I am The Tower of London's Poet in Residence and throughout the year, I will be curating: CONFESSIONS — a new strand of performances designed for adult audiences. For each show, key themes are pulled out of events that occurred in the Tower’s 1,000 year history and contemporary poets and performers will create new pieces of in response. This is an opportunity to showcase stories and characters from history, to reframe and examine common, human themes that still resonate today.

This event’s theme is SLANDER. It will be held in the Medieval Palace at the Tower of London. and will feature newly commissioned and a selection of older pieces of work from: Emma Dbiri, Salena Godden and Stephen James Smith.

Emma Dabiri is a presenter, social historian and writer, and is listed as one of BBC's Broadcasting Stars of the Future 2017. Emma has previously presented Back in Time for Brixton and the Back in Time Confectioners series (BBC Two), Is Love Racist? (Channel 4) and has done a number of social history films for The One Show (BBC). She currently co-presents Britain’s Lost Masterpieces (BBC4). On radio she has hosted BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Review and Front Row and is currently working on a Radio 4 documentary, an exploration of Afro-futurism. Emma's debut book "A History of Hair" will be published by Penguin, Allen Lane, in 2019. She is a teaching fellow in the Africa department at SOAS.

Salena Godden is one of Britain’s foremost poets whose electrifying live performances and BBC radio broadcasts have earned her a devoted following. Author of poetry collections Under The Pier (Nasty Little Press); Fishing in the Aftermath: Poems 1994-2014 (Burning Eye); literary childhood memoir Springfield Road (Unbound) and Shade published in the ground breaking essay anthology The Good Immigrant (Unbound). A pamphlet collection of latest poems Pessimism Is For Lightweights, pieces of courage and resistance, will be published by Rough Trade Books in June 2018. Rough Trade Books is an exciting new publishing venture in the mould of the pioneering record label.Mrs Death Misses Death is a new major work in progress. This will be Salena's debut novel, a fiction on the life of Death, with a soundtrack composed by Peter Coyte. A BBC documentary Mrs Death Misses Death is in production, scheduled for broadcast later in 2018.

Stephen James Smith is a Dublin poet and playwright central to the rise of the vibrant spoken word scene in Ireland today.  To date, his poetry videos have amassed over 1 million views online.  Stephen is a co-founder of LINGO Festival (inaugural festival in 2014), Ireland’s only spoken word festival, and poetry curator of the annual First Fortnight Festival. He co-produced Dublin: A Year in Words poetry video series for Dublin UNESCO City of Literature. Stephen James Smith’s debut collection, Fear Not, is published by Arlen House with a launch due in Spring 2018.

Venue: Tower of London
Time: 7:15pm
Address: Tower of London, London, EC3N 4AB
Tickets: £10 Buy Here.