Tue 23 May, 7pm
Post-war dreams of an egalitarian society have long been shattered. After twelve years of austerity, working class people from all backgrounds are in a worse position now in all aspects of their lives – in education, health, employment and the arts. Class inequality is either blamed upon the working class or denied by those in power.
A Matter of Class is your chance to join in the discussion with expert guests and share your experiences of the impact of class and growing inequality on individuals, communities, and for society as a whole.
Chris Nineham is a founder and vice-chair of the Stop the War Coalition. He was one of the organisers of the two million February 15th, 2003 demonstration in London against the Iraqui invasion, international organiser of the Genoa G8 protests in 2001. He writes for Stop the War and Counterfire and other outlets and appears regularly in the media. He is the author of The People v. Tony Blair (Zero Books, 2013). His new book, Radical Chains, Why Class Matters (Zero Books), has been described as, ‘A much-needed explanation for why a return to class is essential to have a future worthy of human beings.’, Paul LeBlanc.
Joelle Taylor is a T.S Eliot Prize 2022 Prize winner for C+NTO & Othered Poems, Joelle Taylor is the author of 4 collections of poetry and a novel. C+NTO is currently being adapted for theatre with a view to touring. A former UK SLAM Champion she founded the national youth poetry slams SLAMbassadors through the Poetry Society in 2001, remaining its Artistic Director until 2018. She is a co-curator and host of Out-Spoken Live, resident at the Southbank Centre, and an editor at Out-Spoken Press. Joelle is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and the 2022 Saboteur Spoken Word Artist of the Year.
Peter Hooton is the frontman of acclaimed Liverpool band The Farm who scored a string of top 40 hits and a No 1 album Spartacus in 1991, co-founded legendary fanzine The End, championed by the late DJ John Peel. In 2011 he started the Justice Tonight band with Mick Jones of The Clash/BAD to highlight the Hillsborough campaign for justice and in 2012 the Justice Collective went to No 1 at Christmas with their cover of ‘He Ain’t Heavy.’ In 2015 he was awarded a Doctorate in Philosophy from Edge Hill University for his commitment to social justice and in 2016 he was appointed by the Mayor of Liverpool to chair a group that will oversee The Beatles Legacy in Liverpool.
Event is part of WOWFEST: Class of '23