Pigeon Party

Deborah writes because, "Often, hardship or isolation from the 'norm' gives people a story and a need for catharsis: there isn't vocabulary for their experiences, so they must develop their own." It is because of this that she is the founder and Artistic Director of The Mouthy Poets, a collective of 50 young poets based in Nottingham Playhouse, teaching young people to communicate with themselves and the world personally, professionally and emotionally. Since being followed Channel 4 for a year, as part of the documentary YearDot Deborah Stevenson has taken her poetry from Camden to Shanghai working with organisations such as The Roundhouse, The British Council and The 2012 Olympic Games. She teaches poetry on the BA Creative and Professional Writing program at the University of Nottingham, and manages a poetry project at Djanogly Academy where 1,500 students are learning to be excited by their own words. Publishers include Louis Vuitton, The National Association of Writers in Education and The University of Nottingham, with commissions from BBC Radio 3's The Verb and The World Freerunning Championships. Deborah, also known as Debris, is currently remembering how to be 23 by going raving, weekly, sober and alone.

Pigeon Party celebrates urban life, hardship and raving. From the young, low-trousered boy selling packets on the corner, to the working-class holiday in Skegness and a Dancehall rave in the back of a Caribbean food shop. This collection cannot help but uncover colour and spice where usually we assume dirt or dust.