Peter Lay of Black Eyes Publishing UK hosts this event to celebrate Rise of the Badger, an eerily prescient anthology exploring post-apocalyptic, post-human futures. Hosted by Josephine Lay. Introduction by Peter Lay, followed by a reading by Emma Smith (née Davidson), a talk on ‘the science of extinction’ from Alex Perry, and a limited-space open mic.
Held at the Chapels of Rest - South Chapel. Stroud Cemetery, Bisley Rd, Stroud GL5 1HJ.
Rise of the Badger is an art and poetry anthology published by Black Eyes Publishing UK (2025). The human race has failed to protect itself and has finally become extinct. What happens next on this small blue planet that floats in a minor solar system within the vastness of space? What Phoenix will arise from the ashes of the human race?
Josephine Lay is a poet and writer living in Gloucester. She has a BA (Hons) and an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University. She has published four poetry collections: Inside Reality (2018), Unravelling (2019), A Quietus (2021), and A kind of alchemy (2026). She was Director of the Gloucestershire Poetry Society (Jan 2020 to Dec 2022). She runs live poetry events, and Poetry Cafes in Cheltenham and Gloucester Libraries.
Peter Lay is a Gloucester-based poet and writer. He has two published poetry collections: Still Tilting At Windmills (2019) and Becoming Naked (2022). Peter runs Black Eyes Publishing UK with Josephine Lay as editor. He was Events Coordinator for the Gloucestershire Poetry Society (Jan 2020 to Dec 2022).
Emma Smith (née Davidson) is a Worcester-based poet whose work explores contemporary social issues. Her writing engages with topics such as inequality, mental health, and identity, often reflecting lived experience through a lens of hope, strength, and compassion. In 2023, she won the Armed Forces Community STARTS Award for a spoken word piece on surviving trauma. Her poetry appears in the Broken Soul Poetry Anthology vol 1 & 2, the Speak Out LGBTQ+ Community Anthology 2025, Rise of the Badger and the Great Shrubbery and numerous independent zines and creative publications.
Alex Perry is a writer with a background in science (a PHD in Chemistry). His works include a short comedic play about the first baby born on Mars, a short film about an artificial intelligence avatar in the medical insurance industry who goes rogue, an illustrated STEM book about a child who learns to express her emotions from a chameleon, a poem about a doomed diabetic lab rat, and a fable about an electric forest. In his contribution to Rise of the Badger and the Great Shrubbery, Alex's post-apocalyptic tale, A Dog Eat Dog World? imagines what life would be like for man's best friend in a post-human world.
Email Peter at blackeyespublishinguk@yahoo.com to request an open mic slot.
Peter Lay of Black Eyes Publishing UK hosts this event to celebrate Rise of the Badger, an eerily prescient anthology exploring post-apocalyptic, post-human futures. Hosted by Josephine Lay. Introduction by Peter Lay, followed by a reading by Emma Smith (née Davidson), a talk on ‘the science of extinction’ from Alex Perry, and a limited-space open mic.
Held at the Chapels of Rest - South Chapel. Stroud Cemetery, Bisley Rd, Stroud GL5 1HJ.
Rise of the Badger is an art and poetry anthology published by Black Eyes Publishing UK (2025). The human race has failed to protect itself and has finally become extinct. What happens next on this small blue planet that floats in a minor solar system within the vastness of space? What Phoenix will arise from the ashes of the human race?
Josephine Lay is a poet and writer living in Gloucester. She has a BA (Hons) and an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University. She has published four poetry collections: Inside Reality (2018), Unravelling (2019), A Quietus (2021), and A kind of alchemy (2026). She was Director of the Gloucestershire Poetry Society (Jan 2020 to Dec 2022). She runs live poetry events, and Poetry Cafes in Cheltenham and Gloucester Libraries.
Peter Lay is a Gloucester-based poet and writer. He has two published poetry collections: Still Tilting At Windmills (2019) and Becoming Naked (2022). Peter runs Black Eyes Publishing UK with Josephine Lay as editor. He was Events Coordinator for the Gloucestershire Poetry Society (Jan 2020 to Dec 2022).
Emma Smith (née Davidson) is a Worcester-based poet whose work explores contemporary social issues. Her writing engages with topics such as inequality, mental health, and identity, often reflecting lived experience through a lens of hope, strength, and compassion. In 2023, she won the Armed Forces Community STARTS Award for a spoken word piece on surviving trauma. Her poetry appears in the Broken Soul Poetry Anthology vol 1 & 2, the Speak Out LGBTQ+ Community Anthology 2025, Rise of the Badger and the Great Shrubbery and numerous independent zines and creative publications.
Alex Perry is a writer with a background in science (a PHD in Chemistry). His works include a short comedic play about the first baby born on Mars, a short film about an artificial intelligence avatar in the medical insurance industry who goes rogue, an illustrated STEM book about a child who learns to express her emotions from a chameleon, a poem about a doomed diabetic lab rat, and a fable about an electric forest. In his contribution to Rise of the Badger and the Great Shrubbery, Alex's post-apocalyptic tale, A Dog Eat Dog World? imagines what life would be like for man's best friend in a post-human world.
Email Peter at blackeyespublishinguk@yahoo.com to request an open mic slot.
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