Manchester Histories Festival at Manchester Art Gallery

7th June 2018
The Manchester Histories Festival launch was a great event. I was invited to read my commissioned piece 'Syrinx' next to the painting that inspired it (‘Syrinx’ by Arthur Hacker). And I was surrounded by the paintings targeted in the 1913 Suffragette direct action – a truly atmospheric experience.
Proud to share the evening with marvellous writers Kate Feld, Michelle Green & Maz Hedgehog.
Thank you Manchester Histories Festival!

Edinburgh Book Festival & Fringe 2017

I’m very excited to announce my debut appearance at Edinburgh International Book Festival 2017! The event is ‘Fluid Love’ (with the lovely Jess Richards) on Sunday 27th August.
And that’s not all – I’m headlining at ‘That’s What She Said’ (Bar Bados, 22.8.2017 – voted Top Ten LGBT shows at the Edinburgh Fringe 2017 by Vada Magazine)

She Grrrowls (Black Market, 23.8.2017)
Hammer & Tongue (Banshee Labyrinth, 25.8.2017)
AND
The Freak Circus Poetry Bordello (Woodland Creatures, 10.8.2017)

http://vadamagazine.com/entertainment/arts/top-12-lgbt-shows-edinburgh-fringe-2017

Please check my Gig Page for more details…

I am delighted to announce the launch of ‘As In Judy’ – my new poetry collection with Flapjack Press. It’s my first solo poetry publication since ‘Everything Must Go’ (Holland Park Press 2012). I’m really excited.

I wish to express heartfelt gratitude to Char March for her generous editorial input, without which this collection would be far weaker.

And to Ruth Fainlight, for her inspiring suggestion that ‘As In Judy’ would make a great title.

Both John Hyatt and David Hoyle have made blushingly complimentary comments about the poems.

“The reason I love Rosie’s work so much is that she provides food for thought. She addresses issues that need addressing, and imagines the inner and outer landscapes we all inhabit with eloquence and grace. Shed your light, Rosie.” David Hoyle 2016

“You spend all that time trying to understand the world, its family relationships,
friendships, social systems through a serial adventure of episodes mundane and
or memorable. You spend all that time trying to fit into the human. Then, you are
propelled into realisation through a life-threatening disease. Travelling not
outward into the world but inward to the beating heart of the matter, you dive
deep into the DNA. You are the resplendent there. You are the clicking queen of
the insects. When you dress again in flesh and skin, you go amongst the sleeping
humans and new and glittering worlds are left in your wake. Welcome to Rosie!”

John Hyatt 2016

Really pleased to have an interview & feature in The Skinny this month!

It's free to pick up in venues round Liverpool & Manchester during October, or click on the link below and go to 'current issues'.

The Skinny - main website

Just returned from a week on the Isle of Arran, Scotland...

A week spent in the company of wonderful writers such as Gerry Potter, Mel Rees, Stevie Turner, John G Hall, Sarah Miller, Chanje Kunda, Steve Waling, Steph Pike, Anna Percy, Leanne Bridgewater, Charlotte Henson - and so many more I can't list them here!

Peaceful mornings spent sitting at my window in Lamlash, overlooking Holy Isle. I did my morning pages with a pot of coffee, watching the seals swim in to take up position on the rocks.

Everything Must Go Everything Must Go - Holland Park Press, 2012

Read one of the poems here:

A donor’s card

"There’s nothing here that I’ll be needing.
I don’t do souvenirs. No grave-goods,
no grave. No-one will do their back in
digging me a hole; nor have the job

of unpeeling rotten carnations from my marker.
Stretch me out in a place of arc-lights. Open me up.
Reveal my inner workings, the plot twist no-one was expecting.
Let the harvesting commence. May my heart thump love

in the warm nest of another’s ribs, my liver filter
someone else’s happy anniversary, my lungs give voice
to laughter and whistling out of tune at bus stops.
Lay me to rest under the bright faces, the white coats of angels."

Being told you have cancer is a life-changing event. Especially when you are a singer and performer and the diagnosis is throat cancer. Everything Must Go is Rosie Garland’s unflinching perspective on her relationship with the illness.
‘A wry look at what life can do to you, expressed with poetic clarity’ (Bernadette Jodh)
Neither melodramatic nor tearful, it paints vivid pictures, so you can see the waiting room or the ward and feel that you’re joining her on this journey. Rosie is a true performer and this shines through in the poems, which have a dynamic and rhythmic beat, especially when things get tough. Most importantly, she shows how any disease – and cancer especially – attacks your humanity and more specifically your femininity. Yet the way she puts this into words is also uplifting.

“Who is this stranger who crept in and stole my body, and left me with a sack of sticks?”
and
”Throwing up over the consultant when he asks you how you’re feeling.
Throwing up so hard it comes out of your nose.
Acquiring the skill of throwing up accurately.”

You can read each poem on its own, but together they tell the story of a journey. This is a rather rare occurrence in poetry collections and makes Everything Must Go something special.

‘Everything Must Go’
By Rosie Garland
Published by Holland Park Press
RRP £8.99 (paperback)
ISBN 9781907320224

Reviewed by Lynsey Evans in “Book a Poet”

“Wow. ‘Everything Must Go’ is breath-taking in its laid-bare honesty. Rosie Garland’s poems tell of her battle with cancer from the moment she’s told until she receives the news its in remission. It’s not a pitiful or melodramatic narration, or even negative – Rosie expresses her experiences; her initial numbness and shock, her hair loss, her sickness, the wanting to disappear, the hospital, the pain and weakness, the treatment, the loss of her femininity – it’s heart-breaking but Rosie is so strong in her poems that’s it’s somewhat uplifting. My personal favourites from the collection are ‘Camouflage’ and ‘Dignity’. Quite stunning and bought a tear to my eye.
Highly recommended”
Source: http://www.bookapoet.co.uk/book_reviews/book_reviews/august_2012/

Beyond 100 Queer Poems with John McCullough, Rosie Garland & Stanley Iyanu

Saturday 16 July 2022, 6-7pm
Belgrade Theatre, B2
Belgrade Square,
Corporation St, Coventry CV1 1GS

Tickets: £8 / £6 (concs)

The new poetry anthology 100 Queer Poems, published this summer by Vintage and edited by Mary Jean Chan and Andrew McMillan, offers just glimpse of the rich varieties of poets, poetries and histories which might fall under the umbrella of Queer. Here, we go within and beyond the confines of the anthology to present three of our most exciting queer poets – John McCullough, Rosie Garland and Stanley Iyanu.

Livestreamed and BSL interpreted
Age guideline: 14+
https://www.skylinescoventry.co.uk/events/beyond-100-queer-poems/

Mumbai Spoken Fest by Kommune

JioWorld Garden
BKC,
Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051
INDIA

Spoken Fest is a stage for some of the most vibrant voices, poets, storytellers, thespians, lyricists, comedians and musicians to move you, make your heart sink and brim with joy at the same time. At Spoken we see a confluence of personalities, people, and passions. The festival comprises multiple stages, interactive workshops, and engaging master classes.
Over the course of two days, Spoken will shine a spotlight on artists from across the country ~ serving up an eclectic mix of exciting performances in languages as varied as Urdu, Hindi, and English. The experiences are also enhanced with art zones, curated bazaar, and experiential brand interactions.

Rosie Garland will be presenting a workshop: “Strategies for Dealing with Your Inner Critics”
And
A poetry reading!

https://insider.in/spokenfestmumbai2020/event

https://kommuneity.com/mumbai-2020/

Celebrate International Women's Day with Flapjack Press!

Manchester Central Library
St Peter's Square,
Manchester, M2 5PD

5.30pm – 8pm
free event

Join us for an evening of poetry hosted by Rosie Garland ("literary hero" - The Skinny).
With performance from award-winning poets, playwrights and spoken word artists Cathy Crabb, Sarah Miller, Anna Percy, Melanie Rees & Geneviève L. Walsh.

Doors open 5.30pm for a 6pm start, 8pm finish.

Free entry. Refreshments provided.

Presented by Flapjack Press in association with Manchester Library & Information Service
www.flapjackpress.co.uk

Verbose

Fred’s Ale House
843 Stockport Road
Levenshulme,
Manchester M19 3PW

Free event
doors are at 7.30pm

The live literature night Verbose – first event for 2019!
Come to Fred’s Ale House in Levenshulme on 28th Jan for an evening of poetry and stories about magic realism & the surreal.

Our headliners are Rosie Garland, Gaynor Jones & Michael Conley, plus all your usual open mic faves. FREE ENTRY - don't miss it!

First up - Rosie Garland: novelist, poet, singer & flash fiction writer, dubbed one of the country's finest performance poets.

Northern Writer of the Year, Gaynor Jones, is known for her strange and often surreal stories, & final headliner for Monday 28th Jan is Michael Conley. We love his hilarious and surreal poetry and short stories and can't wait to see him perform.

Verbose brings words to the ’burbs with live literature in Levenshulme.

https://www.facebook.com/VerboseMcr/