The Dizziness of Freedom / a poetry anthology on mental health, edited by Amy Acre and Jake Wild Hall

 

Fifty of contemporary poetry’s most exciting voices speak out about mental health in this groundbreaking anthology. Edited by Amy Acre and Jake Wild Hall. Foreword by Melissa Lee-Houghton. Supported by Arts Council England.

BUY NOW

Discounted copies available at our upcoming launch events.

Featuring work from Amy Acre, Raymond Antrobus, Mona Arshi, Dean Atta, Joel Auterson, Rob Auton, Dominic Berry, Mary Jean Chan, Sean Colletti, Iris Colomb, Jasmine Cooray, Dizraeli, Caleb Femi, Maria Ferguson, Kat François, Anne Gill, Salena Godden, Jackie Hagan, Jake Wild Hall, Emily Harrison, Nicki Heinen, Gabriel Jones, Anna Kahn, Malaika Kegode, Luke Kennard, Sean Wai Keung, Cecilia Knapp, Melissa Lee-Houghton, Amy León, Fran Lock, Rachel Long, Roddy Lumsden, Katie Metcalfe, Rachel Nwokoro, Kathryn O’Driscoll, Gboyega Odubanjo, Jolade Olusanya, Abi Palmer, Bobby Parker, Deanna Rodger, C.E. Shue, Lemn Sissay MBE, Ruth Sutoyé, Rebecca Tamás, Joelle Taylor, Claire Trévien, David Turner, R A Villanueva, Byron Vincent, Pascal Vine, Antosh Wojcik and Reuben Woolley.

‘This brilliant, inspiring collection not only illuminates the richness and variety of human pain, sexuality and embodiment better than any clinical text, but also shows us what language is for. Rather than labelling and imposing psychiatric categories, words here give a voice to each person’s experience, challenging and questioning what we are supposed to feel, say and be.’ Darian Leader

‘A brave and vital anthology by some of this country’s most exciting voices.’ Rae Earl

‘A vital anthology with too many constellations of brilliant poets and poems to pick out individuals; these are important poems of witness, to one’s own body and mind, to institutions, to society which is failing those who need it most. Ultimately, there is a hope here, whatever the body has endured, whatever the mind has seen, there is still poetry where things might be reported or made sense of, or redeemed.’ Andrew McMillan

‘Packed full of the greatest poetic minds you could ever wish to read, in a moment of need. Anything with Byron Vincent AND Lemn Sissay is a collection worth keeping close.’ Jack Rooke

‘The Dizziness of Freedom is a thought-provoking and challenging take on mental health conditions. It approaches the subject with honesty, providing an important contribution to challenging the stigma around mental health.’ Barbara Keeley, Shadow Minister for Social Care and Mental Health

ATTEND THE LAUNCH EVENTS

20th Sept: Rich Mix, London TICKETS
with Joelle Taylor, Dean Atta, Salena Godden, Byron Vincent & special guests

24th Sept: Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol TICKETS
with Deanna Rodger, Rachel Long, Jolade Olusanya, Kathryn O’Driscoll & special guests, in partnership with Milk Poetry

3rd Oct: Waterstones, Birmingham TICKETS
with Luke Kennard, Mary Jean Chan, Antosh Wojcik, Anne Gill & special guests, in partnership with Verve Poetry Fest

9th Oct: All Saints Church, York TICKETS
with Rob Auton, Jackie Hagan, Kat Francois & Maria Ferguson, in partnership with Say Owt

Saboteur Awards and ‘I am not a silent poet’ – Reuben Woolley

Here’s the link to the Saboteur Awards. You have to vote in at least three categories. A vote for I am not a silent poet in the Wildcard Category from all our readers and members of the associated Facebook group pagewould be more than welcome. Let’s see if we can win this year!

Just to sum up:
I am not a silent poet has received 157,173 hits in just over three years.
It has published over 3,000 poems.
The associated Facebook group page has 5,914 members, but you don’t need to be a member to visit it or to comment on any of the poems and links.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/721114444630517/

It has given a voice to poets of protest against abuse all over the world. I’m not sure I could name a country where it has not been read.

https://www.saboteurawards.org/

If you feel we deserve it, vote for us.

Three-year birthday party of IANASP

I am not a silent poet is 3 years old today.
The magazine has received 143,548 hits.
The Facebook group page has 5,878 members. It’s grown quite a lot from the 50 original members! 
We haven’t done so badly, have we?

Freedom – National Poetry Day

For National Poetry Day, Myriam San Marco and the Word Makers collective want to see as many poems on Freedom published. Reuben Woolley has graciously agreed to this crazy scheme. You can find all the poems, some as far as India, on the I am not a silent poet zine and Facebook group.

People can carry on on sending poems to myriamwordmaker@gmail.com all throughout the day

You crazy bastards by Reuben Woolley

A notice for all those oppressors worldwide. You may flog and incarcerate bloggers in Saudi Arabia, kill innocents in Paris, murder and rape thousands in Nigeria and Syria, attempt the extermination of Palestinians in Gaza, choke and shoot blacks in America, restrict the right to strike in the UK, but we will not be silenced.

You may kill some of us with bullets and whips, but you cannot kill us all. Where one falls to your senseless cruelty, others will rise.

You are right to be frightened of us!

Here I am and here I stay. Fuck you!

An example

This is sickening.

This is an example of one of the things we protest against.

Children ‘working’ in Bangladesh.

http://www.ufunk.net/photos/angels-in-hell/attachment/gmb-akash-angels-in-hell-14/

Introduction

This blogzine welcomes quality poems of protest. I have been seeing such increasing evidence of abuse recently that I felt it was time to do something. I am not a silent poet looks for poems about abuse in any of its forms, colour, gender, disability, the dismantlement of the care services, the privatisation of the NHS, the rape culture are just the examples that come to mind at the moment.

Please send 1 – 6 poems (.doc or doc.x, please (and artwork) for consideration in a single attachment to reubenwoolley52@gmail.com. I will try to respond as quickly as possible. Please remember that I am looking for work of quality. There is a Facebook page which might be a better place for rants (well written ones please).