Click here to hear the audio version of ‘About Remembering What’s Forgotten’.
Remembering What’s Forgotten has launched a new poet in residence opportunity for Leeds-based, emerging poets of black and South Asian heritage who wish to explore and centre lived experience narratives of mental ill health and amplify the importance of racial and social justice.
An eight-week residency, supported by a bursary, the role is open to Leeds residents with lived experience, of all genders and ages, from 18+, to produce an original piece of work.
A collaboration between Synergi-Leeds, Words of Colour, poet, theatremaker and artistic director Khadijah Ibrahiim and Heritage Corner, the project is funded by the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. The Remembering What’s Forgotten poet in residence has been created in response to the over-representation of black and South Asian men detained under the Mental Health Act and as in-patients in psychiatric wards, in Leeds – and nationally.
The poet in residence will be selected by Joy Francis, Remembering What’s Forgotten’s Project Manager and co-founder of the Poets of Colour Incubator for the North of England, and Khadijah Ibrahiim, poet, Artistic Director of Leeds Young Authors and curator of Beyond the Bassline at the British Library (Leeds).
The residency is being supported by Remembering What’s Forgotten project allies New Writing North and Manchester Poetry Library, with support from Touchstone.
The poet in residence will receive a residency induction and have access to a range of narratives, individuals and organisations connected to the Remembering What’s Forgotten programme to inform their work in progress.
Click here to hear the audio version of ‘What the poet in residence will do and what support they will receive’.
Click here to hear about the Virtual Information Session to be hosted on Tuesday 30th July 2024
The poet in residence will be commissioned to produce an original piece of work informed and inspired by the narratives collected for the Remembering What’s Forgotten project.
The successful candidate will receive a residency induction and have access to mentoring, individuals and organisations connected to the Remembering What’s Forgotten 12-month programme to inform their work in progress.
As part of the residency, the poet will receive:
The final commissioned piece will be featured as a legacy poem on the official Remembering What’s Forgotten digital exhibition platform at the end of October 2024.
Click here to hear about the Virtual Information Session to be hosted on Tuesday 30th July 2024
If you’d like to find out more about the Remembering What’s Forgotten poet in residence opportunity and have any questions about the application process, you can book a place on our virtual Information Session for Tuesday 30th July from 1pm-2pm on Zoom. Book your place here.
Click here to hear the audio version of ‘Eligibility’.
For more information, look at our FAQs section below.
Click here to hear an audio version of ‘How to apply’.
Click here to complete the monitoring form.
Submit your CV and examples of your work
Submitting your application
Please email your application and monitoring form to [email protected] using the subject line: ‘RWF poet in residence application’.
DEADLINE: Has been extended to midnight on Wednesday 14th August 2024.
If you need any reasonable adjustments to be made for you to complete the application and/or to attend an interview in person or online, please email [email protected].
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview.
All applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application, but we regret we will be unable to offer feedback on unsuccessful applications.
Please note: We will not view your website as part of this application.
Information Session
If you’d like to find out more about the Remembering What’s Forgotten poet in residence opportunity and have any questions about the application process, you can book a place on our virtual Information Session for Tuesday 30th July from 1pm-2pm on Zoom.
You can find out more about Remembering What’s Forgotten on this website.
Click here to hear about the audio version of ‘Selection process and timeline’.
Applications will be assessed on:
Application timeline – key dates (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Closing date for applications: Has been extended to midnight on Wednesday 14th August 2024.
Interviews conducted: 22nd and 23rd August 2024
Successful and unsuccessful candidates are notified: By Tuesday 27th August 2024
Poet in Residence starts: Week commencing 2nd September 2024
Residency completed: Monday 28th October 2024
Click here to hear the audio version of ‘Why the poetry residency is being launch’.
Remembering What’s Forgotten poet in residence has been co-produced as a creative response to a range of research on mental health inequalities that show:
With regards to the field of poetry, independent reports since 2004 reveal the lack of diversity and inclusion for writers of colour in Britain, including:
The residency allows creative space and development for a poet with lived experience from the groups and communities disproportionately affected and impacted by mental health inequalities.
Click here to hear the audio version of ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Can poets who live outside of Leeds apply?
For this programme, poets must Leeds residents to apply.
Do you have to pay a fee to apply?
No, there is no fee to apply for the Remembering What’s Forgotten poet in residence.
Do you have to be a published poet to apply for the residency?
The residency is for emerging poets with at least two years of poetry practice experience, including live performance such as open mics. If you are unpublished, self published, appeared in an anthology or produced a chapbook you are eligible. You will not be eligible to apply if you have been commissioned by a mainstream or independent publisher to produce a collection of poetry or if you have been commissioned to produce a full performance (40 minutes or more).
What is the time commitment required for the residency?
The residency is organised to be adaptable, including virtual/online meetings. The residency is arranged to enable the poet to have reflection, writing and research time to produce an original piece of work.
Can I apply if I’m a full time or part time student?
Full time or part time students are not eligible for this residency due to already receiving education and learning support and having academic and/or vocational commitments which may put them at a disadvantage on an eight week residency which requires flexibility and a commitment to producing a new piece of work. This residency is an opportunity for an emerging poet to develop and explore an idea to full commission.
What are you looking for from an application?
We are looking for poets who welcome the opportunity to be able to work in a destigmatising way in safe spaces where their lived experience is honoured, having space to engage with the material and produce work through their own lens.
They will also want to develop or build on their community of practice, are willing to connect with the wider community and have a clear interest and commitment to raising awareness of mental health and racial and social justice.
Why is the residency only for black and South Asian candidates?
The primary reasons have been highlighted repeatedly through 40+ years of research showing continued racial disparities and the negative impact of structural and systemic racism and discrimination, which disproportionately impact Black and South Asian men, including:
With regards to the field of poetry, independent reports since 2004 reveal the lack of diversity and inclusion for writers of colour in Britain, including:
The residency enables people from these groups with a variety of lived experience to respond to material and narratives that reflect the cultural and lived experience of the groups disproportionately represented in mental health services.