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Our PBS Selector Jo Clement Dr Jo Clement takes to the stage to open our PBS Showcase Durham Book Festival with the wonderful Jackie Kay and Romalyn Ante.

Here Gala Durham for the second evening of this years Durham Book Festival and Jackie Kay will be joined by Dr Jo Clement and @RomalynAnte

“Singing give peace a chance” - Jackie Kay reads her blazing, beautiful poems of community, love, family and a life in protest from her PBS Recommendation MAY DAY > Jackie Kay Durham Book Festival

Jackie Kay speaking so beautifully to Dr Jo Clement about family this evening and many of the poems in May Day feature her memories of her parents. What a beautiful intro from @RomalynAnte as well! #DBF24

I love these women ❤

A brilliant night! Thanks for having me and thanks to Dr Jo Clement for such sublime hosting ! Loved it ! 👏🏿👏🏿

Still processing sitting in the wings watching Craig Charles read his mint engine of a poem '2024' entirely by rote, without a word out of place. "this place was our home" Absolutely class.

Over the moon to see Marjorie Lotfi's seriously accomplished debut 'The Wrong Person to Ask' scoop Best First Collection Forward Prizes. rmcfarlane63 and I chose it as the PoetryBookSoc Winter 2023 Special Commendation. Read a poem here: theguardian.com/books/2023/dec…

Mind, it has been a week. Joy to see some of my favourite poetry peeps Lisa Kelly, Emily Brenchi ♿️🏳️‍🌈, Daniel Sluman and little sweetheart babby Theo who is a heartbreaker extraordinare and makes my teeth super itchy. *Theo not pictured, that's Clare Shaw, duh!

As if that's not enough, last night I got to host the loveliest lasses in poetry @RomalynAnte and Jackie Kay. MAJOR SWOON, SWOON, SWOON! We had a ball Durham Book Festival. Go buy May Day and AGIMAT immediately - two more PoetryBookSoc picks!

Look at that screen - "Let's hold hands and take a wee bow". Right on. Still pinching myself. I feel so lucky to have chaired my first ever event with the unstoppable talent and utter gorgeousness that is Jackie Kay. All the wows!

My Durham Book Festival kicked off with a lyrical, moving, life-affirming event with Jackie Kay last night. And thank you to Dr Jo Clement for brilliant hosting. #DBF24

You were just sizzling ! Can’t believe that was your first Chair! Loved the whole night - see you again soon, I hope. 👏🏿👏🏿🥰

Monday morning is all about these lines from Victoria Chang's The Trees Witness Everything: There is a bird and a stone in your body. Your job is not to kill the bird with the stone. ●

Some mics about to be dropped in Rotherham! Love Music Hate Racism Love Music Hate Racism in Rotherham on Friday with the ever awesome Roy McFarlane, with whom I've been selecting collections for the PoetryBookSoc these past two years. rmcfarlane63

Jo Clement (Dr Jo Clement) is standing in for Romalyn Ante at the PoetryBookSoc showcase event in Newcastle NCLA tomorrow, 21 Nov, 7pm. She'll be reading from her debut collection #Outlandish and will be in conversation with Tara Bergin & rmcfarlane63. ncl.ac.uk/ncla/events/ev…

Rare reading from my first collection, Outlandish (Bloodaxe Books), tomorrow at Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts alongside rmcfarlane63, plus a conversation with Tara Bergin. Preti Taneja and Alice Kate Mullen from PoetryBookSoc will introduce the evening.

Roy rmcfarlane63 and I have been enthusiastically selecting collections together for the PoetryBookSoc over the past two years, so we'll be raising a glass to all the fantastic books we've read, selected and reviewed. And, of course, to us - it's been a blast!