About Shirley May
Shirley
May, winner of the North
West Poetry Slam in October
1999 has performed extensively
at prominent venues across
the North West, such as Yard
Theatre, The Pankhurst Centre,
Green Room, Everyman Theatre,
Frog and Bucket, Contact
Theatre, Manchester Literature
Festival, Moss Side Carnival,
The Blue Cat Café and
Matt
and Phreds Jazz Club.
Shirley also promotes poetry
in the North-West and co-ordinates
Manchester’s
funkiest spoken word event ‘Speakeasy’ (a
collective of musicians,
poets
and singers)
She
has been published in the
following anthologies: The
Suitcase Book of Love Poems
(Poetry Anthology, Suitcase
Press 2008, Hair (Poetry
and short story Anthology
Suitcase Press 2006, also
joint editor). Shirley manages
the central west district
for Manchester’s
library homework services.
She was on the Management
Committee of literature
development
organisation Commonword
Ltd.
and has extensive experience
in developing creative writing
programmes for youth services,
libraries, and arts organisations.
As a poet and facilitator
she works regularly in schools
and Young Offenders institutions.
Shirley
is the a co-founder, of Young
Identity.
She has many years of experience
working in the field of the
performing arts as well as
great knowledge of the arts
industry and project management
of creative arts and community
projects. She has extensive
experience in developing
creative
writing programmes for youth
services, libraries, and
arts
organisations. As a poet
and
facilitator she works regularly
in schools and Young Offender
institutions and was a part
of the inside out project
run by Apples and Snakes
literary
organisation