Keiron Higgins, Emily Zobel Marshall, Testament, Wilko Wilkes and Andy Craven-Griffiths talk rhythm, rhyme and more.

Keiron Higgins

Keiron Higgins is a poet from Halifax, UK. Before writing and performing poetry he was previously a musician and DJ to which he played in a reggae/funk and soul collective based from Leeds. He blurs the lines of performance poet and also as a “punk poet”due to specialising in rhythmic social commentary and pieces based on mental health, his love of musical subgenres and general outlooks on life, his peers have dubbed him “The (suedehead) bard of Halifax” as since 2012 he has shared the stage with the likes of Toria Garbutt , Atilla The Stockbroker, Steve Ignorant, Henry Normal, Brix Smith and Jeffrey Lewis to which he has been met with critical acclaim for his peers and audience.

His work has been featured across Halifax in a number of different collaborative efforts with the Square Chapel, performing for the reopening of the Piece Hall after the pandemic and his name adorns a poem he wrote specially for a bar called “The Meandering Bear” which opened in 2019 in the Halifax town centre.

With his writing, he has released a total of 6 self-published books, been in a painted portraits gallery, and has had work featured in numerous zines and anthologies.

Emily Zobel Marshall:

Emily Zobel Marshall is of French-Caribbean and British heritage and grew up in North Wales. She is Professorin Postcolonial Literature at Leeds Beckett University. Her research specialisms are the cultures and literatures of the African Diaspora, with a focus on the folkloric trickster figureand Caribbean carnival cultures,and she is widely published in thesefield. She has published two academic books, Anansi’s Journey: A Story of Jamaican Cultural Resistance(UWI Press, 2012) and American Trickster: Trauma, Tradition and Brer Rabbit(Roman and Littlefield, 2019),and is Co-chair of the anti-racist charity the David Oluwale Memorial Association (DOMA). She develops creative work alongside her academic writing and her poetry collection,Bath of Herbs(2023), was published by Peepal Tree Press. Her forthcoming collection,Other Wild, will be published by Peepal Tree Press in Autumn 2025

Testament

Testament is a writer, rapper, educator and world-record breaking beatboxer.

Testament is writer of awards nominated play BLACK MEN WALKING(UK Theatre Awards, Writer’s Guild of Great Britain) and ORPHEUS IN THE RECORD SHOP which was broadcast on BBC Four TV.

Testament’s diverse work includes spoken word, composing music for award winning adverts, writing musicals, performing poetry at Downing Street, making radio history documentaries, nature essays and freestyle rapping for Nobel Peace Prize winners.

Testament has had numerous TV appearances on BBC, ITV and Sky Arts and has been the guest host on Radio 4poetry show The Verb twice. His poetic radio drama DAUGHTER won Special Commendation at the BBC Audiodrama Awards 2022and was nominated forthe Prix Europa.

He was 2019 Channel 4 Writer-in-Residence for THE ROYAL EXCHANGE THEATRE Manchester and was Black Nature Writer-in Residence for the Yorkshire Dales 2024, and part the HOT POETSeco-poetry collective.

As a facilitator, Testament runs the HIP-HOP CLINIC-a workshop that company that runs rap, poetry and beatbox workshops around the world.He has also worked with BBC Bitesize and presented GCSE Poetry podcasts.

Currently, he is a writer on the hit NETFLIX animated show CASTLEVANIA NOCTURNE.

Wilko Wilkes

Wilko Wilkes is an alternative rapper, music producer, and workshop facilitator from Bingley, West Yorkshire. A skilled wordsmith and mental health advocate, his genre-bending music has earned plaudits for its intricate lyricism, sharp wit and raw honesty,tackling personal struggles, depression, and social issues while weaving in humour and unexpected twists. He is the recipient of the 2024 Wordplay & Flow Award for Best Male Spoken Word Artist.

Wilko has become known for his captivating live performances which are a masterclass in technical precision, and have seen him open for hip hop legends Arrested Development.

As the founder of social enterprise Rap for Good, he harnesses the power of creative writing and rap to support young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Since June 2022, Wilko has partnered with schools, educators, and community organisations to deliver inspiring workshops and community projects, reaching over 2,000 young people in diverse settings.

Andy Craven-Griffiths

Andy Craven-Griffiths is a writer and performer based in Leeds, England. He has performed poetry across the UK and abroad and had his work broadcast (Radio 1, Radio 4, BBC 2), and published in poetry journals. He has written commissions for the BBC, Arts Council, Rethink mental Health charity and the NHS. His play, Joygernaut, toured nationally in 2019-2020. In 2023, Andy completed his PhD in Creative Writing at the University of Leicester. He is currently writing a poetry collection and a TV series.

As aneducator, Andy has run poetry workshops at hundreds of schools across the UK and internationally. He has delivered workshops for The British Council, the NHS, Oxford University Press, Arvon, The Southbank Centre, Leeds Playhouse, and Bradford 2025 amongstothers, and published a chapter on teaching rhyme in Making Poetry Happen (Bloomsbury, 2015). He currently teaches at Leeds Arts University and in various schools.