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A special project for Contains Strong Language at Hull 2017, Talking Doorsteps is a spoken word exchange connecting poets in Hull and Trindad, inviting them to create work on the idea of ‘home’. We hear from Trinadad-based poets Alex Stewart and Seth Sylvester, and Joe Hakim, a Hull native who reads a poem inspired by his trip to Trinidad – his first ever trip abroad. Talking Doorsteps is a partnership between The Roundhouse, Wrecking Ball Press and the Bocas Lit Fest, the British Council and the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ. You can find out more about the project

The award-winning US poet Michael Dickman reads a brand new poem called ‘Hotel Days’, which examines the strange language world of the hotel. Dickman explains that the poem was inspired by his ambivalence towards hotel rooms, and says they often make him think of Philip Larkin’s poem ‘High Windows’.  Michael’s latest collection is ‘Brother’ (Faber), written with his brother Matthew Dickman.

Bohdan Piasecki is a poet from Poland now living in Birmingham. He is one of the ‘Hull 17 poets’, and as part of ‘Hull Gada’ he has been working with the Polish community in the city, engaging passers-by in conversation, and turning their stories and comments into poems. These ‘found language’ poems are now on display in the Princes Quay Shopping Centre. Bohdan bravely accepts our challenge to create a brand new poem during the show - using the language of our Verb guests.

Orbita is a creative collective of Latvian poets writing in Russian, who use multi-media as an integral part of their performance.  They performed ‘Slow Show’ as part of ‘Contains Strong Language’ - poems heard against the sonic backdrop of music tuned through thirty radios. Sergej Timofejev and Artus Punte from Orbita perform Sergej’s poem ‘Man and Woman’, accompanied by two radios, and by our very own Ian McMillan who reads an English translation.