Spork! is presenting an evening of live poetry with Caroline Bird and Malaika Kegode on Thursday 26 June at Exeter Library, with music by local singer-songwriter Lizzie Lidster and a pop-up bar serving soft drinks and alcohol.
Caroline Bird published her debut poetry collection Looking Through Letter Boxes in 2002. She was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award and the T.S Eliot Prize for In these Days of Prohibition in 2017 before being awarded the Forward Prize for Best Collection for The Air Year in 2020.
She received a Cholmondeley Award from The Society of Authors following the publication of Rookie in 2023 and her seventh collection, Ambush At Still Lake, was published last year.
Caroline’s work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4 and she has performed at Latitude, The Wordsworth Trust and Royal Festival Hall.
One of five official poets for the 2012 Olympics, her poem The Fun Palace is on permanent display in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Caroline Bird and Malaika Kegode
Malaika Kegode’s career as a performance poet began in 2014. She was shortlisted for an Out-Spoken Prize for Poetry in 2019, received a Jerwood Arts Apples & Snakes Poetry in Performance Award in 2021.
She also won the Kevin Elyot Award for her work as a playwright in 2022.
Three collections of her poetry have been published: Requite, Thalassic and Body Buffet and she has performed at WOMAD, the 100 Club and Southbank Centre.
Malaika also runs workshops aimed at encouraging young people to realise the value of their stories, is a trustee of Bristol mental health charity Many Minds and is co-producer and host of Milk Poetry.
Spork! is a community-led organisation that produces spoken word events and workshops. It was founded in 2018 by poet Chris White.
Dedicated to making live poetry accessible, it holds events in Exeter venues that feature local talent with line-ups from across the UK.
Spork! presents Caroline Bird and Malaika Kegode begins at 7.30pm on Thursday 26 June 2025 at Exeter Library. Doors open at 7pm.
Tickets cost from £5-£7 and are available direct from Exeter Library at the main library desk or by telephoning 01392 407027, or via the Eventbrite website with an additional booking fee.
Photo of Malaika Kegode by Paul Blakemore.
