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Anita Govan

All of the information on this page has been provided by the author. If you need an author to have specialist skills, experience or knowledge please ask for more information about this ahead of booking them for an event. Please note that Scottish Book Trust cannot carry out Disclosure checks on Live Literature authors for most events. It is the responsibility of the person organising the event to carry out the appropriate Disclosure checks.
Contact: [email protected]
Local authority: Edinburgh City
Languages: English
Anita Govan's headshot

Anita Govan is a neurodiverse spoken word poet, performer, and teaching artist based in Edinburgh. She curates and hosts Lost in Leith presents: Spoken Word & Music, a monthly event showcasing creative talent from across Scotland. Anita was appointed Stirling Makar from 2012 to 2015 and has held writing residencies with UNESCO and ITAC3.
 
As an early pioneer in Scottish spoken word and performance poetry, she co-founded Scotland’s first performance poetry club in addition to slams BigWord with Jem Rolls in the early 2000s and the Scottish Youth Poetry Slam with ConFAB in 2004, which still runs today.
 
She has extensive experience delivering workshops and courses for underserved communities and young people.
 
As a teaching artist, Anita uses poetry and spoken word to empower people of all ages and backgrounds to find their voices, share their stories and experiences, and develop transferable skills to support their wellbeing and personal development. Inspired by her own experience of struggle at school, Anita encourages young people with specific learning difficulties to develop their own creative practice with her participatory, flexible, and inclusive approach to teaching.
 
Anita is available for residencies, workshop and courses facilitation, and found poetry commissions for live events, including business conferences and community projects. (Photo credit: Chris Scott)

Local authorities will visit

East Lothian; Edinburgh City; Falkirk; Midlothian; Stirling; West Lothian

Events will deliver

Mentoring; Multilingual event; Panel event; Performance; Professional development, CLPL or CPD; Reading; Residency; Talk; Workshop

Audience will work with

Adult learners; English as an additional language (EAL); Intergenerational learning; Outdoor learning; Adults with additional support needs; Prisoners & young offenders; Reluctant readers; Vulnerable young people (under 18); Young people in the community (e.g. Youth clubs, Guides, Scouts); Young people with additional support needs (under 18) (ASN/SEN)

Topics of work

Adolescence; Ageing; Childhood; Class & society; Coasts, seas & oceans; Death, grief & bereavement; Discrimination & prejudice; Emigration & immigration; Environment & climate; Event production; Family; First experiences for younger readers; Friendship; Gender equality; Health including mental health & wellbeing; Human rights; Loneliness & isolation; Love & romance; Music; Nature; Performance training; Poverty; Rhyming books for younger readers; Science; Sports; Urban communities; Violence & abuse; World War 1

Age groups published for

Children; Teens; Adults

Age groups will work with

6-8; 9-11; 12-14; 15-18; 18+

Audience size

0-10; 11-30; 31-100; 100-500; 500+