Henry Normal and Dubliner Jan Brierton present an evening of poetry and laughs. Henry will be reading poems from his new book A Quiet Promise whilst Jan’s poems reflect on being a wife, mother, daughter, sister and retired raver. Expect a highly engaging evening.
Henry is a writer, poet, TV & film producer, founder of the Manchester Poetry Festival (now the Literature festival) and co-founder of the Nottingham Poetry Festival. In June 2017 he was honoured with a special BAFTA for services to Television.
He co-wrote and script edited the multi-award winning Mrs Merton Show and the spin off series Mrs Merton and Malcolm. He also co-created and co-wrote the first series of The Royle Family.
Setting up Baby Cow Productions in 1990, Henry executive produced all and script edited many of the shows of its 17-and-a-half-year output during his tenure as MD. Highlights of the Baby Cow output during his time include the Oscar-nominated film Philomena, I Believe in Miracles, Gavin and Stacey, Moone Boy, Uncle, Marion and Geoff, Nighty Night, The Mighty Boosh, Red Dwarf, Hunderby, Camping and Alan Partridge.
Dubliner Jan Brierton is a mam, a fashion stylist and a poet. Her first collection What Day Is It? Who Gives a F*ck was published in 2021 after Jan’s first ever poem went viral during lockdown. Everybody Is a Poem: Midlife in Rhymes is Jan’s second collection. In this pocket-sized book, Jan riffs on menopause, midlife, the mental load, friendships, relationships, loss and self-acceptance. On its release, it made the top 10 paperback non-fiction book charts. Plain-speaking and completely relatable, each of these 52 poems are served with Jan’s signature combination of humour, wit, and poignancy.
This is poetry for everybody.