Sonnets and Sarnies

Ralph Dartford was founder of the influential collective A Firm of Poets, who toured nationally with artists such as Hollie McNish, Zena Edwards and Luke Wright amongst other leading spoken word artists. His first pamphlet, Cigarettes, Beer and Love, was published by Ossett Observer Presents in 2013, followed by Recovery Songs, published by Valley Press in 2019, and Hidden Music in October 2021. In 2024, his third collection for Valley Press, House Anthems, will be published to complete a trilogy of themed work. Ralph is the poetry editor at Northern Gravy and is currently studying for a Creative Writing PhD at the University of Huddersfield. For gainful employment, Ralph works for the National Literacy Trust as a Project Manager within the Criminal Justice department.

A perfectly calm storm on the spoken word scene, Tasneim Zyada is a published Palestinian-British writer. Her work explores the generational stories that rise to the surface within her own. Having started out in 2015 as a regular performer at London open mics, her words have since taken her internationally. She has been featured in several festivals – notably Shubbak, AWAN, Bloomsbury Festival, PalArt Fest and recently in Athen’s International Video Poetry Festival. Zyada’s other accolades include facilitating sold out poetry workshops and voiceover work – voicing a character in George the Poet’s multi-award winning podcast. Currently, Zyada is writing her debut poetry collection to be published in 2024/25.

Matt Abbott is a Wakefield-born poet, educator, and activist. His ‘grown-up’ themes tend to centre around identity, socio-political issues, and kitchen sink realism, while his poetry for children centres around playful rebellion, challenging societal stereotypes, and facing the struggles of modern life. He is also known for being the lyricist/frontman in indie band Skint & Demoralised and for running spoken word record label Nymphs & Thugs – recently evolved into LIVEwire Poetry.