Adam Lowe

Adam Lowe (born 1985) is a writer, performer and publisher from Leeds, UK, though he currently lives in Manchester. He is the UK's LGBT History Month Poet Laureate[2] and was Yorkshire's Poet for 2012 (the county's selected poet for the 2012 Olympics).[3] He writes poetry, plays and fiction, and he occasionally performs as Beyonce Holes.[4]

Adam Lowe
BornLeeds, UK
OccupationWriter, publisher, performer, teacher[1]
NationalityBritish
Period2002-present
GenrePoetry, plays, fiction, novel, short story, science fiction
SubjectBlack British, LGBT, disabled
Notable worksPrecocious
Website
adam-lowe.com

Biography

Adam Lowe is of Caribbean (St. Kitts), British and Irish descent.[5] He is the son of Councillor Alison Lowe, and like her graduated with both a BA and MA from the University of Leeds.[6] His family was the subject of the 1999 ITV docu-soap Family Life (Lion TV).[7]

Writing, publishing and performance

Adam Lowe writes about disability, LGBT experiences and the lives of mixed race/Black British communities.

Carol Rumens of The Guardian describes him as a 'versatile and widely published young writer'.[8]

Lowe is LGBT History Month Poet Laureate; founded and runs Young Enigma, a writer development project for young writers; is Editor-in-Chief of Vada Magazine and Dog Horn Publishing; and is Publicity Officer for Peepal Tree Press.[2][1] He has performed around the world, at festivals and conferences,[2][1] including the Black and Asian Writers Conference.[9] He is an advocate for LGBT rights and sits on the management committee for Schools OUT UK, the charity that founded LGBT History Month in the UK.[10]

He was formerly Features Editor for Bent Magazine and Editor of a speculative fiction magazine called Polluto.[11][12]

In 2010, he was writer-in-residence at I Love West Leeds Arts Festival in Armley, where he lived.[13] He studied under Madani Younis at Freedom Studios in Leeds' sister city, Bradford.[14] He was also announced as a finalist for the 22nd Annual Lambda Literary Awards with his novella Troglodyte Rose (later, a selection from the book would be a Wattpad featured story getting over 190,000 reads).[15][16]

In 2011, Lowe was writer on attachment at West Yorkshire Playhouse, and partnered with composer Nikki Franklin for Leeds Lieder+ at Leeds College of Music, before the two collaborated on a new work, 'Mary', for the BBC Singers.[17]

In 2012, his pamphlet Precocious (Fruit Bruise Press) was a reader nomination for the Guardian First Book Prize, which the publication described as, 'A vivid picture of emotions, deeply felt, but with a clear-eyed view of the ways we humans live, love and sometimes betray'.[18] He had a residency at Zion Arts Centre.[19][14] That year he was Yorkshire's poet for the 12 Poets of 2012 scheme, celebrating the 2012 Olympics and the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, where he visited boxer Anthony Ogogo on a training session to inspire the writing of an Olympic-themed poem for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.[20][3] The final poem was performed by the National Lottery Draw Show's Voice of the Balls Alan Dedicoat at the National Lottery Plot in the Olympic Park on 3 September 2012.[21] He rounded the year off with inclusion in MTV Books' Chorus: A Literary Mixtape, edited by Saul Williams and Dufflyn Lammers.[22]

In 2013, he was announced as one of 10 Black and Asian 'advanced poets' for The Complete Works II (founded by Bernardine Evaristo) with Mona Arshi, Jay Bernard, Kayo Chingonyi, Rishi Dastidar, Edward Doegar, Inua Ellams, Sarah Howe, Eileen Pun and Warsan Shire, which resulted in the anthology Ten: The New Wave, edited by Karen McCarthy-Woolf.[23] He was mentored on the programme by Patience Agbabi.[14] He also made the list of '20 under 40' writers in Leeds for the LS13 Awards,[24][25] where Lowe was given as an example of 'the non-conformist and boundary-breaking approach to writing in Leeds'.[26]

In 2014, he toured his solo show, Ecstasies, which began at Contact Theatre's Queer Contact.[2] He performed a poem about cruising for 4thought.tv on Channel 4.[5]

In 2015, his Polari poem Vada That was selected as The Guardian Poem of the Week.[8] His play Friend Roulette ran for a week at the Amersham Arms in London.[27] A four-star review in Theatre Bubble said: 'Friend Roulette by LGBT writer Adam Lowe, directed by Rachel Owens, sheds light on a gay friendship that is pushed by.. society? inhibitions? fear? into the confines of a chat room (Friend Roulette). But it could also be a comment on the real life app, Grindr, where users meet for sex and chance encounters. The intensity of the meetings that can only be virtual and therefore ‘not real’ for one of the friends, played by Robert Wallis, causes him to break free for the real world, leaving his internet friend Jonathan Woodhouse, stuck in the hell of a darkened room.' The Guardian referred to the short play, in published form, as 'a fine playlet that I was very impressed by'.[18]

In 2017, he performed with composer Nikki Franklin in the Speaker's Chambers at the House of Commons for LGBT History Month.[28]

In 2018-9, he featured in the British Library's Windrush Stories exhibition, performing a poem based on the Lord's Prayer.[29] In 2019, his poem 'Bone Railroad', about slavery and the Middle Passage was selected as Poem of the Week by The Yorkshire Times.[30]

Songwriting

In 2006, Lowe wrote the lyrics and performed the vocals for a hard house/trance single called 'Some Justice' with DJ GRH & Paul Maddox.[11][31]

Teaching and mentoring

Lowe tutors for The Poetry School,[32] he is a facilitator with English PEN[33] and he teaches at the University of Leeds on the MA Writing for Performance & Publication.[34]

Through Young Enigma, he has worked with and supported writers such as Andrew McMillan and Afshan D'souza Lodhi.[35][36] Young Enigma writers have performed alongside Patience Agbabi, Gerry Potter and Jackie Kay.[37][38]

He is currently a Slate Enabler for Eclipse Theatre, advocating for BAME artists in Greater Manchester.[1]

Awards and honours
  • 2013: LGBT History Month Poet Laureate
  • 2013: LS13 Awards: '20 best writers under 40' in Leeds[24]
  • 2012: Yorkshire's Poet for 2012

Bibliography
  • Magma 75: The Loss Issue, edited by Adam Lowe and Yvonne Reddick (Magma Poetry, 2019)
  • Best British Poetry 2015, edited by Roddy Lumsden (Salt Publishing, 2015)
  • SPOKE: New Queer Voices (as editor) (Fruit Bruise Press, 2015)
  • Ten: The New Wave, edited by Karen McCarthy-Woolf (Bloodaxe Books, 2014)
  • LS13: A New Generation of Leeds Writers, edited by Wes Brown (Valley Press, 2013)
  • Black and Gay in the UK, edited by John R. Gordon and Rikki Beadle Blair (Team Angelica Publishing, 2014)
  • Best New Writing 2012: The Winners of the Eric Hoffer Prize for Prose (Hopewell Publications, 2012)
  • Precocious (Fruit Bruise Press, 2012)
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References
  1. "Adam Lowe - Enabler - Greater Manchester – Bio". Sheffield. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  2. "Adam Lowe – Bio". Leeds. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  3. Ahad, Nick (19 January 2014). "Melting pot luck". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  4. "Adam Lowe: Ecstasies – Review – Reviews, Literature". Vada Magazine. Manchester, UK. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  5. "Artistic Horizons presents a conversation with Adam Lowe and Dr. Leanne Haynes – Features, Literature". ARC Magazine. London. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  6. "Adam Lowe – Bio". Academia.edu. Leeds. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  7. McCann, Paul (22 March 1999). "25 years on, a new family lets cameras enter their lives". The Independent. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  8. "Poem of the week: Vada That by Adam Lowe – Features, Books, Poetry". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  9. "BAWC16 PROGRAMME – Programme". Cultureword: Black Writers Conference. Manchester. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  10. ""institutionally ableist " – Schools OUT's Adam Lowe on the ME Scandal – News". London. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  11. "New Stages 2008 – News". University of Leeds. Leeds. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  12. Steel, Jim. "Polluto #2". British Fantasy Society. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  13. "DIGITISE THIS by Adam Lowe – News". Electric Literature. New York. 19 August 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  14. "Adam Lowe – Bio". Inscribe Writers. Leeds. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  15. "22nd Annual Lambda Literary Awards – News". Lambda Literary. New York. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  16. "Troglodyte Rose: A Rose in Any Other Game - Adam Lowe - Wattpad". Wattpad. Toronto. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  17. "Composers+ Poets Showcase at Leeds Lieder+ – News". Bachtrack. London. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  18. "Guardian First Book Award reader nominations: Precocious by Adam Lowe – News". The Guardian. London. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  19. Terror Scribes – Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  20. "Leeds poet joins chosen dozen to see Olympic poem displayed – News". Yorkshire Evening Post. Leeds. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  21. "National Lottery's 12 Poets of 2012 Visit Olympic Park". Getty Images. 3 September 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  22. Chorus: A Literary Mixtape – MTV Books/Simon & Schuster. Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  23. Makoha, Nick. "News: Complete Works II". nickmakoha.com. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  24. Lake, John (30 September 2013). "LS13: A New Generation of Leeds Writers edited by Wes Brown". The Culture Vulture. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  25. "LS13: A New Generation of Leeds Writers". Big Bookend. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  26. Bryant, Steph. "Review: LS13". The Readersphere. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  27. "Bare Essentials – Encompass Productions, Amersham Arms – Review, Theatre". theatre bubble. London. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  28. "Parliament's Speaker's Chamber Goes Rainbow to Launch LGBT History Month 2017 – News". London. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  29. "Out of Bounds: Adam Lowe – News, Videos". London. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  30. "Poem Of The Week: 'Bone Railroad' By Adam Lowe – Features, Literature". The Yorkshire Times. Leeds. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  31. "DJ GRH & Paul Maddox Feat. Adam Lowe – Some Justice". Discogs. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  32. "Meet Our New One-to-One Tutors! – News". London. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  33. "Our workshop facilitators – News". London. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  34. Adam Lowe, 'Alumni Profile: Alison Lowe', Leeds: The Magazine for Alumni of the University of Leeds, 19 (2018), 35.
  35. "Young Enigma - publications". youngenigma.com. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  36. "Young Enigma - Progress, a poetry tour of Manchester by Andrew McMillan". youngenigma.com. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  37. Mackenzie-Smith, Stevie (28 January 2014). "Queer Contact: Partying political". Creative Tourist. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  38. "Young Enigma - Events". youngenigma.com. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
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