Jackie Kay has been a trailblazing figure in British poetry for more than three decades. Her new collection, May Day, explores the political dimensions of love and loss in a sequence of elegies for her beloved parents.

May Day casts its eye over decades of political activism, from the Socialism of Jackie’s childhood in Glasgow, through the feminist, LGBTQ+ and anti-racist movements of the 80s and 90s and the continuing fight for racial justice by Black Lives Matter.

It brings to life a cast of Jackie’s personal heroes – Nina Simone, Harry Belafonte, Audre Lorde – alongside tender elegies of grief and love following the loss of her parents. This event will be a wonderful opportunity to spend an evening with one of the UK’s most beloved poets.