Award-winning poet, performer and theatre-maker, Leyla Josephine, releases her debut collection of poetry In Public/In Private and embarks on a UK and Ireland tour to promote the work.
In this collection - published by Burning Eye Books on 28 October - Leyla questions the urge to share her inner life publicly, diving into secrets, faith, lust and death without shame.
To celebrate the launch of her first collection, Leyla Josephine will be touring the UK and Ireland in 2022 and early 2023. Performing a selection of the poems live, she will visit Edinburgh, Sheffield, Leeds, London, Belfast, Dublin and more, with a very special live event in her home city of Glasgow at King Tuts. Leyla will be joined at King Tuts on 26 November by poets Ellen Renton, Kevin P. Gilday, Iona Lee and Empress, with music from Niki Rush (PUSH IT) and hosted by Colin Bramwell.
Leyla Josephine
Leyla Josephine commented:
“I’m really excited to be finally releasing a poetry collection. It’s been a long time coming. Covid really allowed me time and space to think about what it means to be writing for page rather than stage. I’m interested in how a poem can act as a gate between a personal, inward experience to a larger collective, public experience. I can’t wait to show you all what I’ve been working on.”
Burning Eye Books commented:
“Leyla has been on our radar for a long time, always a fantastic performance poet who has delivered a jaw-droppingly good debut. We are delighted to have Leyla as part of our 2023 cohort.”
Praise for In Public/In Private
“There is not a poet alive today who writes about the inner lives of women as well as Leyla Josephine. This breathtaking collection teases apart the difference between what is private and what is secret; what we exhibit of love, and what we keep to ourselves and our dreams.” - Jodi Picoult
"Beautiful, uplifting, gutting. I read it from start to finish without a breath." - Hollie McNish
‘Leyla sculpts poetry that bursts off the page, smouldering with sentiment, after fully inhabiting every inch of it.’ - Michael Pedersen
Tour listings
October
Sheffield - Off The Shelf / Sounds About Write, 28th October
Leeds - Chapel FM Arts Centre, 29th October
November
Edinburgh - Push The Boat Out, 6th November
London - The Slaughtered Lamb, 15th November
Southampton - Wire Wool, 16th November
Newcastle - Cumberland Arms collaboration w/Beccy Owen, 18th November
Liverpool - Hidden Poets, 20th November
Galashiels - MacArts Centre, 24th November
Glasgow - King Tuts, 26th November
Ayr - Nurture, 30th November* (*date subject to change)
December
Mull - Mull An Tobar Theatre, 2nd December
Wexford - The Wexford Arts Centre, So Say So, 14th December
Belfast - Word Vomit, 18th December
Dublin - Dublin’s Finest, 21st December
January
Lismore - Lismore Heritage Centre, 5th January
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