David Lee Morgan

BIO

David Lee Morgan has travelled the world with his saxophone as a performance poet and musician. His provocative work tackles complex themes and is praised for its passionate, intellectually rigorous performance. He has been longlisted for the Forward Prize for Individual Poem (performed). He has won the London, UK, and BBC Slam Poetry Championships, as well as a fair number of club slams in the UK and the US, including Soul City Arts and the Nuyorican. He has featured at poetry festivals and events all over the UK, Europe and the U.S. including StAnza (St. Andrews, Scotland), Lingo (Dublin, Ireland), the Seattle Folk Arts Festival, and the Isle of Wight Festival. Recently, his Brick Lane appearance at the 25^th anniversary of Shikor and Global Poetry, performing his original translation of Kazi Nazrul Islam’s much loved poem, Bidrohi (The Rebel), went viral on Facebook and was seen by over 10 million viewers.

He is a longstanding member of the Writers Guild and holds a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Newcastle University. He lives in London, grew up in the USA, was born in Berlin.

Back in the US, before crossing the pond, he worked on the railroad, in foundries, forges, shipyards, heavy construction, and as a dishwasher in an Indian restaurant. He’s served as a shop steward in the Labourers Union and in the Molders and Allied Workers.

BOOKS

The River Was a God (Stairwell Books)

 Science, Love and Revolution (Bidrohi Books)  

River No Dam Can Tame (Bidrohi Books)

Building a Nation on Stolen Land (Bidrohi Books)

Poems on Gender (Bidrohi Books)

Uncle Tom’s War (Bidrohi Books)

REVIEWS

TIME OUT LONDON *****

I am awed by Morgan’s passion, his humorous yet enraged intellectual appraisal… An energetic, clever, passionate survey of human life.

THE SCOTSMAN ****

One of those rare, passionate performances… bristling with energy and interesting ideas. If you want a bracing crash course in how to “read history… with a f***ing blowtorch,” look no further.

LITRO ARTS MAGAZINE

He was brilliant. I’ve never seen someone transform so powerfully and fully…. He spits out the words of sacrifice, suffering and revolution, of wisdom and enlightenment. What he says is radical, is political, but it’s also wise.

THE BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE ****
“An exceptional one-person show… Morgan knows his material very well, but aside from the history lesson, his words land. There is a simplicity to the rhythm of the poetry in a conversational style. This is a superior poet with the ability to engage.”

LANCASTER GUARDIAN *****
With knowledge and wisdom… took you to a place of conspiracies and the history we are told. It was heart-felt and impassioned. It was powerful and inspiring. I thought it was spectacular! I bought the book!