RickDove

Once voted “most likely to start the revolution” Rick is a queer and neurodivergent poet and activist from South West London. Born in the socialist utopia of Tooting at the end of Generation X, Rick has witnessed the effects of both increasing multiculturalism and gentrification on the capital, and as such, his work reflects on both societal and personal change and how these two cardinal forces interact as we grow.

Exploring themes of social justice, philosophy, and identity, and drawing on science fact and fiction, folklore, and mythology (with no small measure of mischief and provocation), Rick interrogates the liminal spaces that define our common humanity.

Arriving on the spoken word scene in 2015, Rick has performed across the UK and internationally, with performance credits including: The Wandsworth Arts Fringe (2018 & 2019), the Egham Festival of Music, the Edinburgh Fringe (2018 & 2022), Crystal Palace International Festival, Enrich Festival, the ClitArt Festival, Shambala Festival, and a yearlong residency at The Chocolate Poetry Club.

Rick’s work has also been published widely, including: Spoken word albums with Nymphs & Thugs; in journals including, Bunbury Magazine, Soapbox & Untitled Writers; and in anthologies published by Arachne Press, Nine Pens Press, and Tonic Sta Press.

In 2022, Rick was also commissioned to produce work for the HouseFound Symposium (for the Level Centre) and as part of the Raze Collective's 2022 Let Us Raze You Cohort. 

Dubbed "one to watch" by TS Eliot Prize winner Roger Robinson, Rick’s debut full collection, Tales From the Other Box, was published in August 2020 by Burning Eye and Rick was crowned the Hammer & Tongue UK Poetry Slam Champion at the Royal Albert Hall on 4th July 2021.

Equally at home on a stage, or a page, or a march, Rick has a vision of a fairer world and he wants to take you with him.