At a time when technology, global society and our lives are changing at unprecedented pace, Poet in the City's Fail Better 2020 season explored failure as a process, and change as a necessary, ever-present facet of our lives.

Through Poet in the City's Poetry Broadcast Series on YouTube, we explored new ways to connect poetry, ideas and audiences on a global scale in the digital world as a means to combat the loneliness and isolation of COVID-19, and enable us to continue supporting artists and producing art at this time.

Episodes premiered every Tuesday at 7pm on YouTube. Catch up on the readings and performances below, featuring leading contemporary poets Anthony AnaxagorouSelina NwuluZahraReece LyonsDean Atta, and Joshua Idehen
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Programme

Anthony Anaxagorou: 31 March 2020
Anthony Anaxagorou is a British-born Cypriot poet, fiction writer, essayist, publisher and poetry educator. His second collection After the Formalities published with Penned in the Margins is a Poetry Book Society recommendation. It was selected as one of The Telegraph’s and The Guardian’s best poetry books of 2019 and shortlisted for the 2019 T.S Eliot Prize.





Reece Lyons: 7 April 2020
Reece is a Transgender Writer and Performance Poet based in London. Through writing and performing, she seeks to challenge audience’s perceptions around women, gender, sex and sexuality and deconstruct oppressive narratives around marginalised groups in society.





Dean Atta: 14 April 2020
Dean was named as one of the most influential LGBT people in the UK by the Independent on Sunday. His writing dealing with themes of race, gender and sexuality has appeared on the BBC and Channel 4, and in his regular column for Attitude magazine.

Zahra: 21 April 2020
Zahra is an Indian poet based in Essex. She is a Barbican Young Poet and a Roundhouse poetry Collective alumna. Her poems have won the Bridport Prize, Wells Festival of Literature Young Poets Prize and the Asia House Poetry Slam. In her writing, she explores the ideas of identity, belonging and relationships. She has been featured across BBC World News, The New Indian Express and Young Poets Network. She has performed her work at festivals including Hay, Latitude and Last Word and has poems forthcoming in SLAM! You’re Gonna Wanna Hear This and The Ultimate APM Anthology.

Selina Nwulu: 28 April 2020
Selina is a writer, essayist and social researcher with a focus on social and environmental justice, education and global politics.



Joshua Idehen: 5 May 2020
Joshua Idehen is a Poet, workshop facilitator, musician and founder of renowned poetry/music magazine Poejazzi. As a poet, he has performed at most major festivals and appeared in anthologies alongside Linton Kwesi Johnson.