a bit about me (poetry, performance, editing).

As a poet, I have an affinity with musicality. I lived in France as a kid as well as Nottinghamshire, Liverpool and London; my lyrical poetics are influenced by Francophone poets and singers & by artists from the UK, Ireland and Iran, among others. I write about love, weather systems and rivers, language divides, and anything that arises, with a playful and spontaneous performance style, performing from memory so I can connect with the audience, and improvising to fit the mood and flow of the performance. Audience members have described my style as ‘soft but powerful’.

In my live performance practice, I have worked with musicians over the past three years, weaving together words, music and live ink drawing. I’ve performed at Cafe OTO and Black Tower in London, the Assembly Rooms in Glastonbury, The Silk Mill in Frome and the Plough Arts Centre in Devon, and won the poetry slam Rhyme Against the Tide in Weston-super-Mare in 2022.

I’ve just published an illustrated poetry book, Love and Beauty, using ink drawings to play with text and symbol. As I was writing these poems, ‘love’ and ‘beauty’ became two forms through which the poems took shape.

My voice and poetry appears on a collaborative album, The Wind That Had Not Touched Land, out with A Colourful Storm records in March 2025 (here’s a review that explains the project). I love working with musicians, producers and performers; please get in touch if you’d like to do something together.

I have a longstanding practice as a mentor and developmental editor for other writers, which is a craft and pleasure in its own right.

portrait by Coco Gaie