The Beehives are a poetry collective, based in Bradford.
Every month they showcase at City Library.
Next month,on Friday 6th March, 7pm, they will be hosting esteemed poet, Sean O’Brien, alongside Kristina Diprose, one of the co-hosts at the regular poetry night Rhubarb at the Triangle.
Sean O’Brien, will be reading from his new collection, The Bonfire Party, recently published by Picador.
Other publications publications include Embark (2022), Impasse: for Jules Maigret (2023), Otherwise (2023) and Juniper (2024). His collection of short stories The Long Glass appeared in spring 2025.
His poetry has received the Somerset Maugham, Cholmondeley and E.M. Forster awards, as well as the T.S. Eliot and Forward Prizes. O’Brien is Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Sean will be supported by Kristina Diprose, one of the co-hosts at Rhubarb at the Triangle and a fantastic writer:
Kristina Diprose’s shape-shifting writing explores ecological and mythological themes and our entanglement with the more-than-human world.
She won the inaugural Oxford Canal Festival poetry competition in 2024, and has been shortlisted in the Artemesia Arts, Wolverhampton Literature Festival, Ginkgo Prize and Leeds Poetry Festival competitions.
She was an Ilkley Literature Festival New Northern Poet in 2023. Her debut pamphlet, Thin Spells, was published in September 2025 by The Black Cat Poetry Press. She has also written short story commissions for Bradford 2025 in partnership with the Brontë Parsonage Museum, and appeared on BBC Front Row.
Beehive Poets host two poets on the first Friday of every month at City Library at 7pm. Come along for a treat of an evening.
Next week our libraries will be thriving with events for National Storytelling Week, from a choir at Ilkley Library, to songwriting workshops at Keighley Library and a live performance from singer-songwriting Boo Hewerdine. There will be poetry workshops as well as an Open Mic on Feb 7th. Alongside these amazing events, our VR headsets will be touring, featuring films of young creatives from the district who were commissioned to write music and poetry about their city. Here, poet Alfie Wilson, tells us a little about his involvement.
Bradford Libraries have multiple events running for young creatives across the Bradford District this February.
On Saturday 7 February City Library is holding the celebration event for The Pulse, for an amazing project where 3 young poets and 2 young musicians had the opportunity to work with professional poet Gaia Holmes to create new VR poetry and music media that will be touring Keighley, Manningham, Shipley, Ilkley and City Libraries that week. “This project has given me so many different insights into the creative industries. Gaia was such an amazing mentor – she worked with each of us individually to augment our unique style and help us to build on this. So much effort has gone into this project with all the VR elements and creating the poetry and music to go along with it, I am so excited to finally share everything we have created!” – Alfie Wilson, Poet To celebrate the launch of this unprecedented project and kick off Storytelling Week 2026,the event will also include a poetry workshop run by the amazing Gaia Holmes from 2pm-4pm as well as an open mic during the launch event which is running 6pm-8pm (both at City Library) open to all young creatives with something they want to share.
We chose the name Pulse because we want this project to showcase all young people’s voices, which we think are the heartbeat of Bradford – proudly the youngest city in the UK. So, if you or your friends have something to share, come along to Bradford City Library and get involved with all the exciting events we are running throughout the day.
Halifax poet, Gaia Holmes was the poet in charge of our ‘Pulse of Bradford project’, encouraging young people aged 16+ to write about their experiences, hopes and thoughts about Bradford. The poems were later made into VR films thanks to The Space Arts and filmmakers Neon8 and will be touring our libraries as part of National Storytelling Week next month (Feb 2-8). The theme of National Storytelling Week is ‘Soundtrack Your Story’. Here, Gaia, who will be running a poetry workshop on Saturday Feb 7 and later hosting our Open Mic featuring The Pulse of Bradford, shares her thoughts on the connections between sound and writing.
I remember listening to David Gray’s song ‘Babylon’, again and again and again, for a week after I split up with a long-term partner. I stayed in the double bed in the attic with the skylight window and a plague of moths and bald patches in the Turkish rug. My friend brought me mugs of tea and toast loaded with salted tomatoes cut into the shapes of stars. I didn’t want to eat but I forced myself to do so (but left the toast crusts), and after a few days there were fruit flies as well as moths. I remember watching tragic French films on a tiny black and white tv that had a fork for an arial.
Run rabbit run. Gaudette. My Boomerang Won’t Come Back. I Want To Hold Your Hand: these were me and my brother’s records- our little 45s. These were our only records. My father had more and they were bigger and stranger. There was Finnegans Wake and Oldfield’s Tubular Bells, Schubert’s Trout Quintet, Allegri’s Miserere and Dylan Thomas. There was African Sanctus and Einstein On The Beach. On Sundays, after a can of barley wine or two, my father opened the window of his bedroom and played The Doors at full volume. It was very loud, but no one ever complained because he was the village’s only handy man and there was always an old lady that needed a drain unblocking or a lightbulb replacing.
Nirvana’s ‘Smells like teen spirit’. reminds me of me and my friends as teenagers in the early 1990s dancing at The Zoo Bar in Halifax with its bad lighting and its sticky lino. We hopped and thudded on the dance floor trying to break our Docs in. We drank too much 20/20 and our vomit was often blue. I usually stunk of oranges because I doused my wrists with Neroli oil. Once, a young blonde pixie of a man sung “I’m in love with a girl who smells of oranges” into my ear.
As I sit writing this up in my top floor flat on a grey winter afternoon, the wood pigeons in the garden are crooning and booming out their bassy five note tune. This sound has been an almost constant soundtrack to my life since I moved here 10 years ago. And I know that, if I ever move away, the sound of woodpigeons will bring back strong memories of this place- not just the noises it hosts but its scents and atmospheres and some of the particular emotions I have experienced whilst living here.
The sound of rain on a skylight windows always reminds me of holidays on the East Coast in an ancient caravan. And with the sound comes it’s smell of damp crocheted blankets, Calor gas, tangy ocean air and seaweed.
After my father died, I found it very difficult to listen to classical music for several years because the sense of grief that the tunes rekindled was almost unbearable.
Music (and particular sounds) can do that. Music can be a time machine that takes you back to an era and a place you had forgotten. Music can be a spark plug that fires up dormant memories and makes stories.
‘Music evoked autobiographical memories’ is the way this sensation is described in psychology and what an excellent tool it is for writers!
During my ‘Soundtrack Your Story’ workshop on the 7th of February, from 2pm at City Library, we’ll employ this ‘tool’, use sounds and music as a doorway into our real or imagined stories and think about the individual ‘soundtracks’ that run through our lives.
And on that same evening, if you’re free, you can come along and see (and hear) the outcome of ‘The Pulse Of Bradford’, project. During workshops for the project, me and the participants explored the concepts of sound and silence. We imagined spending time in the world’s quietest room. We read poems about deafness and wind phones and anthems. We considered what the constant ‘pulse’ of the city sounded like to us, as individuals. We asked ourselves, ‘What is the soundtrack to my life’? You can hear some of the answers to those questions at our celebration event called ‘Speak or Sing Your Story’, which I will be hosting. The event will feature some of the ‘Pulse of Bradford’ writers and musicians and will take place on Saturday 7th February, 6pm at City Library (Bradford). There will also be an open mic. For more information, please follow the link below:
Sharena Lee Satti is a poet, mentor, and festival curator with over ten years of experience working across schools, community organisations, and cultural programmes. She has supported thousands of students and adults through creative mentoring, poetry workshops, and personal development sessions.
Here she shares her journey…
For the Voices still finding here’s…
How poetry found me
Poetry wasn’t a skill that was taught in a classroom; it was a feeling that came from within. Ignited like a superhero that helped me navigate through my childhood experiences. I believe poetry is something that exists in us all. It lives and breathes in everyday life; life is poetry, you just need to look up at the sky to see that. I found myself writing a lot as a young person; it became a cathartic tool for expressing my often unresolved and overwhelming feelings at that stage in my younger life. Writing poetry gave me a safe place to process my feelings, even if I didn’t understand them; they had a place on the page, somewhere I could park my emotions.
We have to be the noise of the movement, not the silence of the still
Your voice is a powerful tool, it can be the spark of change
Your vocal cords can IGNITE hope in someone’s day
To feel heard, to feel seen, to know they are not alone
The Journey of a Poet
Poetry gave me life, from leaving school at such a young age, my future felt like a storm, but I always had hope that I would eventually see the rainbow, and it took many sunsets but I eventually did.Through the journey of poetry I kept on writing, I really loved to write, my poems were messy, scribbles on the page, spelling mistakes but they were my words, my footprint in time, my feelings. Poetry helped shape my journey in ways I could have never imagined, but I believed my life was worth so much more, and I trusted in a path I believed in but couldn’t see.
Mentoring and Sharing Poetry
My journey with poetry has been anything but traditional. Leaving school at 12–13 with no formal education, I relied solely on lived experiences to shape my voice. Those experiences became the foundation for everything I do today, from teaching poetry to PhD students to performing at festivals across the UK and much more.
Poetry opened doors I never imagined. I’ve worked with women in my local community, helping them develop their writing skills and confidence, and celebrated their success as they became published poets. Along the way, I’ve published two collections of my own with the Verve Poetry Press, including featured work in a children’s collection with the renowned children’s publisher Big Cat Collins. http://Poet writes about Bradford for new children’s poetry book | Bradford Telegraph and Argus
Mentoring is at the heart of my work. I’m passionate about guiding others, whether it’s supporting young people on commissioned projects or teaching poetry to thousands of students nationwide. For me, it’s not just about writing; it’s about empowering voices, building confidence, and showing that creativity can transform lives.
From grassroots workshops to academic settings, I’ve seen firsthand how poetry connects people, sparks conversations, and inspires change. Every mentoring session is an opportunity to share knowledge, nurture talent, and encourage self-expression. Watching someone discover their voice and grow as a writer is the most rewarding part of what I do.
Poetry gave me a path when I had none. Now, I’m committed to helping others find theirs.
Have a listen to the Leeds Light piece – featured in the National Poetry Centre, Sharena worked with the West Yorkshire Young Poet Laureates, to create a commissioned poetry piece which was then recorded and brought to life. You can see it here – (2) Post | LinkedIn
Pav is another of our digital creators whose poems will be featured in a series of VR films touring our libraries next month.
Here is what he had to say about the fantastic project at Bradford Libraries which saw him commissioned by The Space Arts.
My name is Pavan Singh , I am 22 years old and I’m studying architecture at Leeds Beckett University, I have a five-year- old Belgian Malinois Shepherd called Hunter whom like I taking on walks to my local park and playing outside. In my spare time I like drawing and watching Anime shows and horror movies.
Why I took part in the project:
I feel as if a lot people overlook Bradford for being a quiet town or unpleasant area. However, as a resident of Bradford I think that it is a really nice area with nice green spaces and many opportunities for young people like me and wanted to help change people’s minds about Bradford as a place and to aid in letting people’s voices be heard.
Why I like poetry & music :
I’ve always like writing and telling stories from a young age and like listening to Hip-Hop & rap music from artists such as Juice World, Tupac Shakur, Ice Cube. I also enjoy Punjabi songs from time to time as the artists are very passionate about their topics which often include lyrics about their hometowns , the ones they love and their upbringings which I believe is a great to express oneself as nothing can stand in your way when you put pen to paper, besides your imagination.
Working with Gaia was a great experience as it allowed me to learn and grow as a writer and to fully explore my emotions and to put them through my poems as listening to different poets allowed me to see what poem verses can sound like without being so literal and can be really vivid and meaningful.
I also enjoyed filming as it helped me gain confidence in doing something I haven’t done a lot of, when working with cameras and lighting visuals and which angles and poses are best.
Bradford is one of the nine library services in England selected to participate in the groundbreaking Digital Spaces program. This innovative initiative in collaboration with Arts Council England, BFI, with National Lottery Funding, and The Space, is delivering an array of digital experiences in libraries throughout 2025, ranging from awe-inspiring VR showcases and hands-on workshops to funding opportunities for creating new digital content.
We have been working with some incredible young poets and musicians over the past six months who, with the help of partner organisations The Space and filmmakers Neon8, have transformed their art into a series virtual reality films. The group, known as ‘The Pulse of Bradford’ are now ready to debut their creations. Here is a little more information about the project…
The Pulse of Bradford have captured the past, present and future in a collection of poems and music.
Three young poets and two musicians aged 16-24, produced original work around the theme of ‘the sounds of the city.’
The group, known as The Pulse of Bradford, worked alongside Halifax poet Gaia Holmes to share their thoughts and feelings about the city with the aim of inviting audiences to see the city through their eyes and give voice to the future of the district.
Their work has now been captured on camera by Virtual Reality filmmakers Neon8 and will feature in a Virtual Reality Tour due to be held at Bradford Libraries from January 30-February 8.
Bradford is one of the nine library services in England selected to participate in the groundbreaking Digital Spaces program. This innovative initiative in collaboration with Arts Council England, BFI, with National Lottery Funding, and The Space, is delivering an array of digital experiences in libraries throughout 2025, ranging from awe-inspiring VR showcases and hands-on workshops to funding opportunities for creating new digital content.
The poems, which were written over a number of weeks, speak to the ‘thousand voices of Bradford’ as well as the delights of Lister Park and the isolation of modern-day life. They feature alongside a live piano performance and a specially composed electronic music piece, which also respond to the theme.
Each artist was asked to choose their favourite spot to be filmed in, creating a virtual map of the district.
Among the venues chosen were Lister Park, Cliffe Castle, Sunbridge Road Mission Church, Sunbridge Road and Pied Piper Pianos in Haworth.
Poet Alfie Wilson said: “It has been amazing to work with like-minded people. Gaia has been incredible in mentoring us and helping us develop our own style. Everyone’s work is so unique and explores all the different things that make Bradford the place that it is. I’ve really enjoyed the whole experience and can’t wait to see the films.”
The films will be shown at the following libraries.
Friday, Jan 30 – Tues Feb 3 – Manningham Library
Wednesday Feb 4 – Keighley Library
Thursday Feb 5 – Ilkley Library
Friday Feb 6 – Shipley Library
Saturday Feb 7 – City Library
They will also feature in a celebration and Open Mic due to be held at City Library on Saturday Feb 7 at 6pm. Poets and musicians, eager to perform are asked to email Andrea.Hardaker@bradford.gov.uk to book a slot.
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