Deborah Alma reads from her new book Dirty Laundry
Waterstones, Birmingham
Tuesday May 29th 7pm
FREE
Okay, so it's going to help you to know that we are avowed fans of the mighty Deborah Alma and her alter ego, The Emergency Poet. The suspicion is that Debora Alma has a number of alter ego's. At least she accomplishes so much more with her same 24 hours a day we all have, we wonder how she does it. Way too embarrassed to ask.
Her newest book, Dirty Laundry from Nine Arches press is available now, and as part of the promo thing, you can see and hear Deborah and buy her book on Tuesday 29th of May at Waterstones in Birmingham.
The poems Dirty Laundry collects stack up bold for sure. Deborah was born in North London, and Dirty Laundry's work evokes her mixed-race childhood and the pit pony persistence she's drawn upon to survive and flourish. Dirty Laundry is frank and unafraid, it's fun and it's fearless. It traces her long and winding road from NW10 to the North Shropshire hills through discovery and sometimes sexual rediscovery, to a place where, well, seems like everything was leading up to now. There's brio, and there's unadulterated joy. And this moment is maybe the best.
In 2017 Deborah edited the critically acclaimed and award winning, #MeToo: A women’s poetry anthology (Fair Acre) the proceeds were donated to Women's Aid. Amanda Palmer said, "I can’t think of anything more inspirational or powerful for a poetry anthology."
Meanwhile back on the Welsh borders, Deborah Alma, while you're lolling around will be teaching a creative writing class, working with people with dementia and concocting Emergency Poet prescriptions in her 1970’s ambulance. Previously she edited The Emergency Poet-an anti-stress poetry anthology and The Everyday Poet-Poems to Live By (Michael O’Mara Books) and was the editor of the aforementioned landmark #MeToo poetry anthology, published by Fair Acre Press. Her first poetry pamphlet True Tales of the Countryside was published by The Emma Press.
Dirty Laundry is available now clean up crew, Get it.
Dirty Laundry at Nine Arches Press
The Emergency Poet Website
Emergency Poet Interview / Outsideleft