WISE WORDS - 3th-9th March 08 presented by Alternative Arts

WISE WORDS 3-9 March 08 presented by Alternative Arts

RICH MIX, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch E1 6LA. (Tube: Liverpool Street)

TICKETS: 020 7247 2584/info@alternativearts.co.uk

WISE WORDS celebrates International Women’s Week with a diverse line-up of novelists, poets, playwrights, journalists, comics and musicians. The programme presents authors from Africa, America, Bangladesh, Britain and East London.

MARION MOLTENO
Mon 3rd March: 6.30pm. FREE
Marion Molteno, South African author, discusses her novel ‘A Shield of Coolest Air’ (Longstone Books) set among Somali refugees in London.
First published in 1992 to great acclaim this book has been out of print for some years but the issues around asylum seekers that the book raises have not gone away, so Longstone Books are relaunching it. Marion Molteno grew up in South Africa at a time of political conflict and lived for some years in Zambia before coming to Britain. She has pioneered education projects with multi-ethnic communities and is now an adviser on children’s rights to Save the Children.
www.longstonebooks.co.uk. Supported by Get London Reading.

BRAND Literary Magazine
Tues 4th March: 6.30pm FREE
Nina Rapi, Cherry Smyth, Alev Adil, Caroline Smith and Jennifer Farmer invite you to celebrate BRAND, an exciting new literary magazine that specialises in the short form and strong international voices. They publish stories, plays, poems, non-fiction and art work, see www.brandliterarymagazine.co.uk. Nina Rapi is an award winning playwright, short story writer and editor of BRAND. Cherry Smyth is an Irish poet and poetry editor of BRAND who will read from her own work and from Polish and Greek contributors to the magazine. Alev Adil is a poet and contributing editor of BRAND. Caroline Smith is a writer and performer whose one-woman show SPANK is currently on tour in the UK. Jennifer Farmer, a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee is a playwright whose work is performed in theatres and on the radio.
www.brandliterarymagazine.co.uk

CUPCAKE BROWN
Wed 5th March: 6.30pm FREE
African American writer Cupcake Brown arrives from the USA to discuss her memoir ‘A Piece of Cake’ (Transworld Publishers).
From beloved daughter to abused foster child to addict, this is a heart-wrenching true story of a woman who despite everything decided to fight back. Eventually she went to law school and became an attorney for one of the biggest law firms in America. Cupcake now travels widely speaking about her experiences to inspire others to make their dreams come true.
Cupcake Brown’s book tour is co-ordinated by the Well Placed Consultancy www.international-womens-month.co.uk

Tea and cupcakes will be served.
JOOLZ DENBY PLUS
Thurs 6th March: 8.30pm £7/£5 concs.
Apples & Snakes present an evening of pithy & thought provoking performance poetry led by JOOLZ DENBY and featuring MAB JONES and REALITIE with MC Steph Hernandez.
Joolz Denby has been performing professionally for over 20 years appearing regularly at the Edinburgh & Glastonbury Festivals and representing the UK at the Pan-Canadian Wordfest and Vancouver International Writers Festival. Her novel ‘Billie Morgan’ was shortlisted for the Orange Prize in 2005 & her latest collection of poetry & short stories is ‘Pray For Us Sinners’ (Comma Press).
Mab Jones has only just started out. She haphazardly gate crashed a poetry open mike session in 2007 only to find herself in the semi final of the BBC Radio 4 National Poetry Slam. She didn’t win, but was glad of the free drinks, and has decided to carry on enjoying her rock ‘n roll lifestyle.
Josephine ‘Realitie’ Rollings is a poet, teacher and an author. Her works include ‘Diary of a Teenage Boy’ and ‘The Queen Within’. She has won the ‘Word Up’ Slam and the Farrago London Slam and been crowned the best UK Unsigned Poet. www.applesandsnakes.org

WISE WORDS COMEDY NIGHT
Friday 7th March: 8.30pm £10($20)/£8 (16) concs.
NINIA BENJAMIN CHi2 NINA CONTI JO ENRIGHT
SHAPPI KHORSANDI SHAZIA MIRZA
A fantastic line-up of some of the best female comics in the country celebrating comedy writing at it’s most crucial and a couple of Chinese violinists.

NINIA BENJAMIN – one non blonde
Described by the Voice newspaper as the Comedy Assassin, Ninia is certainly not shy in her approach. Her wit and cheeky persona are sure to kill any daring hecklers attempts stone dead. Armed with a big smile, Ninia’s warmth on stage, and off, lets her get away with murder.

CHi2 – Brit-born Chinese violin duo
Liz and Sarah Liew are a dynamic fusion of electric violins and electronic beats. Dubbed as 'double violin assault specialists' CHi2 compose and perform a charismatic blend of 'east meets west' rhythms and melodies with lashings of effects, layered with angelic voices.

NINA CONTI – stand-up ventriloquist
Unusual that a girl with a first class degree in philosophy should have become a stand up comic as a ventriloquist but Nina and her alter ego the monkey have enjoyed terrific success gigging extensively in Britain & the USA.

JO ENRIGHT – lively yet poignant MC
A marvellous mimic, a good character actress and a genuinely funny stand-up comic Jo is tiny, but her performance is huge and she has some devastatingly good material.


SHAPPHI KHORSANDI – warm & witty Iranian comic
Her appealing, slightly ditzy energy creates a fertile environment in which her entertaining collection of brief anecdotes can thrive. That her family fled from the Islamic Republic of Iran provides Shappi with interesting material about the tribulations of being a second generation immigrant.

SHAZIA MIRZA – Britain’s first Muslim comic
About a year into her stand-up comedy career, Shazia gained UK-wide publicity when the world was coming to terms with 9/11. This was because she would perform her act in recognisable hijab dress and begin with the deadpan remark, ‘My name is Shazia Mirza. At least, that’s what it says on my pilot’s licence’. Since then her material has widened to include the everyday with jokes about Primark and Buckingham Palace.

International Women’s Day
WISE WORDS MUSIC NIGHT
Saturday 8 March 8.30pm £10($20)/£8($16) concs.
SARAH JANE MORRIS + La Rouge
A very special celebration concert given by the sensual singer-songwriter SARAH JANE MORRIS who straddles rock, blues, jazz and soul with a goose-bump raising four octave range that rumbles from the toes of her size nine shoes to the tips of her flame-red mane.
Famed for association with the Communards in the mid 80s and infamous for a banned version of the classic ‘Me and Mrs Jones’, Sarah Jane Morris has always attracted as much attention for her politics as for her soul-driven seismic voice. Her latest double CD ‘After All These Years’ is a 34 track compilation celebrating the career of this charismatic, uncompromising woman. www.sarahjanemorris.com.

Plus special short set from LA ROUGE. A very young all girl rock group from East London with an exciting future.

BISHWO SHAHITTO KENDRO
Sunday 9 March: 6.30pm FREE
TAMIMA ANAM, SHAMIM AZAD, LEESA GAZI, KHADIJA RAHMAN.
Bangladeshi women writers from Bishwo Shahitto Kendro (BSK) – the World Literature Centre - celebrate International Women’s Week. Tamima Anam published her first novel ‘A Golden Age’ (John Murray) in 2007 to great acclaim. Set in Bangladesh during the war of independence, the story centres around a widowed mother of two and her struggle to survive. Shamim Azad poet and storyteller has published eight books and also works in education and as a freelance journalist. Leesa Gazi an accomplished performer who has worked as a producer and consultant for Bangla TV and currently directs Drishtipat Creative. Khadija Rahman is an artist, writer and co-ordinator of BSK.


WISE WORDS is produced by Alternative Arts
www.alternativearts.co.uk. 020 7375 0441. info@alternativearts.co.uk

WISE WORDS is supported by Tower Hamlets Council, east, Capitalwoman 2008, Rich Mix, Alternative Arts.