Jean breezes her way into dub history

Jamaican spoken-word pioneer Jean Binta Breeze is bringing her broad-ranging talent to ARC this July.

Jean will be headlining at ARC’s regular spoken word night, Articulate, supported by North East talent Scott Tyrell.

Recognised as one of the most important and influential performance poets of recent years, Breeze was the first woman to write and perform dub poetry. After forming the Sistren women’s theatre company in Jamaica, Breeze came to London at the invitation of dub legend Linton Kwesi Johnson, where she went on to teach Theatre Studies at Brixton College.

Having begun writing and performing poetry in the politicized years of the 1970s, her notable success in the late 1980s and 1990s has led to her influential status amongst other dub poets such as Jane King, who in 1988 published the poem Intercity Dub, for Jean.

The author of numerous poetry collections including Ryddim Ravings and The Arrival of Brighteye, Breeze’s latest book The Fifth Figure combines poetry and prose which records the lives of five generations of Caribbean and Black British women of mixed ancestry.

Breeze’s focus offers a personal gauge of black women’s experience through uplifting experimentation with the dramatic monologue, and her striking stage presence has been witnessed in performances throughout the world, including the Caribbean, North America, Europe, South East Asia and Africa.

Jean will be joined by the fiercely talented and funny Scott Tyrell. Winner of North East heat of the BBC Radio 4 Poetry Slam 2009, Scott is one of the most talented spoken word artists to come out of the region.