As part of this year’s National Poetry Day on October 6th, all of the BBC Local Radio stations across England and the Channel Islands will be featuring a unique piece of poetry written specifically for National Poetry Day, an initiative of the Forward Arts Foundation.
BBC Local Poets will feature 40 poets and spoken word artists from across the country who have been commissioned to write a poem from the viewpoint of a local landmark or iconic object.
For BBC Radio Manchester, Keisha Thompson has written her poem about the Nello James Centre in Whalley Range.
The poem will be featured as part of BBC Radio Manchester’s coverage of National Poetry Day. BBC Radio Manchester Breakfast Presenters Phil Trow and Chelsea Norris will be live from the Nello James Centre on Thursday morning where Keisha will read her poem out and talk about where she found the inspiration for her poem.
Keisha Thompson said: “I was initially drawn to a big well-known landmark but I decided to think about an important landmark in my local area, particularly one that has been neglected. I believe having this focus for my poem reveals the bigger picture of gentrification that I am dealing with as a born and bred Mancunian today.”
Keisha Thompson is a Manchester based writer, performance artist and singer who has been writing since her primary school days. By age 16 she had been published in three anthologies. She has continued to publish and perform her work at various local, national and international venues. In 2012, Keisha wrote feminist solo show “I Wish I had a Moustache” which she has presented at Contact Theatre, Camden People’s Theatre, STUN and Belgrade Theatre. In 2014, she released her debut EP, Abecedarian. Last year, she was commissioned to write a poem from Plan International’s global campaign for International Day of the Girl 2015, titled “Yet”. She is currently working on a new solo show with STUN theatre and Black Gold Festival.
