Photo by A Life Well Productions
About Me
Photo by Sam Cavender
Taran Spalding-Jenkin is an award-winning Cornish poet and storyteller, writing in both English and his mother tongue: Kernewek. His work explores identity, health and hireth – the yearning for a home that no longer exists. While seeking to show Cornishness is who you are, and not simply where you reside, he travels back and forth between experience and myth.
Along with performing his own work, Taran co-runs and hosts the music and poetry party Tonic, a night which puts inclusivity and inspiration at its heart. Tonic offers writing prompts and performance opportunities to people of all backgrounds and skill levels as well as free writing workshops.
He has performed across the UK and Ireland, has been commissioned for theatre and radio, and in 2020 he produced A Shanty For Cornish Youth for BBC Arts, a poetic exploration of Cornish identity and emigration, which won a Gorsedh Creativity award in 2021. In 2023 Taran released his debut pamphlet of poetry Health Hireth with Broken Sleep Books, and won a coveted Awen Medal for creativity.
Having struggled with anxiety and chronic illness throughout much of his life, Taran has found his voice on the stage. With a name that means ‘thunder’, he has had enough of silence.
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Workshops & Commissions
Photo by Chris Beale
Taran has produced workshops and commissions in partnership with a number of fantastic organisations including KEAP, Ealaín na Gaeltachta, Calling The Shots, The Writer’s Block, Cheap Date Dance Theatre, and a number of schools.
If you are running an event, community engagement, or arts project Taran is available for performances, commissions and workshop bookings across the country for adults and young people.
Commemorating a historic or personal event, celebrating a loved one or need something to add panache to your wedding speech? Taran is able to discuss creating a piece of work to your specifications. Use the contact form below to start the process.
Contact
Want to book Taran Spalding-Jenkin for a performance, or workshop, enquire about a commission, or simply ask more information?
Please fill in the contact form and you'll receive a reply as soon as possible.
“Yn despit dhe’n rol an re varow
skrifys yn dha dhorn —
my a glewav vy ow lev
pan my a gews.
Despite the obituary
written in your hand —
I hear my voice
when I speak.”
Health Hireth highlights the fleeting nature of both health and identity, as well as the challenges faced by those who exist on the edges of the healthcare system. Taran Spalding-Jenkin's poetry moves between past and present medical experiences as if existing between here and an Otherworld. Chronic illness, Cornish culture, gender, sexuality, and mental health are all woven throughout the evocative and poignant verse of Health Hireth.