The Art:Up Continues!

Art:Up Poetry – Radical Islands

Thursday 13th November
6.00pm (doors open 5pm)

Hot Box
28 Viaduct Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1TS

We are delighted to be involved in the Art:Up! project, a joint initiative between the University of Essex, Waxes Lyrical at HotBox in Chelmsford, Poetry Plus in Manningtree, Boho Banter in Clacton-On-Sea and Essex Book Festival.

The theme for this leg of the tour is Radical Islands, linking in with Essex Book Festival’s Radical Islands project. You can pen a poem by yourself or collabrate. If you want to collaborate and have a collaborator then great, if you need to find a collaborator then drop poetry@hotboxlive.co.uk a line in the first instance and they will get the ball rolling.

When thinking about the word Island, it can be one of the 35 islands around the Essex coastline, or maybe Mesopotamia Island in Chelmsford, let your minds wander.

The Art:Up! project which is is part of “The Being Human Festival, the U.K.’s Festival of the Humanities” was launched at the University’s Art Exchange gallery as part of the 2025 Essex Book Festival.

For the first event Essex (and HOT BOX) poets Ethan Stewart and Babalon Anon launched the open mic show and eco-poet Linden K McMahon headlined. Fifteen poets performed and Babalon Anon commented that “there is no diversity without neurodiversity”.

There will be a book of selected works, and the final showcase event will form part of the 2026 Essex Book Festival.

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Contact Jordan Savage jksava@essex.ac.uk