Introducing the ‘Disarm Hate x Poetry’ project

on May 10, 2021June 12, 2021

Our new project is our most ambitious to date and underlines our core aim when it comes to social and political issues. The ‘Disarm Hate x Poetry’ project has seen us commission 16 of the world’s leading LGBTQ poets to respond to the ‘Disarm Hate‘ documentary. The resulting album will be released digitally on 12 June, which marks five years since the Orlando massacre.

The poems will be interspersed with interview excerpts from the documentary, which feature on Ralph Stevens’ soundtrack album. We’ve worked in partnership with Rugged Entertainment in LA to create this as an official response to the documentary and are immensely proud and honoured to have been given this opportunity.

The album, entitled ‘We Will Keep On‘, will also be released on 2LP gatefold vinyl later in the summer. Both the vinyl and digital release are available to pre-order here. And thanks to some funding from Arts Council England, we’re able to split the profits between Contigo Fund in Florida and Stonewall UK. It’s vital to us that as much of this project as possible goes back into the LGBTQ community.

Our 16 poets are: Afshan D’souza Lodhi, Andrés Nicolás Ordorica, Andrew McMillan, Antonia Jade King, Buddy Wakefield, Dean Atta, Ella Otomewo, Emanuel Xavier, Joelle Taylor, Kay Ulanday Barrett, Keith Jarrett, lisa luxx, Oli Spleen, Ollie O’Neill, Patrizia Longhitano, and Reece Lyons.

We’ll be hosting some free virtual workshops with poets featured on the album. The first two are linked to a call-out for audio submissions, and the second two will be linked to a call-out for written submissions. For now, you can read more about the project in my latest The State of The Arts column.

The Orlando massacre sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ community. We wanted this album to represent a cross-section of that community and to hopefully provide a valuable contribution to the dialogue. It’s a major landmark for LGBTQ people around the globe and we’re overwhelmed by our poets’ final pieces.

A huge thank you to everybody that’s helped to make this a reality. Stay tuned for more…

Matt’s TSOTA column: Insta sessions have kept me afloat

on April 3, 2021April 5, 2021

This month’s spoken word column for The State of The Arts reflects on nearly a year of weekly Insta sessions, and how they’ve been one of the few things keeping Matt Abbott afloat during the pandemic. You can read it here.

Matt’s TSOTA column: Poetry in a post-COVID world

on March 1, 2021March 1, 2021

As we approach the one-year anniversary that absolutely nobody wanted, Matt’s latest column for The State of the Arts looks at how well poetry is placed to flourish in a post-COVID world. You can read it here.

Matt’s TSOTA column: Poetry in schools

on September 1, 2020September 1, 2020

Following last month’s controversial GCSE poetry row, Matt Abbott looks at the state of poetry in British schools, and how a well-needed change could be on the horizon. Click here to have a read.

Matt’s TSOTA column: Celebrating Yorkshire poetry

on August 1, 2020August 1, 2020

To mark this year’s Yorkshire Day, Matt’s August column for The State of the Arts champions five Yorkshire poets: Toria Garbutt, Kirsty Taylor, Andrew McMillan, Nadine Aisha Jassat and Helen Mort. Click here to read it!

Matt’s TSOTA column: Poetry versus privilege

on July 1, 2020July 1, 2020

This month, Matt Abbott uses his The State of the Arts column to look at how poetry can help us to understand and navigate privilege, and in particular, white privilege. Have a read of it here.

Matt’s TSOTA column: Poetry making a difference

on June 1, 2020July 1, 2020

This month’s column celebrates the BBC’s ‘Make a Difference in poetry’ campaign, which saw 40 poets from around England commissioned to pen something about the lockdown. It also features a quick round-up of other online spoken word poetry activity. Click here to read it!

Matt’s TSOTA column: International Women’s Day 2020

on March 8, 2020July 1, 2020

This month’s ‘LIVEwire’ spoken word poetry column in The State of the Arts sees Matt Abbott shine a spotlight on ten of his favourite female poets, to mark International Women’s Day 2020. Click here to have a read!

Matt’s TSOTA column: Poetry on vinyl

on February 1, 2020July 1, 2020

This month’s ‘LIVEwire’ column follows on from a discussion in Roaring 20s Radio episode two, and looks at the joy of listening to poetry on vinyl – which as you know features two massive Nymphs & Thugs releases. You can read it here.