Grace Nichols Readings
'Over the past four decades, Grace has been an original, pioneering voice in the British poetry scene...Above all, Grace Nichols has been a beacon for black women poets in this country, staying true to her linguistic coordinates and poetic sensibilities, and offering a means of ex-pression that has offered inspiration and encouragement to many. She is a moving elegist, and a poet of conciliation and constructive dialogue between cultures, but also a voice of questioning dissent when the occasion demands.' - Simon Armitage, Poet Laureate, on behalf of The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry Committee
Born in Guyana, Grace Nichols has lived in Britain since 1977. Her new collection The Tracks of My Name is forthcoming from Bloodaxe Books in November 2026. She has published four previous books with Bloodaxe, Picasso, I Want My Face Back (2009), I Have Crossed an Ocean: Selected Poems (2010), The Insomnia Poems (2017) and Passport to Here and There (2020). She lives with the poet John Agard and family in Sussex.
In March 2022 Grace Nichols was awarded The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry for 2021 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. You can hear her speak about her response to this honour, and read poems from Passport to Here and There, in a very special edition of BBC Radio 3's The Verb recorded in The Queen's Library at Windsor Castle in May 2022. Listen here (Grace features from 21:06)
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Thursday 19 November, 7.30pm
Poetry Club: Grace Nichols
Coronet Theatre, 103 Notting Hill Gate, London W11 3LB
Poetry Club returns to The Coronet Theatre this November to welcome Grace Nichols for a spell-binding evening of poetry, and the UK launch of her new collection The Tracks of My Name (Bloodaxe Books), in collaboration with Renaissance One.
Tickets: £16 (concessions available). More deatils and booking here.
Wednesday 25 November, 7pm GMT (YouTube)
Bloodaxe online launch reading with Helen Farish, Maitreyabandhu and Grace Nichols
Bloodaxe for this launch event for our new November titles. Bloodaxe editor Neil Astley will be joined by Helen Farish, Maitreyabandhu and Grace Nichols. All three poets will be reading live from their new poetry books, followed by a discussion about their work.
This free Bloodaxe launch event will be streamed on YouTube Live on this YouTube page: https://youtube.com/live/p1cB6hjTCeY
[16 June 2022]
