell is a part time commentator, full time optimist, half-arsed anarchist and occasional poet. When not shouting commentaries at greyhounds as they race for the finish, he shouts poetry at audiences as they race for the exits.

Tickets: £8.50 (+ booking fee)

bOOKINg INFORmaTION Tickets information can be found at www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk.

8.30pm – 11pm

bONES pRESENTS - a lIl SOmEThINg dIFFERENT Slade Rooms Back on 31 January for Wolverhampton Literature Festival, Bones once again showcases the best up-and-coming poets, rappers, comedians and singers to entertain, empower and uplift you. It's gonna be inspirational so come along and let us inspire you.

Tickets: £5 (+ booking fee)

Please note some tickets may be available on the day but we advise getting your tickets early to avoid dissapointment.

For further information call 01902 552055 or for venue information please contact the venue (details on page 26).

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

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– Sat 1 Feb – 2pm – 3pm

JOhN EdgaR - INTERSIgNS - TalES FROm a bRETON FIRESIdE TRaNSlaTEd aNd RETOld bY JOhN EdgaR ‘Nobody dies without an intersign. They’re like shadows, pictures of what’s going to happen.’

For his third Literature Festival dip into Breton folklore, John Edgar brings us another dark and bleakly comic compilation of ‘wonderfully feral’ stories from a land where everything ultimately depends on your dealings with the other side.

Tickets: £6.50 (+ booking fee) 3.30pm – 4.30pm

daISY blaCK - mappa mUNdI ‘Here, I found beasts like minotaurs, useful for war’.

Let the twelve winds blow you to the far corners of the Earth; meet mermaids and mandrakes; and follow the trail of Adam’s burnt footprints all the way back to Eden.

Storyteller Daisy Black takes you on a tour around the medieval map of the world. A show full of marvels, including saints and giants, heroes and devils, grisly cannibals and Norwegian skiers. Weaving together medieval maps and travel writing with oral storytelling, this show is your passport to see the world through fourteenth-century eyes.

Just watch out for the monsters lurking at the edges of the map.

Tickets: £6.50 (+ booking fee)

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SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY 5pm – 6pm

CaTh EdWaRdS TalES FROm bEYONd ThE gRavE A deliciously chilling collection of stories: ghosts, hauntings and mysterious occurrences. Some of these tales are creepy, some are poignant, some are even funny – just don’t walk home alone!

Tickets: £6.50 (+ booking fee)

6.30pm – 7.30pm

TIm RalphS - REbRaNdINg bEElzEbUb Rebranding Beelzebub shines a spotlight on Him Downstairs in a performance shaped by razor wit, diabolical horror, absurd confessions and guffaws fit for the unholy host.

Tim presents innovative re-imaginings of traditional tales as he exhumes the bones of old Devil stories and stitches them a new skin. This grand collection spans supermarket stalls, urban sprawls, mad drunken preachers and widow’s sons.

Darkly humorous with disturbing turns and a distinct whiff of sulphur.

Tickets: £6.50 (+ booking fee)

8pm – 10pm

ChaIN REaCTION (aN alChEmY OF STORIES) Bantock Coach House is being taken over for the evening to bring together an alchemy of storytellers for this multi-voice storytelling night. When storytellers get together, wonderful things can happen - one teller's tales will set another teller thinking and so the story thread evolves into a rich tapestry of fables. This performance will never be repeated in quite the same way again - don't miss it! With Tim Ralphs, Daisy Black, Cath Edwards and John Edgar.

Tickets: £9 (+ booking fee)

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

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SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY

Image credit: Anand Chhabra

10.30am – 12.30pm and 2pm – 4pm Game show performances 11am, 12pm, 2.30pm, 3.30pm

bOhdaN’S CORNER Wolverhampton Art Gallery Bohdan Piasecki has turned stories gathered around Wolverhampton into a card game. Add your own stories and discover what others have shared. Drop in anytime or pick a performance time for the game show.

Developed as part of Back in 10, Black Country Touring 2019.

Free (drop in)

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10am – 1.30pm

ROvINg pOET – KURlY Central Library Meet local poet and Hip Hop Artist, Alan (Kurly) McGeachie as he roams Wolverhampton Central Library. Join Kurly for a morning of impromptu poetry, rap and fun! Add to the library poetry wall or just be amazed by the words of Kurly - Birmingham Poet Laureate finalist 2016/18.

Free (drop in)

10.30am – 11.30am

11.45am – 12.45pm

gRahamE KERR ThE OppORTUNIST

TalK aNd Q&a WITh lOCal aUThOR gaRY CUllEN

Central Library WW1 has countless tales of how men went off to fight and how women took up the cause and did their part. Grahame Kerr’s book, The Opportunist, paints a different picture. Join Grahame as he discusses the inspirations behind his book and the people who saw it as an opportunity to make a fortune, even though they were supporting the war effort.

Tickets: Free

Central Library Talk and Q&A with local author Gary Cullen, discussing his book Necessity. Set in Wolverhampton, the book tests your preconceptions of a serial killer. Read about his life, his love, his terrible deeds in the first person. A murder story like nothing you’ve ever read before.

Tickets: Free

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY

12pm – 1pm

WOlvERhampTON’S gREaT WaR 1914 – 1921: WRITINg ThE FIRST hISTORY OF a CITY aT WaR Wolverhampton Art Gallery The book was written to help mark the centenary of the Armistice. In this presentation the writers will examine the issues involved in writing Wolverhampton’s first history of the war.

Tickets: Free

12.30pm – 6.30pm

FRINgE ROOm Lych Gate Tavern Poets, Prattlers, and Pandemonialists bring a selection of the finest shows from the Edinburgh Fringe. Entry to each of the five events is free, with the hat being passed at the end of each show.

1pm – 1.30pm

JEFNY aShCROFT NURSE bROWN FROm JamaICa Wolverhampton Art Gallery She is a mystery: who is the young black woman in this 1956 portrait? Is her striking gesture a sign she was a Rastafarian? Is she still alive today?

Jefny Ashcroft and artist Joy Baines bring you an interactive talk, seeking your views on a picture that was created in the Windrush era.

Tickets: Free

Shows are as follows: 12.30pm: Wum Med, Wum Growed, written and performed by Heather Wastie 1.45pm: 300-1, Corin Rhys Jones 3pm: The Empathy Experiment, Rose Condo 4.15pm: The Tanner’s Tale, Alex McSherry 5.30pm: One Foot in the Rave, Alexander Rhodes Donations welcome – just drop in

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

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SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY

1pm – 2pm

2pm – 3.30pm

JOaNNa TOYE – mEET ThE aUThOR

TEa WITh JaNE aUSTEN

Central Library Joanna Toye, author of Store at War which was inspired by Wolverhampton’s very own Beatties, will be signing books and reading from her latest novel. Wartime for the Shop Girls is the second title in her Midlands based series.

Tickets: Free (booking essential)

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Central Library Dust off your bonnets – it’s time to enjoy tea and cake in the company of the most memorable characters from the nation’s favourite author (afternoon tea included).

Mr Darcy, Mrs Bennet, Willoughby, Emma and many others will entertain you.

Tickets: £8 (+ booking fee)

2.15pm – 3.45pm

2.45pm – 3.45pm

pOETIC alChEmY WITh R.m. FRaNCIS

dEmENTIa FRIENdlY REadINg CaFé

Wolverhampton Art Gallery Join R.M. Francis for this new take on a poetry workshop, where he'll use his recent PhD research to approach writing poetry through the lens of alchemy. Drawing on bringing together and bridging disparate and divergent ideas, forms and voices, writers will be forming poetic solutions and conjugates.

Tickets: £12 (+ booking fee)

Penn Library A relaxed and informal reading group suitable for those living with various stages of Dementia and their carers. We read excerpts from books and poems aloud as well as discussing a variety of topics, depending on the group and their interests. Tea and biscuits are a staple!

Free (drop in)

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY

3pm – 4pm

3.30pm – 4.30pm

maRTIN FIgURa dR zEEmaN'S CaTaSTROphE maChINE

JON blOOmFIEld mIgRaNTS & ThE maKINg OF mOdERN bIRmINgham

Slade Rooms Learn how to move forward and how some catastrophes turn out for the best. A dad takes an American road trip with his teenage son and Down’s syndrome daughter who looks mortality straight in the eye and shows us all how to live regardless.

Tickets: £8 (+ booking fee)

Wolverhampton Art Gallery Balancing a historian’s training with decades of experience as an urban policy specialist, Jon Bloomfield demonstrates why mixed, open societies are the way forward for twenty-firstcentury cities, and how migrants help modern Britain not only survive, but prosper.

Tickets: £4 (+ booking fee)

4.30pm – 5.30pm

5pm – 6pm

vaSEEm KhaN - bad daY aT ThE vUlTURE ClUb

daN CUmmINgS aNd lEE haRRIS - CUmmINgS YOUR WaY

Central Library Author Vaseem Khan will take readers on a journey from the days of the Raj to the heart of modern India, a country being transformed by unprecedented global change. He will also answer the intriguing question: how do you fit an elephant into a crime story? Talk followed by an audience Q&A. Tickets: £8 (+ booking fee)

Wolverhampton Art Gallery Who put Dan Cummings in the Wych Elm? Will he get his Frisbee back from the electricity pylon? Will he ever play football again? Find out the answer to these and a host of other questions at a Black Country-centric view of bed-wettingly terrifying public health and safety adverts of the seventies.

Tickets: Free (donations welcome)

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

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SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY 5pm – 6pm and 7pm – 8pm

ThE IShIgURO SONgbOOK with Dana Lyn, David Driver, and an ensemble orchestra featuring Wolverhampton musicians Slade Rooms In this unique show, American musician/composers Dana Lyn and David Driver perform their musical exploration of Kazuo Ishiguro’s work. The first act features music that has appeared in, or has inspired, Ishiguro’s fiction, along with songs he co-wrote with Jim Tomlinson for singer Stacey Kent.

The second act of the show will see the world premiere of a selection from The Ryder Suite, a song cycle based on Ishiguro’s masterful, surreal, and often hilarious novel The Unconsoled.

Tickets: £12.50 (+ booking fee)

5pm – 6pm

I WIll NOT bE ERaSEd IN CONvERSaTION WITh gal-dEm – lIv lITTlE aNd ChaRlIE bRINKhURST-CUFF Wolverhampton Art Gallery Join gal-dem editors Liv Little and Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff as they talk about their book I Will Not Be Erased: Our stories about growing up as people of colour. Liv Little founded gal-dem, which operates as an online and print magazine as well as putting on talks, events and workshops, in 2015. It aims to empower and support the creative work of young women of colour through breaking down tired stereotypes and thrusting their work and thoughts into mainstream discussion in a whitewashed media environment. Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff is also editor of the book Mother Country: Real Stories of the Windrush Children, a leading new exploration of the Windrush generation.

Tickets: £8.50 (+ booking fee)

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www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

SATURDAY 1 FEBRUARY

5pm – 6pm

6.15pm – 7.15pm

YOUNg pOET laUREaTE pERFORmaNCES

WIld pRESSEd bOOKS -

Central Library Your chance to hear the winning poem by Wolverhampton’s first ever Young Poet Laureate on the theme of ‘My City, My Future’.

There will be readings from other finalists featured in the recent anthology published as part of the competition.

Tickets: Free (booking essential)

RUSS lITTEN, TRaCEY SCOTTTOWNSENd, SaRa REad aNd R.m. FRaNCIS Wolverhampton Art Gallery On the back of their recent and upcoming publications, Wild Pressed Books are showcasing four of their authors including an exclusive new book launch.

Tickets: Free (donations welcome)

6.30pm – 8.30pm

8pm – 9pm

OpEN mIC NIghT

ThE lIFE OF ChaRlIE gRIgg. ThE bOY WITh ThE magIC pEN

Central Library Calling all poets, writers, musicians and performers. The library is opening its doors during the festival to provide a welcoming and friendly performance space for all to get involved regardless of previous experience.

If you are interested in performing please book your place via eventbrite.

Tickets: Free (donations welcome)

Wolverhampton Art Gallery Charlie Grigg drew over 10,000 cartoons for the Dandy, Topper among others and almost 200 seaside postcards. Brian Dakin, along with Tom Stanton, Alex Vann and John Langford, will share a medley of readings, music and performances all about Charlie.

Tickets: £3 (+ booking fee)

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

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SUNDAY 2 FEBRUARY

Image credit: Anand Chhabra

10.30am – 12.30pm and 2pm – 4pm (Game show performances 11am, 12pm, 2.30pm, 3.30pm)

bOhdaN’S CORNER Wolverhampton Art Gallery Bohdan Piasecki has turned stories gathered around Wolverhampton into a card game. Add your own stories and discover what others have shared. Drop in anytime or or pick a performance time for the game show.

Free (drop in)

10.30am – 12noon

paUl dOWSWEll blIghTERS, bOUNdERS, SCampS OR SCallYWagS? Wolverhampton Art Gallery ‘The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there,’ said LP Hartley. How can you conjure this foreign country in your writing?

This session considers not just the language, clothing and technology of different eras, but also behaviour, attitudes and expectations.

Tickets: £12 (+ booking fee) 12pm – 1.30pm

maSTERClaSS: KazUO IShIgURO’S NEvER lET mE gO 11am – 12noon

JONaThaN COllINgS aNd ChRISTINE mCgOWaN - NOT JUST daRK SaTaNIC mIllS? Wolverhampton Art Gallery For hundreds of years poets have celebrated the British countryside. But what have they made of the towns? Jonathan Collings and Christine McGowan have plunged into the highways and byways of English poetry to bring you the horror, the excitement and the splendour of urban life.

Tickets: Free (donations welcome) 18

Wolverhampton Art Gallery Led by Kazuo Ishiguro scholar Sebastian Groes, the University of Wolverhampton invites you to participate in a celebration of Ishiguro’s contemporary classic Never Let Me Go. Groes will deliver a series of mini-lectures covering Ishiguro’s use of intertextuality, language and irony, metaphors and genre. During the workshop, participants will debate ethical and political questions and the role of emotions and memory in Ishiguro’s novel.

Tickets: Free

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

SUNDAY DAY 2 FEBRUARY X MONTH

11.30am – 6pm

12.30pm – 2.30pm

WRITERS hUbS

EChOES FROm aUSChWITz: JEWISh ChIld FORCEd labOURERS aNd ThE hOlOCaUST

Lych Gate Tavern You are welcome to come along at any point to the writers hubs.

11.30am-12pm: Tipton Writers 12pm-1pm: Codsall Writers 1pm-2pm: Bridgnorth Writers 2pm-3pm: Coachouse Writers 3pm-4pm: Blakenhall Writers 4pm-5pm: Bilston Writers 5pm-6pm: Tettenhall Writers Free (drop in)

Wolverhampton Art Gallery Johannes-Dieter Steinert, Professor of Modern European History, at the University of Wolverhampton, is presenting this lecture to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp on 27 January 1945.

Tickets: Free (suitable for ages 16+)

Image credit: Emma Bare

2pm – 3pm

1pm – 3pm

REUSE, REdUCE, RECYClE Wolverhampton Art Gallery Join writers and performance poets Emma Purshouse and Steve Pottinger in a workshop designed to get you creating and writing poetry that makes use of newspaper stories, magazine articles and old books. Have a go at a series of writing activities including the creation of redacted poems.

No experience necessary.

Tickets: £10 (+ booking fee)

pETER NaldRETT daYS OUT UNdERgROUNd Wolverhampton Art Gallery In this illustrated talk, Peter takes a look at some of Britain's hidden history including caves, nuclear bunkers, sewers and secret railways, abandoned mines, ancient crypts and labyrinthine tunnels.

Tickets: Free

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

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SUNDAY 2 FEBRUARY

2pm – 3pm

2.30pm – 4.30pm

pOaRTRY - IT’S a maSh Up (pOETRY REadINg)

ChaI aNd ChaT

Newhampton Arts Centre Join the project poets for a reading and take a look around the exhibition.

PoArtry is a collaboration project between poets and visual artists.

Tickets: Free

Wolverhampton Art Gallery Following huge success at the festival last year, Chai and Chat returns for more stories, conversations and perhaps a little music and dance, welcoming women from a diverse range of backgrounds to share stories. Price includes a cup of tea.

Tickets: £3 (+ booking fee)

3pm – 3.30pm

3.30pm – 4.30pm

JEFNY aShCROFT NURSE bROWN FROm JamaICa

WOlvERhampTON lITERaTURE FESTIval pOETRY COmpETITION WINNERS

Wolverhampton Art Gallery She is a mystery: who is the young black woman in this 1956 portrait? Is her striking gesture a sign she was a Rastafarian? Is she still alive today?

Jefny Ashcroft and artist Joy Baines bring you an interactive talk, seeking your views on a picture that was created in the Windrush era.

Tickets: Free 20

Wolverhampton Art Gallery The poetry competition has been a huge success, attracting hundreds of entries from the UK and abroad. Winning and shortlisted poets are invited to come along to the award ceremony and read their poem.

Tickets: Free

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

SUNDAY 2 FEBRUARY 5.30pm – 6.30pm

COmmON pEOplE – aN aNThOlOgY OF WORKINg ClaSS WRITINg Wolverhampton Art Gallery

5pm – 6pm

STEphEN bOOTh aNd aNdY gRIFFEE CaNal NOIR Wolverhampton Art Gallery Authors Stephen Booth and Andy Griffee discuss the murky appeal of inland waterways as a setting for crime fiction.

Tickets: Free

Where are all the working-class writers?

Right here. With the anthology Common People, editor Kit de Waal sets out to celebrate diversity of working class lives, pushing beyond the stereotypical portrayals of the underprivileged and dispossessed.

Join City of Wolverhampton Poet Laureate Emma Purshouse and writers featured in the anthology for a panel discussion, including Paul Allen, Lynne Voyce, and Lisa Blower.

7pm – 9pm

pOETS, pRaTTlERS, aNd paNdEmONIalISTS pRESENT - YES WE CaNT Light House Media Centre Poets, Prattlers, and Pandemonialists bring their regular Walsall poetry night over to Wolverhampton. An energetic and entertaining evening, with a headline set from a guest poet, and an ‘Alf Ender slot for a local West Midlands poet. Open-mic spots available on the door, but please arrive early to book one!

Tickets: Free (donations welcome)

Tickets: £10 (+ booking fee)

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

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Children & families

Sat 1 Feb | 10am – 12noon

Sat 1 Feb | 11am – 12noon

real arts worKshop – Jungle BooK worKshop

narinder dhami – malory towers

East Park Library Join the Real Art Workshop for a fun, immersive Jungle Book experience! We will tell our own version of the story of Mowgli by Rudyard Kipling, whose mother lived in Wolverhampton, using masks and musical instruments we make in the session. BSL accessible. Parents welcome.

Tickets: Free

Central Library Come and meet best-selling author Narinder Dhami and find out more about the New Class at Malory Towers! Narinder, who was born in Wolverhampton, will read from her Malory Towers story and talk about her life and career as a writer.

Tickets: Free (booking essential)

Image credit: Rang-zeb Rango Hussain

Sat 1 Feb

sohan Kailey let’s naaCh Join Sohan Kailey on a fantastic, exciting, vibrant dance around the world.

A musical dance-adventure, family-fun show with songs from his new album Let's Naach (Let's Dance).

Sohan Kailey has performed alongside stars from CBeebies, CBBC, CITV, Milkshake TV and lots more!

11am – 11.45pm | Warstones Library 1pm – 1.45pm | Bilston Library 3pm – 3.45pm | Central Library Tickets: Free

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www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

Children & families

Sat 1 Feb | 11.30am – 12.30pm

Sat 1 Feb | 12.15pm – 1.15pm

sas and elizaBeth huntwood – you are never too young to write

roald dahl storytelling – the twits

Wednesfield Library Elizabeth, who is 8 years old, and her mum Sas, have written their debut novel, The Gateway to Troglan. Perfect for aspiring young authours, have a go at writing your own riddle and create your own troll to take away.

Tickets: Free

Central Library The Twits are disgusting people who enjoy playing nasty tricks on each other but when the Roly Poly Bird visits Mugglewump the Monkey, their entire revolting world will be turned upside down. Storyteller John Kirk presents Roald Dahl's classic story.

Tickets: Free (booking essential)

Sat 1 Feb | 1.30pm – 2.30pm

Sat 1 Feb | 5pm – 6pm

wizardry with professor CalCulus-BlaCK

young poet laureate performanCes

Central Library Dress in your best magical outfit and join Professor Calculus-Black on a journey into the wizarding world. Learn all about magical creatures, wizard school, spells and charms and then grab your wand for duelling class!

We promise you an hour of imagination, storytelling, creativity and magical happenings!

Tickets: Free (booking essential)

Central Library Your chance to hear the winning poem by Wolverhampton’s first ever Young Poet Laureate on the theme of ‘My City, My Future’.

There will be readings from other finalists featured in the recent anthology published as part of the competition.

Tickets: Free (booking essential)

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

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aT a glaNCE Theatre and performance Date Mon 27 Jan Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb

Time 7.30pm 2pm 3pm

Event Sandi Toksvig Tea with Jane Austen Dr Zeeman Catastrophe Machine

Venue Grand Theatre Central Library Slade Rooms

Price £24* £8* £8*

Page 4 14 15

Time 7.30pm 2pm 8pm 8.30pm 10am 12.30pm 12.30pm 1.45pm 3pm 4.15pm 5.30pm 5pm 6.30pm 2pm 3.30pm 5.30pm 7pm

Event Poetry Slam Punjabi Womens Writing Group The Antipoet and Nick Lovell Bones Presents Roving Poet - Kurly Fringe Room - various acts (see below) Heather Wastie Coring Rhys Jones Rose Condo Alex McSherry Alexander Rhodes Young Poet Laureate Performances Open Mic Night PoArtry - It’a Mash Up (Poetry Reading) Poetry Competition Winners Common People Yes We Cant

Venue Arena Theatre Art Gallery Art Gallery Slade Rooms Central Library Lych Gate Tavern Lych Gate Tavern Lych Gate Tavern Lych Gate Tavern Lych Gate Tavern Lych Gate Tavern Central Library Central Library NAC Art Gallery Art Gallery Lighthouse

Price TBC £3* £8.50* £5* Free Donations Donations Donations Donations Donations Donations Free Free Free Free £10* Donations

Page 4 7 9 9 12 13 13 13 13 13 13 17 17 20 20 21 21

Event Cerys Matthews Poartry - It’s a Mash Up (Opening) The Ishiguro Songbook The Ishiguro Songbook The Life of Charlie Grigg

Venue Slade Rooms NAC Slade Rooms Slade Rooms Art Gallery

Price £16* Free £12.50* 0£12.50* £3*

Page 5 6 16 16 17

Event Poetic Alchemy with R.M. Francis Paul Dowswell Writers Hubs - various acts (see below) Tipton Writers Codsall Writers Bridgnorth Writers Coachhouse Writers Blakenhall Writers Bilston Writers Tettenhall Writers Masterclass: Kazuo Ishiguro Reuse, Reduce, Recycle

Venue Art Gallery Art Gallery Lych Gate Tavern Lych Gate Tavern Lych Gate Tavern Lych Gate Tavern Lych Gate Tavern Lych Gate Tavern Lych Gate Tavern Lych Gate Tavern Art Gallery Art Gallery

Price £12* £12* Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free £10*

Page 14 18 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 18 19

poetry Date Sat 25 Jan Fri 31 Jan Fri 31 Jan Fri 31 Jan Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb

Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sun 2 Feb Sun 2 Feb Sun 2 Feb Sun 2 Feb

music, art and Film Date Fri 31 Jan Fri 31 Jan Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb

Time 7pm 7pm 5pm 7pm 8pm

Workshops Date Sat 1 Feb Sun 2 Feb Sun 2 Feb

Sun 2 Feb Sun 2 Feb

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Time 2.15pm 10.30am 11.30am 11.30am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 12pm 1pm

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

literature, Talks and Readings Date Thu 30 Jan Fri 31 Jan Fri 31 Jan Fri 31 Jan Fri 31 Jan Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sun 2 Feb Sun 2 Feb Sun 2 Feb Sun 2 Feb Sun 2 Feb Sun 2 Feb

Time 2pm 1pm 4pm 6.30pm 7pm 10.30am 11.45pm 12pm 1pm 1pm 2.45pm 3.30pm 4.30pm 5pm 5pm 6.15pm 11am 12.30pm 2pm 2.30pm 3pm 5pm

Event Michael Rosen Jefny Ashcroft Kerry Hadley - Pryce David Instone Invisible Voices Grahame Kerr Gary Cullen Wolverhampton’s Great War Jefny Ashcroft Joanna Toye Dementia Friendly Reading Cafe Jon Bloomfield Vaseem Khan Dan Cummings and Lee Harris Gal-Dem Wild Pressed Books

Venue Chancellor’s Hall Art Gallery Art Gallery Art Gallery Art Gallery Central Library Central Library Art Gallery Art Gallery Central Library Penn Library Art Gallery Central Library Art Gallery Art Gallery Art Gallery Jonathan Collings and Christine McGowan Art Gallery Echoes from Auschwitz Art Gallery Peter Naldrett Art Gallery Chai and Chat Art Gallery Jefny Ashcroft Art Gallery Stephen Booth and Andy Griffee Art Gallery

Price Free Free £3* Free £10* Free Free Free Free Free Free £4* £8* Donations £8.50* Donations Donations Free Donations £3* Free Free

Page 4 6 7 7 8 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 15 16 17 18 19 19 20 20 21

Time 10am 11am 11am 1pm 3pm 11.30am 12.15pm 1.30pm

Event Real Arts Workshop - The Jungle Book Narinder Dhami Sohan Kailey Sohan Kailey Sohan Kailey Sas and Elizabeth Huntwood Roald Dahl Storytelling Wizardry

Venue East Park Library Central Library Warstones Library Bilston Library Central Library Wednesfield Library Central Library Central Library

Price Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free

Page 22 22 22 22 22 23 23 23

Event John Edgar Daisy Black Cath Edwards Tim Ralphs Chain Reaction

Venue Bantock House Bantock House Bantock House Bantock House Bantock House

Price £6.50* £6.50* £6.50* £6.50* £9*

Page 10 10 11 11 11

Event Book Bingo Bohdan’s Corner

Venue Art Gallery Art Gallery

Price £4* Free

Page 7 12

Children Date Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb

Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb

Storytelling Date Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb Sat 1 Feb

Time 2pm 3.30pm 5pm 6.30pm 8pm

Experience Date Fri 31 Jan Sat 1 Feb & Sun 2 Feb

Time 5pm 10.30am 2pm

*All chargeable tickets are subject to a booking fee. www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

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VENUEs AND ACCEssIBILITY

aRENa ThEaTRE

CENTRal lIbRaRY

Wulfruna St, WV1 1SE Includes: Cinema; Tilstone Studio Contact: 01902 321321 Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible (lifts to all levels) Parking: Not on site. University, Civic and Broad Street and on-street pay and display nearby.

Snow Hill, WV1 3AX Includes: Adults and Children’s Library Contact: 01902 552059 / 552056 Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible (lift) Parking: Not on site. St George’s car parks and municipal parking nearby

gRaNd ThEaTRE baNTOCK hOUSE Finchfield Rd, WV3 9LQ Includes: Performance Space; Coach House Contact: 01902 552195 Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible (ground floor venues) Parking: On site, plus three disabled bays.

ChaNCEllOR’S hall Wulfruna Building, Wulfruna St, City Campus, WV1 1SE Includes: Chancellors Hall Contact: 01902 321000 Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible Parking: Not on site. University, Civic Centre and Broad Street and on-street pay and display nearby.

bIlSTON lIbRaRY Mount Pleasant, Bilston, WV14 7LU Contact: 01902 556253 Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible Parking: On-site, five spaces including two for disabled visitors.

Street parking nearby.

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Lichfield St, WV1 1DE Contact: 01902 429212 Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible (lifts to all levels) Parking: Not on site. University, Civic Centre and Broad Street and on-street pay and display nearby.

lIghT hOUSE mEdIa CENTRE Suite 16, Chubb Building, Fryer St, WV1 1HT Contact: 01902 716055 Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible (ground floor venues, lifts to all levels) Parking: Some on-site Saturday and Sunday, one disabled bay. Broad Street and on-street pay and display nearby.

lYCh gaTE TavERN 44 Queen Square, WV1 1TX Contact: 01902 399516 Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible (lift to upper floor) Parking: Not on site. Civic Centre and Mander Centre pay and display nearby.

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

VENUEs AND ACCEssIBILITY

NEWhampTON aRTS CENTRE

WaRSTONES lIbRaRY

Dunkley St, WV1 4AN Contact: 01902 572 090 Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible (ground floor venues, lifts to all levels) Parking: Free on-site and free on street parking (No road parking on match days). Pay and display at the Molineux on Waterloo Road.

37 Pinfold Grove, WV4 4PT Contact: 01902 556275 Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible Parking: On-site, eight spaces including one for disabled visitors. Co-op car park opposite.

pENN lIbRaRY Coalway Avenue, Penn Rd, WV3 7LT Contact: 01902 556281 Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible Parking: On-site parking (includes two disabled bays). Street parking nearby.

SladE ROOmS Broad St, WV1 1HP Contact: 01902 552055 Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible Disabled access at entrance. Four steps into concert hall; ramp available.

Parking: Not on site. Broad Street pay and display nearby.

WEdNESFIEld lIbRaRY 2 Well Lane, WV11 1XT Contact: 01902 556278 Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible Parking: On-site, 14 spaces including severn for disabled visitors. Street parking nearby.

WOlvERhampTON aRT gallERY Lichfield St, WV1 1DU Includes: Georgian Room; Contemporary Gallery; Gathering Space Contact: 01902 552055 Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible (accessible entrance via St Peter’s passage).

Parking: Not on site. University, Civic Centre and Broad Street and on-street pay and display nearby.

FOR mORE INFORmaTION www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk | e: art.gallery@wolverhampton.gov.uk @wolveslitfest

@wolveslitfest

For more information on what’s taking place across the city visit www.whatsonwolverhampton.com

www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk

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Victoria & Albert: Our Lives in Watercolour 7 March - 31 May 2020 Wolverhampton Art Gallery To mark the bicentenary of the births of both Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 2019, a touring exhibition from the Royal Collection will explore the royal couple’s collecting of watercolours as a record of their public and private lives together. Travelling to three museums and galleries across the country, Victoria & Albert: Our Lives in Watercolour will feature almost 70 works from Victoria and Albert’s collection, several of which will be on public display for the first time.

Free admission

The accompanying publication, Victoria & Albert: Our Lives in Watercolour, published by Royal Collection Trust, will be available to buy from the Wolverhampton Art Gallery shop for £19.95.

WCC 1509 11.19

Paul Jacob Naftel, The Queen and Prince Albert landing at St Pierre, Guernsey, 24 August 1846, 1846. Royal Collection Trust/ © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2019

WCC 1509. 12.19