EUPHORIA: Gender Affirming Stories

Once upon a time, a wise person of gloriously uncertain gender said this:

To be human is to share stories. To receive stories. To feel them, allow them to flow through us, reshape them, and tell them again.
In telling our own stories, in keeping them alive and malleable, we author our experience and own our narratives; and in doing so, we own our bodies.

As part of Nottingham Poetry Festival 2025, Yay Maria (she/her), Jas (they/them), Cae (he/him) and Jo Umbilica (she/her) invite you to be part of an evening of performances that seek to reaffirm our gender narratives. A space to ground, connect and affirm our gender identities, using the sharing and receiving of stories as a tool for both self-expression and soothing.

Members of the queer and creative communities are encouraged to come together in allyship and community connection. Share a story, or – equally importantly – come along to listen and support the performers.

Share A Story
The line-up of performances for the evening will be created based on pre-submitted works. Writers and performers are warmly invited to submit works on the theme of “gender affirming stories”. This could include traditional storytelling, poetry, song, or theatrical pieces (or tell us if we’ve missed something!)

If you’re a writer / creator who doesn’t wish to perform and would prefer work to be read or shared on your behalf, one of us can do this for you. Please indicate this on the submission form, or drop us an email.

Everybody is welcome to submit works by Friday 6th June. We’ll include as many as possible in the evening. In the occurrence that more work is submitted than can be accommodated within the event, we will aim to prioritise trans, non-binary, gender-expansive, queer and intersex voices, as we recognise the importance of helping to amplify voices that are culturally misrepresented or marginalised.
Please visit the event page on Eventbrite for full submission details.

Details & Access
The event will be held from 7:15pm – 9:15pm on Monday June 16th at By Our Hands We Make Our Way. This is a ground-floor venue with wheelchair access.
There will be no bar at this event, please bring your own drink.
Please email any questions to:
mariamichaelmachin@gmail.com

About the Hosts
YAY MARIA (she/her) is a queer & transgender filmmaker, visual artist, musician and writer from the Peak District. She has released several albums, E.P.s, multiple music videos and short films and has performed at countless venues up and down the UK. In 2021, she released her debut album ‘OYEZ’ and is currently working on her first animated film, ‘Honey Pit’. “Being Queer is Beautiful!”

JASMINE VENICE (they/them) is a Nottingham based poet who focuses on ideas of gender identity, queerness and nature in their writing. They are the cohost of the wonderful community poetry night Free Minds, as well as a member of GOBS Collective with performances at Being Human Festival held at Nottingham Central Library, Younique Festival at New Art Exchange and at various Pride events in 2024. They are a multi-practice artist who loves to include snippets of poetry in all aspects of their work.

CAE (he/him) is a teacher by day, DJ by night and a poet somewhere in between! Born in Uruguay but raised across the world, he writes about his experiences with Race, Immigration, mental health and neurodivergence.

UMBILICA (she/her) is a queer poet, songcrafter and musician whose poetry book ‘PleasureLand’ was published by Big White Shed. Her work explores gender, power, queer identity and connectedness. She has facilitated workshops, tutored young musicians and led noisemaking activities to empower women to raise their voices in activism. She was one of three co-founders of She Speaks and plays in dream-pop band Grawl!x. She’s well into trees and cats.