My debut novel The Night Alphabet is available to pre order now. I’ve waited years to say that. This is the story of the secret language between women (and times, and geographies), the quantum mechanics of belonging. Please grab one now 🙏
I haven’t been able to read through and respond to all the messages and emails yet but wanted to thank you all for your support. It’s really moving. I will be forever grateful to
@tseliotprize
and the Judges
@CarolineBirdUK
Glynn Maxwell, and Zaffar Kunial Thanks so much 🙏
I just keep pressing quote and not knowing what to say. It’s the best day of my professional life. This is for all the wrong walking women, the butches & bois and all those struggling to find their own bodies. Thank you
@SaqiBooks
for believing in this strange little golden book
We are thrilled to announce that C+nto & Othered Poems by
@JTaylorTrash
has been shortlisted for the prestigious
@tseliotprize
!
We’re so proud to publish this phenomenal collection, and can't wait for more readers to discover Joelle’s electrifying writing. Well done Joelle!
Humbled to see that my little gold book has been named as one
@guardian
top books of 2022. Thanks everyone for giving me the kind of year writer’s only dream of.
This is an absolute dream. Friends will know I’ve been working on The Night Alphabet for the last 4 years and know she’s ready to meet you all. The Bookseller - Rights - Riverrun seizes T S Eliot Prize-winner Taylor’s ‘electrifying’ debut novel
I became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature yesterday, signing the book with Fellows from 2020-2022 with TS Eliot’s beautiful fountain pen. Seemed rude not to
The irony of making GCSE poetry optional/ dropping it at the precise moment in history when poets have unlimited time to engage with schools and students and the technology to achieve it 1/3
I will be launching my debut novel on February 16 next year, in a performed reading in Queen Elizabeth Hall directed by Neil Bartlett, and hosted by Russell Tovey. Joelle Taylor: The Night Alphabet
As we know several municipalities in Poland have been declared LGBT Free Zones and queer books removed from schools. I’ve been contacted by someone who is trying to counter the misrepresentation through founding an LGBT library - and they’re looking for UK poets/ authors 1/2
📯 T. S. Eliot Prize-winning author and performer Joelle Taylor plays Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
@operahollandpk
!
Joelle is the author of 4 poetry collections & the recipient of numerous awards for her writing & spoken word.
🗓️ 29 June-1 July
🎫ℹ️
Very very pleased to have been Highly Commended in
@ForwardPrize
and to be included in the Forward Book of Poetry 2022. It’s the first time anything I’ve written out of a performance context has received any recognition.
Fucking YES!! Trapped on a train but dancing inside. Big huge thanks to the judges, and massive shout out to all the books & the phenomenal
@polarisalon
I began working for
@PoetrySociety
in 2000, and for many of those years sat downstairs next to the editor(s) of Poetry Review. 24 years later, a sample of a new crown of sonnets is included in the Spring Issue, something I never imagined would happen.
It's the T. S. Eliot Prize's 30th anniversary this year & we're celebrating past winning collections!
Joelle Taylor won the T.S. Eliot Prize 2021 for C+nto & Othered Poems. Joelle has reflected for us on winning the Prize - read her full piece now:
It’s our anniversary - here we are being married by my magical friend and esteemed man of letters
@adamkammerling
We didn’t want anything too big. Just a lifetime.
Stunning proof copies of
@JTaylorTrash
’s equally stunning debut novel, THE NIGHT ALPHABET, out from
@riverrunbooks
in Feb 2024. This novel is a game-changer. Don’t miss it!
Hope to see some of you as I venture out with C+NTO & Othered Poems on a tentative tour. The big date is Oct 7 when I’ll finally launch the book, old school dyke bar style, at the BookClub in Shoreditch. More info to follow when I update my website 🙏📙
It’s publication day - very thankful to
@theskinnymag
for this 5 star review at my breakfast table. I began writing The Night Alphabet in 2018 so it has been with me during some of the most turbulent times in my adult life. Tomorrow night, I’ll let go of its hand
"Deeply connected to the way women used to tell stories, with words and woven images"
Only one more day until THE NIGHT ALPHABET by
@JTaylorTrash
is published by
@QuercusBooks
- Read
@tweetsanor
's ★★★★★ review!
I can hear all the butches & bois in the Maryville bar banging their pint glasses, all of us thrilled that C+nto & Othered Poems is longlisted for the
#RSLOndaatjePrize
🙏✊
#butch
Delighted to announce the longlist for the '22
#RSLOndaatje
Prize, awarded to a book (fiction/non-fiction/poetry) which best evokes the spirit of a place 📚
Congrats to all 2⃣1⃣ longlisted authors 🎉
📰
📅 Shortlist 20 April, Winner 4 May
#RSLOndaatje
And then it went dark. Full homophobic abuse and phones out to film my response. Suddenly - out of nowhere - two extraordinary women appeared and chased them off, matching their rage. Thanks women, whoever you are. That meant everything. 2/2
On a train that has halted between Walthamstow & Liverpool Street due to ‘a number of passengers trespassing on the line’. Is this
#ExtinctionRebellionLondon
? Id rather be late for my meeting than the planet. Quietly rooting for you
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to start believing again. Today, I’ve begun planning a live UK tour to launch my new collection C+NTO, which is released in June. I don’t know how far I’ll get, but I’m walking forward anyway. I hope you’ll join me.
My new book is called C+NTO, a set of cantos looking at the experiences of butch women & the dyke underground of the 90’s. The first part reimagines Soho and all the old bars, cruising grounds, & squats in vitrine in a museum, the second on memoir. The third culminates in a
I’m writing an article on ‘the recent rise of spoken word’ - I know, know. I can set my watch by ‘poetry is the new rock n roll’. Nevertheless: what nights exist across the UK? What is often omitted from these think pieces? What poets are neglected? All comments appreciated
Five years in the thinking and conjuring but she’s finally here. Join me for a staged reading on Feb 16 in Queen Elizabeth Hall 8pm of my debut novel The Night Alphabet. QueerFuturism meets feminist magic realism…
@riverrunbooks
@southbankcentre
Really good to see this poem being one of the winners of the
@PoetrySociety
’s prestigious
#FoyleYoungPoets
Giovanni Rose: Tottenham teenager wins poetry award - BBC News
Bloody hell. I’m off work for a few days with laryngitis but I still managed a butch squeak of pure joy when I read this. Thank you
@BernardineEvari
from all the bois 🙏
I’ve been holding on to this one since last year, but finally I can announce that I’ll be reading as part of Simon Armitage: The Laureate’s Library Tour
@britishlibrary
on April 30 along with
@theresa_lola
livestream available for one night
Taking C+NTO in the road. First stop Australia: Adelaide Writers Week March 5-8, Melbourne Wheeler Centre March 9, and Sydney Opera House March 12 & 13.
#Finally
Thanks to
@ace_national
I am able to start the Research & Development stage of
#ButterflyFist
(CUNTO) so that we’ll be ready to begin work properly when the apocalypse is over. Very, very relieved.
Watching the screen tests from all the butches who’ve applied for a role in the stage version of C+NTO is deeply, deeply moving. My blood is wakening. So many of us. So little space for us.
C+nto & Othered Poems is one of the Telegraph's best books of 2021, and given a lengthy insightful 4* review by
@TATFS
I've been drinking prosecco (butchly) ever since
Today I leanred from Irish poet Stephen Murray that of the 6 executed by the English following the Easter Uprising, 5 were poets. Remember how powerful poetry is. More than your book, more than your tour, more than this tweet. Ask yourself now: how brave is your poetry?
The irony of dismantling poetic voice and thought at the precise time in history when a student needs to investigate their feelings, and express them. Poetry teaches radical creative thinking. Must be why 3/3
It’s been a truly phenomenal tour of Australia so far, not least because of 2 shows at Sydney Opera House, the literal stuff of dreams. But today has been tough: fever, headache, extreme tiredness. The lateral flow says it’s not Covid, thankfully, so i can carry on but aaahhh
Just checking everyone working freelance knows they can now make another claim for self employment support. It isn’t as well advertised as the two previous awards, but only takes 10 mins to complete.
Every day I wake up, wash, & sit down to work on my novel. I‘ve one month to go. Starting tomorrow I’m going to begin sharing some research I use, passages from the book, and how a blank page is both a wall and a window. Then I‘ll eat my own face with a flourish
#TheNightAlphabet
Just been stopped at the station and thanked by the songwriter for Rudimental for inspiring him when he was a kid. Wow. I even remember his gig 15 years ago, when we took over Hackney Empire with SLAMbassdors. These small things we do can have big endings.
We’re taking the staged reading of The Night Alphabet on a tour of big venues across the UK, with dates in Scotland, Wales, and music festivals to be added. Hope to see you there
Curating the Koestler Exhibition was one of the greatest honours of my career
@KoestlerArts
Poet Joelle Taylor: ‘Collectivity is the antidote to cultural fascism’
Send your submissions in for a chance to read your work in this stunning location, alongside generous cash prizes. If poetry had a home it might well be on this island
I’ve been working on this arts doc all year. It follows me as I prepare to perform
#ButterflyFist
for
@polarisalon
at
#Heaven
& looks at the meaning and language of masculine women, the archetypal Butch, fused with with poem excerpts & interviews
Two asthma attacks in 24 hours has finally persuaded me to stop smoking. I’ve been wearing a nicotine patch all day, pretending I’m still on the plane. I just need to remember how utterly shit dry drowning is, and I’ll get there.
I am thrilled to have this opportunity to curate inmates’s artwork in the annual Koestler Awards exhibition, a real chance for the unseen among us to claim visibility
📢Have you heard?📢
@JTaylorTrash
will be curating our 2023 exhibition at
@southbankcentre
!
As a previous Koestler Awards judge, Joelle is very familiar with the high standard of work we receive each year & we can't wait to see her concept develop✨
More details to come...
On a train to Edinburgh alongside every football fan on the planet - but at least I’m heading toward this sold out show, with a promise of a different cocktail tailored to each poem. Got a feeling I’ll be in need of a drink after 5 hours of football chants…
I‘m spending today judging this year’s
#KoestlerPrize
- an award for art works, including poetry, created in prison. Usually I’m astounded by the strength of entries. This year feels even more poignant. I can’t imagine what life has been like for inmates over the last 6 months
𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗜𝗡 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦
We’re excited to open the doors to this incredible display of work by people in the UK’s criminal justice system, curated by
@jtaylortrash
, this Thursday🤩
📅2 November – 17 December
📍
@southbankcentre
🔗
We can finally announce the 2021/22 poets who I’ll be working with over the next year or so. Stunned by every one of them. I’m taking over the reins of
@Anthony1983
for one year, and publishing women/non binary only. It’s a great honour indeed to follow in Anthony’s footsteps.
Waiting for my stage call time, and outside my hotel window a man is performing Johnny Cash songs so eerily well that I just burst out crying 😂 It’s going to be one of those gigs,people. Everything is so moving to me right now. Streets, gigs, humans. All alive. All here.
Just received my monthly bill from
@edfenergy
which is usually £30 pm maximum. This month’s bill is for £1085. I live alone in a one bedroom flat, no hearing used yet. Has anyone else seen such a dramatic hike? Obviously I’m one of thousands who will now be unable to pay.
On Feb 16 we’ll be launching my debut novel in Queen Elizabeth Hall, in a stage adaption directed by Neil Bartlett, and in conversation with Russell Tovey - thinking about queer futurism, feminism, the under edge of things. Tix in the link
One of the greatest challenges in writing is acknowledging when you have taken a wrong turn. I’ve been walking along the wrong path for days now. Time to walk back home.
We're excited to announce our next Writer on the Bloc is.... Award-winning poet, playwright, author and editor Joelle Taylor! 🎉🎉
@JTaylorTrash
will be our Writer on the Bloc from 16th November for three weeks
⬇️⬇️
The illustrious Joelle Taylor will be chairing this year's
#ForwardPrizes
for Best Single Poem, written and performed!
"This new category is great news for the wide range of poetics on offer, and will undoubtedly revive a scene damaged by the pandemic."
@JTaylorTrash
#WFPoetryComp
Second prize:
@ALoulli
“A Woman Walks into A Marriage”
'The first time I made you laugh I was naked
when I was supposed to be dressed or dressed
when I was supposed to be naked I forget...'
A night of love amidst the horror. Thank you to everyone who participated, attended, and donated. You made a difference. And special gratitude to someone who doesnt like being thanked for things like this, the poet who dreamed this into being
@Anthony1983
Two award-winning poets, one intimate and career-spanning conversation - don't miss this chat with
@Malikabooker
and
@JTaylorTrash
as they discuss how their work has uplifted marginalised voices:
#BLF22
𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐘 is now open!🎨
We’re so excited to share this thought-provoking exhibition with you all, curated by
@jtaylortrash
✨
📅Until 17 December
📍
@southbankcentre
🔗
📸Stephen Pover
We’re continuing our
@southbankcentre
residency for another year. Thanks to all of you who keep coming, whose support helps us to curate as innovative programme of poetry and music as we can. Big up 2020
We’re thrilled to announce Out-Spoken’s residency
@southbankcentre
has been extended to 2020 and beyond. This means another packed program featuring the country’s most loved poets and musicians. Masterclasses will continue as usual too. Tickets from Jan onwards are on SB site. 🍾
Blue Now dates, directed by Neil Bartlett and featuring Russell Tovey, Travis Alabanza, Jay Bernard, and me in an honouring and celebration of an exceptional artist,
#derekjarman
I’m really moved by this review of C+NTO from the poetry editor
@TheTLS
@CamilleRalphs_
To think that someone could spend so much time sifting words and meaning from a book I’ve written is astounding. 🙏
Yeah no lie, that was one of the very best gigs of my life. It’s all down to
@MattAbbottPoet
who guided me through upsetting travel on to a warm and subversive stage. So bloody grateful. I know this all such a huge risk in more than one way, but tonight was my very good friend.
Another beautiful morning in Koh Tao, Thailand. It’s our 13 year anniversary so we saved for 2 years to get this stunning view. This is where my heart lives. (My liver is in Bangkok)
C+nto & Othered Poems by
@JTaylorTrash
is out TODAY!🎉
Part-memoir & part-conjecture, C+nto is a powerful exploration of sexuality, gender & self expression within the butch counterculture.
We're so proud to publish this bold & brilliant collection💛
#Pride
Im honoured to be chairing the judging panel for the very first
@ForwardPrizes
Performed Poem category. A long awaited move from a major prize that we must all support. Submissions are open
For the first time this year the
#ForwardPrizes
have a fourth category - Best Single Poem-Performed!
To find out more, check out the entry guidance on our website:
I had a stunning night repping
@KoestlerArts
Voices from Prison at the Southbank - but then i went home. On the way a car of men pulled up and at first just mocked me, so as most women do, i kept it light and laughed along with their frankly dim jokes about me.1/2
Im absolutely overjoyed that C+nto & Othered Poems has been longlisted for this year’s
@PolariPrize
which celebrates LGBT writing. Congrats to all the wonderful fellow nominees 🙌
We are so thrilled for
@JTaylorTrash
, C+nto has been longlisted for this year’s
@PolariPrize
amongst an incredible selection of emerging and established LGBTQ+ writers! If you haven’t read it, head to our website to get a copy!
To hold Eurovision while bombing a refugee camp was something straight out of The Hunger Games. Very proud of the London LGBT community who boycotted Eurovision on mass.
The last couple of years of touring has finally caught up with me, and I’ve been pinballing from one infection to another. Im going to take a bit of time out to rest, reflect & write - and slow down enough for my body to catch up with my brain
What a list! Huge congratulations to all the shortlisted, and a special shout out to Fran Lock & Joe Carrick Varty
@JoeCarrickVarty
both of whom have been published by
@Outspoken_Press
Really thrilled for everyone
It would have transformed my life. I'd have discovered there were such creatures as lesbians in my bewildered teens. It's so exhilarating to know it will change other lives -- not just for LGBTQ people but also for those whose hate comes from ignorance.
🖋️ WRITERS SUPPORT JUST STOP OIL
🔥 Poet, author and performer
@JTaylorTrash
reads the poem 'Earth's Answers' by William Blake in support of Just Stop Oil.
✈️ Airports will be declared sites of civil resistance this summer. Take action with us —
A rarely read poem VITRINE from C*NTO for the Koestler Exhibition. Curating IN CASE OF EMERGENCY has been one of my highlights as a human and as an artist. What a privilege.
Joelle Taylor (
@JTaylorTrash
) delivers a powerful reading of Vitrine, ii from her TS Eliot Prize-winning C+nto & Othered Poems
‘Display cases distinct as dominos, how we all rely on one another.’
@natpoetrylib
@KoestlerArts
For the first time in Bristol,
@JTaylorTrash
performs a staged reading from her debut novel The Night Alphabet, directed by Neil Bartlett.
Get Your Tickets here:
Thanks so much to Marie Claire magazine for naming The Night Alphabet one of the Best Books 2024: The Best Page Turners To Curl Up With | Marie Claire UK
📯 T. S. Eliot Prize-winning author and performer Joelle Taylor plays Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
@operahollandpk
!
Joelle is the author of 4 poetry collections & the recipient of numerous awards for her writing & spoken word.
🗓️ 29 June-1 July
🎫ℹ️