I’m excited to share that next week I’ll be at #EdBookFest, in conversation with the lovely Shasta Hanif Ali about what it means to belong, and how exploring belonging is at the core of Minx. Expect the unexpected in this conversation that looks at the quirks of language, mining archives for rootedness, and creating new spaces on the page for untold stories.
Karen Downs-Barton is an award winning poet. Minx, her first collection, is published by Chatto and Windus, Penguin Random House in March 2025. Her pamphlet, Didicoy, won the 2022 International Book and Pamphlet Competition and was the Poetry Book Society recommended pamphlet 2023. Her writing incorporates experimental form and multilingualism alongside lyric pieces exploring an Angloromani heritage, times in state child care, and in diverse occupations including a magician's assistant. Karen has appeared on BBC Radio 4's The Verb, Ledbury Literature Festival, and is currently touring, promoting Minx. Karen gained a Doctorate in Creative Writing from King's College, London and is a regular workshop facilitator for Creative Future UK. Follow her on social media at: @downsbarton Instagram, @karendownsbarton.bsky.social View more posts
Karen Downs-Barton