Events

Do invite us to do an event for you – get in touch via our contact page. See pictures and recordings of past events in our Gallery.

Friday 15th July, 7:30pm
Malika’s Poetry Kitchen at Woolwich Words and Sounds 

Enjoy poems cooked up in the Kitchen with Arji Manuelpillai, Charlotte Ansell, Michelle Penn, and Desree. Stirring the pot will be head chef, Jill Abram, Director of MPK.

At Woolwich Works, The Fireworks Factory, 11 No. 1 Street, SE18 6HD
Tickets: Earlybird £10, Advance £15.50/£13.50, On The Door £18.50/£16
Click for more details and booking

Past

22nd February, 8pm, online
Too Young, Too Loud, Too Different at Paisley Book Festival

Hosted by one of the book’s editors, Maisie Lawrence, this event featured readings and discussion from two of its contributors and some of the UK’s most respected poets, Jacob Sam-La Rose and Dorothea Smartt.

To watch the event, click here

20th February 2022, 4:30 pm
MPK Anthology Party, hosted by Bohdan Piasecki, at Verve Poetry Festival

Fahad Al-Amoudi, Kostya Tsolakis, director Jill Abram and Khairani Barokka celebrated with some of the poems they cooked up around the kitchen table and we heard from 8 open mic poets.

To buy a ticket to watch all 12 recorded events from the festival, click here

Sunday December 5th 2021, 7pm GMT, Online
International Launch of Too Young, Too Loud, Too Different

We celebrated the release of our 20th Anniversary anthology in North America at this event hosted by the Arvon Foundation.

Poems from the book were read by Kitchen members across the country and the world: Peter Kahn and Ugochi Nwaogwugwu and Tara Betts in Chicago, Heather Taylor in New York, Rosanna Raymond in Auckland, Soul Patel and Jacob Sam-La Rose in London and Dean Atta in Glasgow. Hosted by Kitchen’s Director for the last 11 years, Jill Abram.

This event was recorded and can be viewed on our gallery page

Monday 29th November, 7.30pm
MPK at the Tottenham Literature Festival

With a line-up including Kareem Parkins-Brown and Janett Plummer, Malika Booker brought the brilliance and zest of her Brixton-founded writers’ collective to Bernie’s. After 20 years of championing, nurturing and ushering in some of the most exciting voices in British poetry – and a new anthology Too Young, Too Loud, Too Different out now – the emphasis is on love and community in this celebratory evening that also featured some of Tottenham’s finest poets.

In partnership with Speaking Volumes and Arts Council England.

Wed 17 November, 7pm
UEA Live – a literary festival in Norwich – featured Malika Booker discussing Too Young, Too Loud, Too Different, with scriptwriter and poet Molly Naylor.

Saturday 30 Oct, 1pm
Malika’s Poetry Kitchen: Friends and Family in the Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre. Jill Abram hosted poetry and conversation with Malika Booker, Nick Makoha, Yomi Sode, Kareem Parkins-Brown, Kostya Tsolakis and Katie Griffiths at this London Literature Festival event.

Sunday 10th October, 3pm
Black History Month MPK Showcase at Woolwich Works with Courtney Conrad, Janett Plummer, Fahad Al-Amoudi, Be Manzini and Kareem Parkins-Brown.

Thursday 7th October, 7pm – online
National Poetry Day reading with The Portobello Bookshop, Edinburgh.
Jill Abram introduced Dean Atta, Joolz Sparkes, Be Manzini and Soul Patel
You can watch it back here

Thursday 2nd September, 7pm – online
What We Read Now is Jennifer Wong’s poetry reading series – this edition had the theme Between Places and featured Katie Griffiths, Jill Abram, Patrick Errington and Samatar Elmi, reading their poems then in conversation.
It can be viewed on WWRN’s YouTube channel

Friday 5th August, 10:30am
MPK in the Books Tent at Wilderness Festival
Little, Brown Book Group celebrated the publication of Too Young, Too Loud, Too Different: Poems from Malika’s Poetry Kitchen with Hannah Gordon and Janett Plummer

Thursday 5th August, 6:30pm
Too Young, Too Loud, Too Different – Publication Day Party
We celebrated our 20th anniversary anthology entering the world! With readings from many MPK members and a headline set from our co-founder Malika Booker. At Temple of Art and Music near Elephant and Castle.

Monday 14th June, 7.30pm
Rishi Dastidar and Jill Abram were feature poets at Cafe Writers online with open mic.

Monday 14th June, 2pm
New Lines: Poetry Reading with Live Canon
Mehmet Izbudak was one of the contemporary poets engaging with the classics at this free event, alongside Kym Deyn, Matt Bryden and Vasiliki Albedo. To view the event, click here

Monday 3rd May, 8pm
MPK at the London Library Lit Fest. We had a poetry birthday party – our 20th, the Library’s 180th and Charlotte Ansell‘s 50th! Charlotte read poems alongside Malika Booker, Inua Ellams, Kayo Chingonyi, Arji Manuelpillai and Zakia Carpenter-Hall, hosted by Jill Abram

Saturday 1st May, 6pm
MPK poets Arji Manuelpillai, Courtney Conrad, Katie Griffiths and Janett Plummer read at the Stay at Home! International Literature Festival. You can watch it back on our gallery page

Thursday 22nd April, 7.30pm
Launch of The Attitudes by Katie Griffiths with special guests from Malika’s Poetry Kitchen (Arji Manuelpillai and Michelle Penn) and Red Door Poets (Mary Mulholland and Matthew Paul). Hosted by Jill Abram
This was streamed live through the Nine Arches Press YouTube channel and live captioned and is still available to view here

Sunday 28th March, 6pm
Red Door Poets: Reading in Two Parts – Part 1 with Katie Griffiths, Chris Hardy, Elizabeth Horsley, Mary Mulholland and special guests including Soul Patel.

Friday 26th March, 1pm
Live Canon lunchtime Reading Series MPK special featuring Michelle Penn, Joolz Sparkes, Mehmet Izbudak and Fahad Al-Amoudi, hosted by Helen Eastman.

Thursday 25 March, 7.30pm
Launch of Ultimatum Orangutan by Khairani Barokka with guests Vahni Capildeo, Rishi Dastidar, and Fitri Nganthi Wani, with translation by Eliza Vitri Handayani, hosted by Nine Arches Editor/Director Jane Commane.
Free, supported by the Decolonising Arts Institute at University of the Arts London, and the National Centre for Writing in Norwich, UK.

Friday 19th March, 1pm
Live Canon lunchtime Reading Series featuring Jill Abram with Andrea Holland, Marcus Smith and Chérie Taylor Battiste, hosted by Helen Eastman.

Saturday 13th March, 7.30pm
Launch of Chosen? – an anthology of writing by adopted young people, edited by Charlotte Ansell and Janett Plummer.
Free, supported by an RSL Literature Matters 2020 Award & PAC-UK/Family Action.

Sunday 7th March, 4pm
MPK Live from the Butchery featuring Malika Booker, Jill Abram and Fahad Al-Amoudi
Hosted by Helen Ivory, Martin Figura and Kate Birch, in conjunction with Ink Sweat & Tears on Zoom.