Arts
To celebrate National Poetry Day’s 25th anniversary, join actor and poet Jade Anouka as she reads and discusses her favourite poems, and the lines of poetry that speak truth to her. Well-known for various screen and stage roles, Jade has starred in ITV dramas including Trauma and Clearing Up, and Phyllida Lloyd's all-female Shakespeare trilogy, starring as Mark Antony in Julius Caesar, Hotspur in Henry IV, and Ariel in The Tempest. Sharing and discussing poems including A Litany for Survival by Audre Lorde, And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou and her own poem My Body Is Mine, she explores how poetry allows her the freedom to express herself, and the power of language in allowing us to feel emotions. Touching upon how poetry inspires conversation between generations of women, she discusses gender, identity, and the pressures and responsibilities she faces in expressing herself as a black female poet. Tell Me The Truth About Life: A National Poetry Day Anthology, curated by Cerys Matthews, is published by Michael O’Mara Books. Share poems that speak a truth to you via Twitter using #TellMeTheTruthAboutLife.