Featured image: Immy Burgess

“Whenever we speak, the world changes,” declared Joelle Taylor to an enraptured audience at Manchester Poetry Library on Friday. The playwright and poet brought the house to capacity as part of Manchester Metropolitan University’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign, delivering a moving performance that highlighted the transformative power of poetry.

Taylor, a Booker Prize-longlisted poet, was introduced by Ruth Awolola, a fellow poet, theatremaker and creative facilitator at Manchester Met. Awolola praised Taylor’s influence on the queer community: “[She] not only opens doors for others but shows them where the doors are.”

The event saw Taylor combine her words with onomatopoeic sounds and dramatic flourishes, drawing the audience into her world of queer futurism. Many of her pieces, delivered from memory, were interspersed with personal anecdotes and reflections, creating an intimate and immersive experience.

“When a woman says no, it is an act of violence,” Taylor proclaimed, her voice unwavering. The intensity of her performance brought some audience members to tears, as she shifted seamlessly between humour, pain, joy and heartbreak.

Her stories are inventive and unique, yet deeply relatable, as her words construct a fantastical world rooted in very real characters inspired by her friends who have sadly passed away.

Taylor’s work is often a tribute to those she has lost, a theme she elaborated on during the reading: “Poetry is cinema. When I want to revisit people, I write about them.” Her consistent cast of characters, featured in her poetry collections, represents some of her closest friends who have passed away.

The reading was followed Q&A which saw Taylor reflect on the role of humour as a survival mechanism for queer communities. “Camp is just tap dancing so you don’t kill me,” she said, explaining how spectacle and performance have historically served as shields against oppression.

Taylor also addressed the challenges of writing about trauma, encouraging writers to embrace discomfort as a means of healing and empowerment: “Writing is the stuff of life – writing is power.

“I’ve got a torch, I’ve got a pen and I’m going in and rewriting everything.”

She highlighted the importance of staying true to your own writing style and not constraining yourself to what the preconceived notions of being a writer are: “There’s no right way to be a writer.”

When asked how she approaches writing about disheartening or traumatising events, Taylor shifted the perspective from victimhood to an empowering and uplifting message of self-healing through perseverance.

For those struggling to find their footing as writers, Taylor’s message was clear: “Remain.” She urged the audience not to view their work as a product but as a process, emphasising that there’s no single correct way to be a writer. “It’s important to enter spaces we don’t want to go into,” she added, highlighting the responsibility of storytellers to confront uncomfortable truths.

Speaking after the event, one audience member commented: “I loved it. I thought she was an incredible performer who passionately painted a vivid picture of her world, effortlessly balancing humour and emotion.”

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Festival runs from 25th November to 10th December, 2024. For more information and tickets, visit mmu.ac.uk/news-and-events.