Linton Kwesi Johnson & other poets at the Godiva Festival

The legendary dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson - alongside other exciting poets - will be reading in Coventry on Saturday 5th July as part of the city’s annual free Godiva Festival, held in the War Memorial Gardens on Kenilworth Road.

LKJ, who has been a committed advocate of black people’s rights in Britain for four decades, was the first writer to define “dub poetry” as a distinct genre, fusing reggae music with the spoken word. He has won numerous awards for his work, selling over two million books and albums and in the process becoming a Penguin Classics author in recognition of his pioneering use of language. He will be joined in the Market Tent by a number of new and established writers, hosted by West Midlands poetry publishing house The Heaventree Press.

6:30pm. Music by DJ Kris Connolly
7:00. Michael McKimm:
Eric Gregory Award winning poet – a sensuous new lyric voice.
7:10pm. Coventry’s Scrubber Jack:
Gritty urban rhymes from Stoke Aldermore – as featured in the Coventry Telegraph.
7:20pm. Paul Casey and Billy Ramsell:
Two high velocity Irish performance poets, visiting on a Poetry Exchange from Coventry’s twin city, Cork.

7:50pm. Yusra Warsama:
Manchester-based performance poet and actor brings her blend of poetry and physical theatre to the Festival.
8:00pm. Raffle prize draw:
Tickets available during the day and at the Heaventree bookstall, priced 50p. Prizes include free tickets to concerts and theatres, signed books and records, etc.

8:05pm. Jane Holland:
Warwick’s Poet laureate launches The Lament of The Wanderer, in a new translation from the Anglo-Saxon, published by Heaventree Press.
8:15pm. Mario Petrucci:
The acclaimed author of Heavy Water and Flowers of Sulphur, back from London by popular demand.
8:30pm. Kei Miller:
All the way from jamaica, the Comonwealth Prize shortlisted poet and novelist returns to the city of his first publication.
8:45pm. Dreadlock Alien:
The UK’s National Slam Champion makes a rare appearance on his home turf.

9:00pm. LINTON KWESI JOHNSON.