Poetry Champion of Bedfordshire

Poetry Champion of Bedfordshire

Deb-Ra / Naz Knight- Poetry Champion of Bedfordshire, Word Mechanic, Energy Artist, Kemetyu Holistic Health Practitioner, CEO Of Queen's Award winning and Luton's longest serving community interest company NINE RED Presents... (CIC)(QAVS 2016) and a Human Being in a constant state of Evolving.

Poetry Together

It's no secret that poetry has a magical power to connect hearts and souls. Gyles Brandreth, a man of letters and a keen poetry enthusiast, envisioned this power of togetherness through poetry. He initiated the Poetry Together project, and now, it's taking root across the country with the help of passionate Poetry Champions. One such champion is Debra Knight, Bedfordshire's very own Poetry Champion. An interdisciplinary artist, whose practice is comprised of the exploration of the contrasting yet interconnected elements of light, projection, sound, energy, emotion, frequency and movement to transform and connect people and spaces, using poetry that delivers messages across all levels of awareness.

Poetry Together Event 2024

Poetry Together Workshops 2024 As Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire, I am delighted to invite you to the special Poetry Together Workshops 2024 event at Central Hall Westminster on 11th November. It promises to be a...
Find Out More "Poetry Together Event 2024"

Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire

    Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire, Debra Knight LL.B(Hons) In 2001, Debra/Nzinga Knight, CEO of NINE RED Presents (NRP)…(CIC), took her personal struggles and transformed them into a force for good. Coming from a place...
Find Out More "Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire"

Bedfordshire Together

Hey there, Bedfordshire!   I hope this message finds you well. As the Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire, in collaboration with the Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Susan Lousada, I want to introduce you to a project called...
Find Out More "Bedfordshire Together"

Books & Publications

  A Love Story To Luton (Because Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder.) Naz Knight was born, raised and made in Luton and is first-generation British-born Caribbean.  The Collateral Beauty Series launched on...
Find Out More "Books & Publications"

Poetry Together Event 2024

Poetry Together Workshops 2024


As Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire, I am delighted to invite you to the special Poetry Together Workshops 2024 event at Central Hall Westminster on 11th November. It promises to be a wonderful day, celebrating poetry – together. 

There is limited availability and bookings will be taken on a first come first serve basis.

Please complete the Poetry Together Workshops 2024 booking form below to reserve your attendance and indicate your workshop preferences.

 

Event Booking

Event Details


Times & Location 

 

 

Arrival time

There are two arrival time options; 9.30am-2pm and 10.15am -2.45pm.

We will be offered either.

 

Location

Central Hall Westminster

Storey’s Gate

London

SW1H 9NH

The nearest tube stations are St. James’s Park and Westminster.

Workshop details

Additional details

 

Lunch

Please bring a nut-free packed lunch which can be eaten on the main concourse. 

Special assistance

If anyone in your group needs step-free access, please email femail@artundefined.co.uk.  Some seated places are available for lunch for older guests or children who would benefit from a quieter space. Please email in advance to reserve this.  

Photo permissions

Press and a photographer will be there on the day. If anyone within your group does not have photo permissions, please let me know so I can inform the Poetry Together team. 

Workshop Details

Applying to perform

 

Over 70’s and under 18’s have the opportunity to apply to perform on stage in the Great Hall at the event. This can be as a group or solo with any poem.

Performances with the following criteria will be considered as part of our competition. Queen Camilla, one of our early supporters, is hoping to hear the poems of some of our winners.

  • Solo younger or older performers
  • A younger and older person performing together as a duet
  • Reciting original poems on this year’s theme of ‘friendship’

Please let me know if you would like to apply to perform.

Workshop Details

The Hosts


The Workshops


Steven Camden aka Polarbear

Internationally acclaimed spoken word artist, award winning author, poet and storyteller from Smethwick, near Birmingham.

Workshop: Join Steven for an interactive workshop about how to remove the pressure of writing and zoom in on a moment to create poems and stories full of emotion and detail.

Laura Mucha

Laura Mucha is an ex-lawyer turned poet and Author-in-Residence in the Department of Public Health & Primary Care, University of Cambridge.

Workshop:  Join poet Laura Mucha to come up with ideas, cowrite and edit a poem about how our minds work. By the time you leave, you will have a much better idea of what writing
and editing poetry is all about – and hopefully also, the human mind! And you will have helped
write a finished poem!

Joseph Coelho

Joseph Coelho OBE is a best-selling, multiaward winning children’s playwright and author of over 45 books.

Join Joseph Coelho as he shares
some fun and simple ways of creating a poem using a range of different poetic devices from metaphors to similes from lines of alliteration to verse fizzing with onomatopoeia. This will be a fun and dynamic session accessible to all.

Coral Rumble

Coral is a popular poet and performer, who won the prestigious ‘Caterpillar Poetry Prize’ in 2018. Her collection, Riding a Lion’, was shortlisted for the North Somerset Teachers’ Book Awards, 2020, and she won the ‘Spark! School Book Awards’, 2023, with her collection, ‘Things That Should Be in a Poem’. Her verse novel, ‘Little Light’, was shortlisted for a UKLA Award, 2023. She has had 5 poetry collections published, alongside other books. Her debut novel for children, ‘Jakub’s Otter’, is out now!

Workshop: YOU’VE BEEN FRAMED! Get your thoughts racing and your words pacing, as you dig up days gone by and sketch out the memories. Enjoy the time and space to revisit important moments, as drawing and words work together.

Matt Goodfellow

Matt is an award-winning poet from Manchester. He was supposed to be a rock star but wasn’t very good at it. He worked as a primary school teacher for over 10 years before embarking on his poetry career 

Workshop: Poetry as Rebel Writing – explore why poetry doesn’t follow the same rules as any other kind of writing and why accent and dialect can allow you to express your thoughts, feelings and idea in ‘your voice’ .

Claire Dyer

Claire Dyer is Poetry Consultant to the Council of the SWWJ, Reviews Co-ordinator for Two Rivers Press, has an MA in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway, University of London and is represented by Broo Doherty at DHH Literary Agency. 

Workshop: ‘Line by Line: let’s build a poem about friendship. This workshop is designed to celebrate both poetry and friendship. In it we will look at and discuss some poems about friendship, and build an 8 line poem line by line which hopefully some of the participants will be willing to share by reading their poem out loud.

 

 

Poetry Together Workshops 2024 – Booking Form

My Life In Words...

Welcome to my world of words, where freedom takes shape on the blank canvas of a page. Writing is my sanctuary, my place of solitude where I define my boundaries and embrace the liberty to be unapologetically myself. It is within these lines that I craft an escape, inviting you to journey alongside me, seeking solace from the chaos of the world. Through my words, I do not evade my thoughts; instead, I confront them, seeking understanding and losing myself within the intricate tapestry of my mind.

Girl In A Box

Girl in a Box A 2018 project to explore the contracting yet interconnected elements of light, projection, sound and movement to transform and connect people... Read My Mind "Girl In A Box"

My Life In Words

  My Life In Words   In the realm of poetry, Debra Knight stands as a champion, her verses weaving together tales that resonate with... Read My Mind "My Life In Words"

Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire

 

 

Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire, Debra Knight LL.B(Hons)

In 2001, Debra/Nzinga Knight, CEO of NINE RED Presents (NRP)…(CIC), took her personal struggles and transformed them into a force for good. Coming from a place of social phobia, depression, and anxiety due to experiences with domestic and sexual violence, she found solace in the sanctuary of her home. She embraced the healing power of the arts, expressing her journey through poetry, spoken word, dance, and visual art, and in doing so, she touched the hearts of many. 

 

As her popularity grew, others approached Debra, seeking her guidance in using art as a tool for healing. Thus, the philosophy of NINE RED Presents…(CIC) was born. Debra reminisces about the origin of Nine Red, a question posed to her after hearing her story of abuse, “What do you do after something like that happens?” With a smile, a laugh, and unshakeable resilience, she replied, “Get a job in a casino!”

 

NINE RED Presents…(CIC) was born from a place of unity, a place where people of different backgrounds, cultures, religions, and nationalities not only worked together but played together. A place where fun and fellowship reigned.

 

Debra Knight poetically described it as, “At the edge of a high street, by a bridge with a ball, there is a place on earth, where numbers fall…”

 

Today, NINE RED Presents… (CIC) is a celebrated, Queen’s Award-winning community interest company. It’s a vibrant collective of artists who transform spaces and change people’s lives with their thought-provoking designs and art medicine.

 

Debra is thrilled to be Bedfordshire’s Poetry Champion, promoting poetry not just as an art form but as a means to promote well-being and recovery from trauma.

 

Bedfordshire Together

 


“What do you do after something like that happens?” She replied, “Get a job in a casino!”

“At the edge of a high street, by a bridge with a ball, there is a place on earth, where numbers fall. Within that space where fate resides, NINE RED Presents…(CIC), came alive.

Naz Knight

Upcoming Events

12pm – 3pm

Monday’s

Poetry Together – Poetry Workshops

Wardown House Museum & Gallery

10am  – 2pm

Weekends

Bedfordshire Together – Pilgrim’s Poetry Walks

The Bunyan Trail across Bedfordshire


I close my eyes and in my mind, I see whispers of colours and hear rainbows of sound.

– Naz Knight

Words Chose Me

My creative practice “Words Chose Me” is forged through understanding the historically interconnected nature of medicine and the arts, by exploring and healing emotions through combining poetry therapy, creative craft and art therapy, and the movement therapy branches of expressive art therapies.

I am an interdisciplinary artist whose practice explores the contrasting yet interconnected elements of light, projection, colour, sound, and movement to transform and connect people and spaces. I use poetry to deliver messages across all levels of awareness.

The multidimensional nature of my approach is forged from my life experience as an INFJ empath with low-latent inhibition and a brain process whereby emotions, energy, light, projection, colour, sound and movement are all the same to me.

Combining the ancient traditions with expressive arts of poetry, narrative psychology, and movement as therapy, my work emphasizes healing and is transformative for both people and space. It attempts to create feeling spaces and explore what it is to be human, going beyond superficial differences and artificial labels such as colour, race, religion, gender, age, ability, etc, instead focusing on compassion, empathy, appreciation and joy, from which healing naturally occurs.

 

Bedfordshire Together

Connect with me

 

Contact Me

femail@artundefined.co.uk

whatsapp (text only): 07881 705 719

artundefined.com

Email Me

 

My Life In Colour

A captivating collection of poetry that vividly portrays the experiences of being a black female born in the vibrant town of Luton. Through her powerful verses, Naz delves into the rich diversity of Luton, where individuals from various backgrounds grew up together, painting the community in vibrant hues. The poems eloquently explore the legacy of mass migration, unfulfilled promises, and the enduring impact of historical discrimination, shedding light on the interconnected relationship between identity, heritage, and the human experience. The art celebrates the town's stories, memories and experiences.

Girl In A Box

Girl in a Box A 2018 project to explore the contracting yet interconnected elements of light, projection, sound and movement to transform and connect people and spaces, using poetry that... Experience Kemetic (Black) Heritage "Girl In A Box"

Luton Celebrates….

Luton Celebrates... The "Luton Celebrates..." project ran from 2016 - 2018. The programme was a multifaceted initiative designed to honour and celebrate the rich history and cultural significance of Luton.... Experience Kemetic (Black) Heritage "Luton Celebrates…."

My Life In Colour

My Life In Colour A captivating snapshot of poetry, exhibitions, events and art that vividly portrays the experiences of being a black female born in the vibrant town of Luton.... Experience Kemetic (Black) Heritage "My Life In Colour"

Bedfordshire Together

Hey there, Bedfordshire!


 

I hope this message finds you well. As the Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire, in collaboration with the Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Susan Lousada, I want to introduce you to a project called Bedfordshire Together. This initiative aims to bring our communities together through the power of poetry and walking.

The therapeutic benefits of walking, talking, and creating are well-documented. Through this project, we aim to foster togetherness across generations, cultures, traditions, mindsets, realms, and ideals by creating poetry that is transformative for people, places, and spaces.

Bedfordshire Together

By collaborating with various organizations and services throughout Bedfordshire, our goal is to produce high-quality events that highlight the unity within our diversity, showcasing the collective voice of Bedfordshire.

In conclusion, Bedfordshire Together is an exciting and transformative project, and we hope that you will join us in making it a success. Together, we can create something truly special that brings our communities together and celebrates all that Bedfordshire has to offer.

Thank you for your time, and we hope to hear from you soon.

meet your champion

Debra Knight

Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire

Volunteering Opportunities

Are you ready to dive into some volunteer fun? We’re on the hunt for eager helpers to join our award-winning squad! Whether it’s you or someone you know, we’ve got exciting roles waiting.

Let’s rally the troops and make this community project shine. Join us and be part of the Queens Award-winning team.

Email Me

We Want You To Be Part Of The Movement

We’re on the lookout for fellow adventurers! If you or someone you know is up for some poetic strolls, give us a holler. Join us for our walking workshops where we blend poetry with steps, creating masterpieces amidst stunning views. After a few hours of wandering and writing, you’ll leave with newfound poetry prowess and a bunch of crafted verses.

Email Me

Budding Poet? Want A Chance To Shine

Join us for a poetry workshop or host one with us, to foster creativity and expression.

Connect with others, share thoughts, and create beautiful verses in a fun and inspiring environment.

Let’s create something magical together.

Email Me

Poetry Together

How Bedfordshire Together Began

 

Poetry Together is the brainchild of author, broadcaster, and poetry fanatic, Gyles Brandreth, who is working with Poetry Champions across the country to promote creating poetry together.

Bedfordshire’s Poetry Champion Debra Knight will launch Bedfordshire’s Poetry Together Campaign at Wardown House, Museum & Gallery on June 30th. at 12 noon.

At an intimate gathering Debra will open the programme with a Poetry workshop entitled “Internity: In The Beginning Was The Word!”

This engaging workshop combines the art of poetry with Cymatic and Solfeggio frequencies, ancient storytelling traditions, and narrative psychology to explore the profound influence of sound and words on our emotions, bodies, and surroundings.

Debra, an interdisciplinary artist, practitioner, C.E.O of Queen’s Award Winning social enterprise NINE RED Presents… (CIC) and Poetry Champion for Bedfordshire, will lead this unique workshop. She will utilize her transformative approach, which integrates light, colour, projection, sound, aromatherapy, and movement with the powerful medium of poetry to convey messages at multiple levels of awareness.

 

Store

The store is closed for maintenance