Surbiton POP! Talks: Say It With Pride
ABOUT
Surbiton POP! Talks: a series of informative, fun and engaging talks created as part of our community outreach programme at Surbiton High School - aimed at students, teachers, parents, alumni and indeed anyone at all with a thirst for thinking and a curiosity for the world around us. POP! Talks is a not-for-profit initiative and any proceeds go towards local community projects.Say It With Pride
Thursday 24 November, 7.00 - 8.45pm
Hosted live on Microsoft Teams with Stuart Bird
ANNOUNCED SPEAKERS:
Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at Hertford College Oxford, and the author of This Is Shakespeare (2019).
If you’re bored of Shakespeare, think again – thanks to Emma Smith, he is coming back to life.
Emma Smith is one of the world’s leading voices on Shakespeare. Her books are a knockout, approaching centuries old texts with a vital, urgent vibrancy that instantly render each play utterly relevant. To read ‘This is Shakespeare’ makes you want to re-read The Bard all over again, and - in the case of those who have never previously enjoyed reading Shakespeare – his work is at once demystified and yet made even more magical in context of our modern world.
Any student of Shakespeare – and that is every secondary school student in the country – could benefit from listening to the illuminating insights of Emma Smith. Much Ado, Twelfth Night, Othello, Romeo & Juliet – all can be laid bare by her unrivalled and unexpected readings.
Shivanee Ramlochan, Poet, arts reporter, blogger, legend
Shivanee is an Indo-Trinidadian poet & deputy editor of The Caribbean Review of Books. She will talk about what it means to grow up as a gay girl in the Caribbean. [Spoiler alert: it’s tricky to say the least]
Hot off the plane from the Singapore Literature Festival, she will also discuss her upcoming work of non-fiction, Unkillable – an exploration of how a writer addresses and expresses their queer self through the dangerous, the provocative and the unashamedly taboo.
Dominic Leonard, Poet, and something of a film buff
Dominic Leonard’s punchy pamphlets, love, bring myself (2019) and Dirt (2021) have been published by Broken Sleep: ‘A press where community action, inclusivity, and innovation are at the forefront.’
He won an Eric Gregory Award in 2019 and the Oxford Poetry Prize in 2022.
Dom is fascinated by how the edges of a form are what define a form. He will imaginatively explore limit and definition in poetry and films.
Christian Hewgill, Sports reporter & the unmistakable voice of BBC Newsbeat.
Christian is a presenter and reporter for radio and tv. Named as one of ’30 under 30 to watch’, he was nominated as Best New Presenter at the ARIAS (radio’s equivalent of the Oscars). News, sport, F1, football you name it! Chris will be discussing what it means to be a gay football fan and his role in establishing and promoting gay football fan clubs. A fascinating perspective with the World Cup starting in Qatar this week!