WHY HAVE SO FEW BLACK AND ASIAN POETS BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE UK?
In 2005, Spread the Word were commissioned by Arts Council England, Scottish Arts Council and Arts Council Wales to produce a timely piece of research into why so few Black and Asian poets had been published in the UK in the previous ten years. The Free Verse Report, available to download below, aimed to answer these questions and offer a road-map for the way forward for both poets and publishers, with useful, practical advice for what both sides can do to change the situation.
It ultimately led to the Complete Works – a mentoring scheme for advanced Black and Asian poets, which provoked a cultural shift in the dynamics and diversity of the British poetry scene.
Complete Works III, directed and managed by Dr Nathalie Teitler, commenced in 2016.