Saturday 13 February

1pm - 2.30pm

WE FOUND LOVE IN THE ‘80S: HIDDEN LOVE LGBTQI+. FILM SCREENING AND PANEL DISCUSSION

Film screening provided via a link followed by a Zoom Panel Discussion

Acclaimed Wolverhampton artist Dawinder Bansal and musician Martyn Ware - founder of The Human League and Heaven 17 - celebrate couples who found love in the 1980s in a film and photo archive project called ‘We found LOVE in the ‘80s’.

The film and online archive feature a range of couples and there will be a focus on hidden love and often forbidden gay relationships.

Following the screening a panel discussion will be chaired by Dr Ranjit Khutan (Head of Public Health Department at Wolverhampton University) discussing the creation of this project with Dawinder Bansal and its role in healing British communities in a contemporary context through a lens of love, relationships and adversity. We will also discuss AIDS epidemic and the impact of Section 28 and Margret Thatcher’s attack on the Queer community during this time.

Joined by Birmingham locals Helen & Deirdre, who feature in the film, will discuss their 25-year relationship and how they navigated the 80’s as a bi-racial couple whilst also exploring and coming to understand their own sexuality, often found in literature and books in secret bookshops for gay people.

Tickets: £10 (+ booking fee)

2pm – 3pm

ASHLEE: PERSERVING CULTURE IN WRITING

Online Explore the cultural significance of preserving heritage in artistic pieces. Based on her own experiences creating plays around culture within the Caribbean diaspora, she will also examine the micro and macro challenges faced when transcribing history and staying true to traditions.

Tickets: £5 (+ booking fee)

3pm - 4pm

PUNJABI WOMEN GROUP

Online Dedicated to Punjabi Women in Wolverhampton and ran by Kuli Kohli. Over the last couple of years they have had successful writing workshops and local performances in Wolverhampton and Ironbridge that have sparked up a lot of interest.

Tickets: £5 4pm – 5.30pm

ASHLEE: CHARACTER BUILDING WORKSHOP

Online Whether you’re a playwright, poet, seasoned wordsmith or occasional writer, character development is often one of the hardest aspects in storytelling. Join Ashlee in her immersive workshop designed to build your concepts into relatable, three-dimensional characters for both the page and the stage.

Ashlee Elizabeth-Lolo is a writer, broadcaster and youth facilitator hailing from Birmingham. She has written pieces for/worked with arts organisations including The Birmingham Rep, National Theatre and Beatfreeks. Her work focusses on themes such as culture, identity, and generational patterns. She also hosts a weekly show on Switch Radio which focusses on community, care, and creative sectors in the UK.

Tickets: £10 (+ booking fee)

7pm - 8pm

SATHNAM SANGHERA: EMPIRELAND CHAIR BY NATSHA JUNEJO

Zoom

Sathnam Sanghera, Wolverhampton born author and columnist will be in conversation with Natasha Junejo, founder of #SouthAsianWriter to discuss latest book Empireland: How Imperialism has Shaped Modern Britain.

Join us to celebrate the release of Sathnam latest book which focuses on exploring Britain’s Imperial Past and how this has shaped all aspects of our current society. The book covers how British empire has influenced everything from the foundation of the NHS, to our racism, to our economic status and our wealth.

Sathnam, with Natasha, will be looking at how imperialism, if we choose to see it or not, is at the centre of the way we think, go about our lives and conduct politics.

This is an event you don’t want

to miss!!

Tickets - £12 (+ booking fee)

7.30pm - 8.30pm

MEMORIES OF THE KIDDERMINSTER MARKET TAVERN

Live Stream Mark Badgeman and Andrew Wolfman's book chronicles the importance of a small music venue, Market Tavern. They'll be talking about how the book was made and expanding on the wild stories with a series of special guests. BBC 6 Music fave, The Humdrum Express, aka singer/songwriter Ian Passey, cut his teeth gigging at the Market Tavern and will make a special appearance to perform a couple of acoustic songs.

Tickets: £3 (+ booking fee)

8pm - 9.30pm

JOELLE TAYLOR & BEN DAVIS

TBC Join Joelle Taylor and Ben Davis as they speak about their journey through poetry.

Joelle, an award-winning poet playwright, author and editor will be sharing her stories of travelling the world with her poetry and giving us an insight into her debut book of short stories ‘The Night Alphabet’. Ben will be joining Joelle in this discussion and sharing how poetry can be adapted for all ages with a few gags along the way.

Tickets: £10 (+ booking fee)

11am

CENTRAL YOUTH THEATRE PRESENT ‘LOVE’

Online Join CYT on a journey through all aspects of ‘Love’ from severn different plays that will be performed exploring love in all its complicated glory. Tickets: £6 (+ booking fee) 11.30am - 1pm

POETRY COMPETITION WINNER SHOW

Zoom Come and join winning and shortlisted poets from this year’s Wolverhampton Literature Festival Poetry Competition. Poets will be meeting on Zoom, on Valentine’s Day and sharing their understanding of the ‘aspects of love’. Tickets: Free 12pm - 1pm

LESLIE SCASE: VICTORIAN CRIME NOVEL

Zoom Meet author Leslie Scase as he explores the world of late Victorian crime and punishment in this illustrated talk, bringing this

fascinating era and subject alive.

Tickets: £5 (+ booking fee)

WRITER HUBS

Zoom Each year, Wolves Lit Fest champions the local writers’ groups who meet across our region. At the 2021 festival, they’ll be sharing their work via Zoom. Pop along, hear what people in your area have been creating, and be inspired to join them yourself!

Boundary Way Project 10.30am Blakenhall Writers 11.30am Bridgnorth Writers 12.30pm Walsall Writers Circle 1.30pm Coachhouse Writers 2.30pm Bilston Writers 3.30pm

Tickets: Free

1pm - 2pm

MEMORY PROJECT PANEL

Zoom The Living Memory Project records and celebrates life stories and personal photography collections from across the Black Country. Founded by artist and filmmaker Geoff Broadway, the project was developing in response to the shift in popular photography where the role of the family album and the personal collection has declined with the rise of the mobile phone and social media.

We will be joined by two project participants who will share their experiences of being involved in the project and the importance of the project.

This three-year project has recorded over 60 life stories, hosted over 120 community sharing sessions, pop up exhibitions, talks and creative workshops, and commissioned a series of new films and artist commissions.

Donations welcome 1.30pm - 3.30pm

VALENTINE’S VERSES

Zoom Join Emma Purshouse and Steve Pottinger for a creative writing workshop designed to get you writing love poetry - whilst avoiding cliche! Have a go at creating a sonnet and a piece of concrete poetry for someone special. Beginners welcome.

Tickets: £10 (+ booking fee)

3pm - 4pm

KULI KOHLI

Online Join local poet Kuli Kohli and Cherry Doyle exploring Kuli’s rise to fame, from her childhood to her journey to publication, and recent international coverage of her life story. Kuli shares some poetry from her pamphley ‘Patchwork’ and her new upcoming collection ‘Wonder Women’.

Tickets: £6 (+ booking fee)