Please join Poets & Players on Saturday 25 March 2023, 2.30-4.00 at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation for a wonderful line-up of poets and musicians. The event is free and everyone is welcome. Read all about the poets and musicians below.

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Andrew McMillan

Andrew McMillan’s three collections of poetry are physical, playtime, and pandemonium; all from Jonathan Cape. A novel, pity, is forthcoming from Canongate. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Professor of Contemporary Writing at the Manchester Writing School, Manchester Met.

Jennifer Wong

Jennifer Wong was born and raised in Hong Kong and now lives in the UK. She completed a creative writing PhD at Oxford Brookes University. Wong is the author of several poetry collections including 回家 Letters Home (Nine Arches Press, 2020), a PBS Spring 2020 Wild Card Choice. She has taught creative writing at Poetry School, Oxford Brookes University and City Lit. She was writer in residence at Wasafiri in 2011 and a visiting fellow at Oxford TORCH in 2022.

Luke Samuel Yates

Luke Samuel Yates has pamphlets with The Rialto (The Pair of Scissors that Could Cut Anything) and Smith-Doorstop (The Flemish Primitives, a winner of the 2015 Poetry Business Book and Pamphlet Prize), and a first collection, Dynamo, a winner of the 2022 Book and Pamphlet Prize. A lecturer in sociology, he teaches and researches political movements, technology and consumption practices.

Chuva

Chuva are a Manchester based folk/classical trio that was founded in 2018 by performers Rafael Onyett (guitar) and Borna Kuca (guitar/mandolin), whilst studying at the Royal Northern College of Music with the renowned guitarist Craig ogden. In 2022, Chuva expanded with the addition of double bassist George Burrage. The trio quickly developed a strong musical chemistry and have since performed frequently across the UK.

Such venues include Preston Museum, Wakefield Cathedral, Whitworth Art Gallery, Bury Parish Church, Instituto Cervantes and Bridgewater Hall as part of Craig Ogden’s ‘Big Guitar Weekend.’ Recently, Chuva also performed at the Royal Overseas Clubhouse in London after reaching the semi-finals of their prestigious annual music competition.

Although a Manchester-based ensemble, Borna originally hails from Croatia, George from England and Rafael is of Latin American heritage. The result is an interesting amalgamation of varied musical experiences and cultures, and an overall desire to explore music from different parts of the world. This is reflected in a diverse mixture of classical and folk repertoire and even the exploration of different folk instruments, such as the mandolin.

Along with performance, the trio also take an active role in outreach work and pedagogy. Most recently, Chuva won a coveted place on the Live Music Now artist platform 2022, and look forward to working closely with the organisation to deliver interactive music workshops across the country.

Andrew McMillan photo credit: Sophie Davidson