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© Ingrid Pollard

Jackie Kay

JACKIE KAY is the author of the memoir Red Dust Road as well as several critically acclaimed poetry collections—including The Adoption Papers (winner of the Scottish Arts Council Book Award), Off Colour (shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize), and Life Mask (a Poetry Book Society Recommendation)—almost all of which were collected in Darling: New & Selected Poems. Her first novel, Trumpet, won the Guardian Fiction Prize and was shortlisted for International Dublin Literary Award. A former National Poet of Scotland, she has also written several plays and children's books. She lives in Manchester, England.

Books

FROM THE PAGE: Bessie Smith

Excerpted from Bessie Smith: A Poet’s Biography of a Blues Legend by Jackie Kay   There are some people whose voices ring out across the centuries, who, even after they have gone, possess a strange ability to still be effortlessly here. Bessie’s voice has that quality. Unsettled most of her life, she still unsettles. Try

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International Jazz Day 2020

During these increasingly uncertain times, people are turning more to the arts to try and alleviate stress and cope with the world around them. While music generally has the ability to reduce anxiety and fight depression, certain genres such as jazz have also acted historically to promote peace, dialogue among cultures, and respect for human rights

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