Poetry & Place, with Ribka Sibhatu, Sam Cox and Joe McQuilken

Part of The Poetry Parnassus UK Tour, produced by Southbank Centre in association with Speaking Volumes and the Reading Agency, funded by Arts Council England

204 of the world's most exciting poets, rappers and spoken word artists are taking part in the Poetry Parnassus at the Southbank Centre in London between 26 June and 1st July 2012, as part of the Cultural Olympiad - making it the largest poetry festival ever staged in the UK.

In July some of these poets will then go on to tour the country, with six events taking place in libraries. On Friday 6th July in Portsmouth Central Library, Eritrean poet Ribka Sibhatu will be appearing alongside Portsmouth Poet Laureate Sam Cox and Portsmouth Young Poet Laureate Joe McQuilken. The event, Poetry & Place will feature readings by all three poets along with a discussion about sense of place and writing.

Tickets for this event cost £3 (£2 concessions), payable on the door. To reserve tickets in advance please telephone 023 9284 1667 or email dominic.kippin@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.

BIOGRAPHIES

Ribka Sibhatu was born in Asmara, Eritrea, in 1962. Due to the dictatorial conditions at the time, she left her native country and lived first in Ethiopia and then in France. She has lived in Rome since 1996. She holds a doctorate in communications science from La Sapienza University and is an expert on immigration politics as well as the Eritrean Folk Tradition. In 1993 she published a bilingual books of poems and stories based on her life experience, which is entitled Aulò, Songs and Poems from Eritrea (Sinnos). In 2004, Sibhatu published The Missing Citizen (EDUP), a critical work that analyses the Italian media's representations of immigrants. Some of her poems are collected in the anthology Ali and Other Stories' (RAI Broadcasting 1998), as well as a number of other publications. A collection of Eritrean folk stories, The Exact Number of Stars is forthcoming from Sinnos in February 2012. She is the subject of Aulò, a documentary by Simone Brioni.

Sam Cox was born in Stratford, site of the London 2012 Olympic Stadium, and is the second Portsmouth Poet Laureate. A former deputy head at Charter Academy, Sam still teaches three days a week in Essex, spending the rest of her week back in Portsmouth. Mostly a performance poet, Sam considers her work as theatre pieces, often including percussion and other music in a performance.

Portsmouth born and bred, Joe McQuilken attended King Richard's School in Paulsgrove and is now at Havant College, where alongside studying he helps to run fortnightly poetry classes. He is keen to use his position as Portsmouth's first Young Poet Laureate to help spread the word of poetry, already appearing at the Wychwood Festival in Gloucestershire as well as schools and events around Portsmouth itself.