Medway River Lit Presents:

Poet Chika Jones hosts the very popular Medway Poetry Night, kicking off this year’s Medway River Lit, with featured performer Astrid Solace.

Chika is a performance poet living in Chatham, Kent. Endorsed by the Arts Council of England in 2021, he received the Global Talent Visa and relocated to the UK. Chika’s past performances include the British Billingual Poetry Collective in 2022 and he is currently working on a Poetry translation to a British Sign Language project. Chika also set up and hosts Medway Poetry Nights, which is a monthly gathering of poets and poetry lovers.

Astrid Solace is a multi-slam winning transgender performance poet from Birmingham. Astrid has worked in collaboration with the likes of Verve Poetry Festival, Leeds Literature Festival, I Am Loud Productions, Shindig, and Bath Fringe Fest. She graduated with a Masters in Creative Writing at The University of Birmingham in 2026. Astrid was a grand finalist for the Roundhouse Poetry Slam and the LyraFest Slam, and this year was crowned the Leeds Literature Festival Slam Champion. She was a member of the Apples and Snakes writing residency Words A Stage, and is the producer and host of Pretty Privilege Poetry in Birmingham. Astrid self-published a lyric essay titled ‘On Orgasms, Jesters and Autism’ as a transgender surgery fundraiser in May 2026, and her debut stage play ‘How to Change a Tire’ premiers at the Outside In Theatre in Los Angeles on December 5th.

Plus pre-bookable open mic slots up for grabs.

Book tickets on Medway River Lit’s website: