Des Mannay, a poet known for his bold and unflinching style, will be the featured guest at the upcoming Cellar Bards event in Cardigan next week.
Mannay, a Welsh writer of colour and disabled poet, will perform at The Cellar, Quay Street, on Friday, December 13. The event will begin at 7.30 pm, with an entry fee of £3.
Open mic spots will be available for those wishing to perform their own work, with sign-up on the door until 8 pm.
Mannay is a well-established figure in Welsh poetry. He has won four poetry competitions and been shortlisted for seven others. His poetry collection, Sod ‘em – and tomorrow, was published by Waterloo Press. He also co-edits The Angry Manifesto journal and serves as an associate editor for Poetry Wales.
Renowned Welsh poet Menna Elfyn praised his work, stating, “One can almost hear the words thumping aloud on the page. One can only imagine the rapturous response of an audience listening.”
Attila the Stockbroker, another admirer, said, “Des pulls no punches. It’s a real read, a hard read… A different Cardiff, a different Wales… where the earliest Black immigrants found work, love, and a future. His poem ‘On the death of Muhammad Ali’ is heartbreakingly brilliant—past, present, and future combine, as they do in so many of his poems.”
Jonathan Edwards, a Costa Book Award winner and former editor of Poetry Wales, described Mannay’s work as “performative, funny, passionate… an important voice—from police racism to the death of Muhammad Ali. In this thrilling collection, Mannay speaks eloquently of experiences that need to be shared, need to be yelled about.”
The event will also feature an open mic segment, welcoming poets, short story writers, micro-fiction authors, and novelists. Anyone interested in reading their own work or sharing a favourite piece from another writer can sign up at the door. Each performer will have a maximum of four minutes on stage.
