Tag Archives: @creativefutureuk

Minx in the Guardian

I’m super excited to announce that Minx has made it into the pages of the Guardian newspaper as one of Rishi Dastidar’s ‘Best Poetry of 2025’. Here’s what Rishi had to say about her… ‘Karen Downs‑Barton’s debut /Minx/ (Chatto & Windus) was similarly eye-catching, unsparingly detailing both the poet’s time in the care system, and theContinue reading “Minx in the Guardian”

i Newspaper Article

Did you know that November is National Care Leavers month? It wasn’t well publicised but as an in-and-out resident of state childcare I was delighted to contribute this article to the i newspaper. I hope it goes some way to raising awareness of the changes taking place for young people in care and how simpleContinue reading “i Newspaper Article”

Minx at Edinburgh International Book Festival

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 newContinue reading “Minx at Edinburgh International Book Festival”

Appearing at Edinburgh International Book Festival

I’m excited to announce that I’ll be appearing at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on Thursday August 14th. The theme this year is ‘Repair’ and as ever I’ll be coming at this thought provoking title in a minxy way, through concepts of belonging. This will be the first time I’ve taken Minx on a roadContinue reading “Appearing at Edinburgh International Book Festival”

Performing Poems from Minx

At last BBC radio 4’s The Verb featuring me reading poems from Minx is available on BBC iPlayer. It was a delight to be able to share the poems live, talk about areas where poetry meets performance in diverse settings and through diverse concepts of what a poem can be. The poetry/performance interface included poetryContinue reading “Performing Poems from Minx”

Minx featured on Louise Wilford’s Showcase

I was honoured to be invited to be interviewed by Louise Wilford for her literary blog recently. There were questions that took us to some wonderfully diverse areas including portable writing spaces, cocktail alchemy, how to ‘get into poetry’, plus of course sharing poems from Minx and how they came into being. The interview isContinue reading “Minx featured on Louise Wilford’s Showcase”

Launch Day

I’m sending out a massive ‘Thank You’ to all the lovely people who came to @lrbbookshop on Tuesday evening to celebrate #Minx and launch her into the world.

Minx is a Dainty Dish at Foyles

I was having a day out in London and popped into Foyles for some essential browsing and bookish sustenance in their cafe and who should I see cheekily sitting on a table in the poetry department? Minx! She was in great company next to Anthony Joseph, Lemn Sissay and a bevvy of other poetic wanderers.Continue reading “Minx is a Dainty Dish at Foyles”

Step Lightly Between the Wild Flowers

Just 10 days until my little Minx steps past the early ransoms, crocuses and last of the snowdrops, pushes open the doors of bookshops and finds new homes with poetry lovers. I’ve enjoyed hearing where her imminent arrival is being spoken about. I have been sent a copy of a books roundup by Tina Gaisford-WallerContinue reading “Step Lightly Between the Wild Flowers”