Polari is back in Hastings after its winter break

Following last year’s hugely successful six month run, London’s award-winning Polari LGBT literary salon returns to The Printworks, Claremont, funded by Arts Council England. The event will be on Wednesday February 24 starting at 7.30pm.

Hosted by writer Paul Burston, Polari is a celebration of passion, literature and music which has attracted a devoted following since it began in November 2007.

He brought it to Hastings for a six month residency last year and is thrilled now to be returning.

Paul said: “The first season far exceeded my expectations. We played to packed houses and the feedback from audiences was really positive. It took me three years to really build an audience for Polari in London, so well done Hastings! I couldn’t have asked for a warmer reception.

This season we’ll be bringing back some favourite performers and introducing a truly diverse range of new writers to the mix. Later in the season we have Stella Duffy, Paula Varjack, Will Davis, Ursula Martinez and Juno Dawson.

“Kicking us off in February we have Rosie Garland – an award-winning, wonderful novelist and a terrific performer who’ll joining us all the way from Manchester. East London’s Keith Jarrett is one of the best spoken word poets around.

And we have local authors Nick Maes, whose work I’ve admired for years, and VG Lee, who never fails to bring the house down with her comic insights. It’s the kind of literary mix Polari is known for - diverse, insightful, inclusive, warm and witty. You won’t want to miss it.”

Nick Maes began his career working in theatre before moving into fashion and producing collections for designers including Alexander McQueen. He made the jump to writing, travel journalism and broadcasting, and travels the world in search of a good story. He is the author of two critically acclaimed novels, Not Dark Yet and The Africa Bar. Rosie Garland is a novelist, poet, singer in post-punk band The March Violets, who also appears in cabaret as twisted alter-ego Rosie Lugosi the Lesbian Vampire Queen. She has toured internationally, including the Cheltenham Festival of Literature and Queer Up North, and has just returned from a tour of the USA. Her latest novel ‘Vixen’ was longlisted for the Green Carnation Prize 2014.

Keith Jarrett is a former UK poetry slam champion and Rio International Poetry Slam Winner 2014. He writes performance poetry and is completing his first novel. His poetry pamphlet, I Speak Home, was published in July 2015.

Lastly Hastings resident VG Lee is author of four novels and a collection of short stories. In 2012, she was nominated for a Stonewall Award for writing and last year she won the Ultimate Planet Award for Best Established Author. She is also a regular contributor of humour to The Lady Magazine and has just completed her fifth novel. Polari will be sign language interpreted. The venue is wheelchair accessible. Doors open at The Printworks at 7pm, and the event itself starts at 7.30pm and ends at 9.30pm.

Tickets cost £8, £6 concessions, and can be purchased in advance from Eventbrite or on the door.