Poetry reading for the London launch of Zoreh at The Troubadour, on Old Brompton Road 01 May 2018

Directed by Justin Batchelor

Photo by Dave Brolan

Photo by Dave Brolan

It was such a pleasure to give a poetry reading at the iconic Troubadour for the London launch of Zoreh. It was my first time premiering poems such as Elegy and Lilith in The Midheaven. I also read from The Lock And The Key and Rocking Underground. I felt incredibly grateful to have loved ones present, along with fellow artists and poetry lovers, and sign copies of Zoreh for those that bought books.

Photo by Scarlet Page

Photo by Scarlet Page

Scarlett with Scarlet Page, photographer of the cover of Zoreh

Photo by Scarlet Page

Interview on London Live TV 29 Apr 2018

It was such fun to visit the London Live Studio and be interviewed about my new book Zoreh, to talk about my writing process and my upcoming poetry reading at The Troubadour on May 1st.

The London Launch of Zoreh at Troubadour, London 24 Apr 2018

I'm really excited to be launching my third collection Zoreh with a reading at the Troubadour on Tuesday, May 1st.

The Troubadour is such an iconic venue, Jack Kerouac and Bob Dylan have both performed there. Before I lived in London I remember visiting the Troubadour, hearing poets read and being in awe of them.

I wanted to invite you along to the reading, it would be so nice to have you there, and I'll be reading new poems from the book which I have never recited before.

Click here to get your tickets for the evening - and see you there.

Poetry reading at City Lights, San Francisco 20 Mar 2018

It was a dream come true to launch my third collection of poetry Zoreh with a reading at the iconic City Lights in San Francisco.

I’d asked Janaka Stucky to read with me as he’s a phenomenal poet I’d seen perform in May 2015 at the 50th anniversary of the Wholly Communion. The reading was held upstairs in the poetry room at City Lights and was so full people were sitting on the stairs.

Peter Marvelis introduced Janaka who started the reading. He drew the audience in and then blew them away reading from his collection The Truth Is We Are Perfect and his limited edition chapbook O My Prison dedicates to Jean Genet.

Afterwards I got up, to read my poems, before doing so I explained how City Lights is the Madison Square Garden of poetry venues, but for me City Lights holds so much more.

I started with Shackles, Feathers, and Cut Up and then went out to introduce and perform my new poems. Afterwards it was wonderful to shake hands and meet the diverse audience members. For some it was their very first poetry reading.

Reading at City Lights was an honour, a dream come true and a catalyst for more things to come. Thank you to Peter and the entire team of incredible people at City Lights.

Photo by Michael Zagaris

Photo by Michael Zagaris

Poetry reading at MoPop Museum Seattle 13 Mar 2018

Believing poetry is for all and all art is for all and all art should be accessible, I offered to do a poetry reading for the teenagers that make up the youth advisory board (YAB) of MoPop Museum in Seattle.

When I first went to MoPop (then still called EMP) in November 2015, I was blown aware by how immersive and beautiful the museum was. It was very well equipped and educational but not in a clunky, demonstrative way. It offered opportunity: young people visiting could play instruments and record music in the studios at the museum. It's because the YAB directly influence the teen program and contribute original content for The Soundboard and the museums online network. High school-aged youths can serve on YAB for two years.

In 2015, we watched students that had attended the after school programs get up on stage and give a dazzling performance at the Founders Award, holding their own. It moved me to tears.

So as soon as I knew I would be returning to Seattle I reached out to artistic director Jasen Emmons, who I’d enjoyed discussing Bob Dylan with extensively, and said I’d love to give a reading for the youth program.

It was arranged that in addition there would be a Q and A after so the students could ask me about living and working as a poet, being self published, running my own publishing company etc. I read a mix of my poems from all three collections and put into context the writing process and events and emotions that had produced them.

I was very moved to see one of the young men I’d seen perform back in 2015 sitting in the audience, he was first to raise his hand and ask a question after my reading. I was asked such thought provoking questions from the students and I found them incredibly inspiring.

I wish to thank Alisha Agard, Jacob McMurray and Jasen Emmons. I look forward to my next encounter with MOPOP Seattle, and the incredible souls that make it so magical.

Poetry reading at Elliot Bay Books 10 Mar 2018

I first visited Elliot Bay Books in 2015 during my first visit to Seattle. Now just as I was then, I was taken with the welcoming, artistic atmosphere of Seattle. On the cusp of the release of my third collection it seemed the right time to return and debut my new poems. I read for an hour starting with Shackles, and featuring other poems from Rocking Underground and The Lock And The Key. And of course a lot of new poems from Zoreh, many being read in public for the first time.

I’ve loved spending time in Seattle and my Seattle audience were so receptive and engaging. It was great to make new friends. I’m so thankful to Rick Simonson and Tracy, Liz, Sage and Tony, and Justus, the entire wonderful team for such a warm welcome. I love the atmosphere they’ve created, I can’t recommend Elliot Bay Books enough, more than a shop it’s a community (with the best matcha lattes) that has been part of Seattle now for 45 years.

I’m so grateful to be part of the Elliot Bay Tradition and have stood and read my work from the same lectern that Joan Didion, Allen Ginsberg, Haruki Murakami and Seamus Heaney have read from.

Scarlett answers your questions about Zoreh - available to pre-order now, released 24 March 2018 06 Mar 2018

Zoreh is now available to pre-order! Head over to the Shop section to reserve your copy. It will be officially released on 24th March 2018.

To celebrate the run up to the release of Zoreh I accepted some questions from you and did a live Q and A. I've reproduced some of your question with my answers here.

Q: Many of you asked why did I call the book Zoreh?

It seemed like the most natural choice. Previously I had a longer name in mind, but Zoreh won. Zoreh is my middle name, and it means Venus, the book has some astrological, spiritual elements and it just felt right. My publishing company is also called Zoreh Publishing.

Q: Tina asked: which poem brought the most emotion when writing?

Elegy.

Q: I was asked by @sonic_dreamer: If you had magical powers and were able to depict your new poetry collection as a triptych in the style of three painters, which painters would you paint the poems in?

What a great question! I would choose Pablo Picasso, specifically Guernica. Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Persephone. And one off Austin Osman Spare's self portraits.

Q: Clare asked: what is my favourite spot to write?

Any where warm. Preferably a sunny afternoon in the country side. Really i can write anywhere. I wrote a lot of my first collection Rocking Underground on the train, moving about London.

Q: Bobby and Savano asked: how long has this collection taken to complete?

Well consciously I've been working on this collection since August 2016. I wrote Fifth Circle of Hell on the 5th August 2016, I wrote Armistice DayNovember 2016. Sagittarius Rising the first poem in the collection I wrote on the 8th January 2015. I found it again and thought it appropriate to start this book with. Elegy I had been working on last year intermittently, but the majority of it was written in February 2018. This collection has been incubated for a while, but I'm so ready to share it now with you.

Click to pre-order your copy of Zoreh now

Q: Beth asked: how would you characterise the poems in this third collection compared to your first two?

I feel that they are a natural progression from each other, and i feel they are connected to a certain extent. For me each collection is a time capsule.

Q: E.M Lyng asked: How do you perceive the concept of God or a Higher Power throughout your work? Rod and Cayla also asked about the plural manifestations of spirituality and mysticism in my work.

My idea of God runs through my work, I suppose in this collection looking at the contents page it's particularly prominent, although that was not a conscious choice.

Q: Olivia asked: What is your main inspiration for writing poetry?

Love, being in love. Also the times we live in, I'm not untouched by what has been going on the past eighteen months, and the colours of recent events has added shade to this collection.

Q: Jeanie asked: What influence does film or photography have on your poetry?

Well in this collection there is a poem called Repulsion (All The Flesh) and last year I watched the Polanski film Repulsion for the first time. Earlier that day I had been talking to a beautiful French woman who reminded me of Catherine Deneuve (who plays the lead part in the film Repulsion). So these two things along with people I've seen and memories of the past coloured that poem. In general, we are all products of our environment. When I see a film that moves me or shocks me, or an intense photograph that speaks to me, I just marvel that people have captured such things, that that kind of excellence exists and is possible. It makes me want to work harder.

Q: Zoe asked: How does it feel to write words that touch people?

That's more of a compliment than a question! Thank you. There are pieces of writing, and records that have been my friends and constant companions, they've magnified the most beautiful points in life and helped me through darker periods. I believe art should be of service, so if my poetry has been of service and touched you then, thats wonderful.

Click to pre-order your copy of Zoreh now

Poetry reading at Southwark Playhouse, 5th February 2018 05 Feb 2018

I had the pleasure of being invited to perform in a spoken word evening at the Southwark Playhouse, on Monday night. It was the second half of a night of all-female performances - an apt ensemble in the week celebrating the centenary of women obtaining the right to vote in the UK.

I enjoyed performing Shackles from Rocking Underground; Possession, Ocean and Euphoric Kiss from The Lock And The Key; and Fifth Circle Of Hell from my forthcoming third collection.

Poetry reading and exhibition of Jim Marshall's Peace and Light photographs and Scarlett Sabet's poems 03 Dec 2017

I've been a fan of the gruff, gun toting photographer Jim Marshall's for a long time. Known more for his iconic rock and roll images: capturing a young Bob Dylan in Greenwich Village and the Rolling Stones backstage, he was Rolling Stone magazines main photographer. Therefore it was a revelation, years after his death to be introduced to his Peace photographs. Obsessively and secretly Marshall had documented over and over again the Peace symbol in various locations, scrawled on a bins, in the subways, and on placards protesting the Vietnam war.The exhibition is accompanied by a book, which long term friend of Marshall's Joan Baez wrote the foreword. The Peace and Light exhibition is being shown in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Troubadour was chosen as the London venue for the exhibition as the Ban The Bomb movement (which eventually became the CND: Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) held their first meeting there. And it was in fact that movement that birthed the Peace symbol.

I was honoured that my poems on love and war and politics were chosen to accompany Marshall's striking images. The Troubadour and Reel Art Press, along with Jim Marshall's estate have done a fantastic job putting together an evocative exhibition. On Sunday at 7pm, we gathered in the gallery for an intimate poetry reading. I read some of my poems that were being exhibited, and some new work that will be released next year. It was such a special evening for me, and I truly feel so lucky and grateful. Afterwards a small group of us went downstairs and had dinner at The Troubadour, and heard wonderful, crazy stories about Marshall from people that had worked with him and grown to love him.

The exhibition is up until the end of December 2017, so check it out, and enjoy The Troubadour.

Photography by Dave Brolan

Poetry reading at Coffee House Poetry Night at The Troubadour, Brompton Road, London 13 Nov 2017

It was so lovely to be back at The Troubadour, it had been five months since my last reading there. I was one of 22 poets that read in the first half. I read my new poem Armistice Day. I always love to hear the variety and high quality of work by the other poets that read at The Troubadour.

At around 9pm there was an interval which allowed me to catch up and chat with some familiar faces. After the break the poetry resumed. In a new format, four poets, Paul Stephenson, Jane Yeh, A.F Harold, and Lorraine Mariner all sat on stage and for the next hour would take turns standing at the mic to deliver a poem before allowing another poet the chance. The random looseness of it was fresh and dynamic. Once again a really lovely evening at The Troubadour and I can't wait to return.

Poetry reading at Woodstock Town Hall, U.K 12 Nov 2017

A bright, beautiful and chilly Sunday! We headed out to Oxford by train as I'd been invited to read some poems at Woodstock town hall at a reading organised by poet and professor Jenny Lewis. The headliner was exiled Iraqi poet Adnam Al-Sayegh, it was great to see him again. I read at the beginning of the second half, my poem Ocean and then Fifth Circle Hell. There were about 30 other poets that read and I really enjoyed the variety of different lines and phrases from each poet. The town hall was such a majestic setting for the, surrounded by the red autumn leaves. I look forward to returning to Oxford and Woodstock to do more readings, I'd definitely love to read with Jenny and Adnan again.

It was also the 4 year anniversary of my first ever poetry reading at Worlds End Bookshop, so it was special to mark it in this way.

Poetry reading at KGB Bar, New York 06 Nov 2017

I flew to New York specially to give my reading at the historic soviet themed KGB poetry series, on 85 E. 4th Street. Held on a Monday night it’s poetry series is in its 20th year now. KGB Bar is a New York City literary institution, named by The Village Voice and New Yorker magazine as the best literary venue in the city. I was on the bill with award winning poets Tadeusz Dabowski and Ariana Reines. Ariana Reines has been described by Michael Silberblatt of NPR's Bookworm as "one of the crucial voices of her generation."

KGB bar is a red velvet womb like room, with stained glass, and old Russian propaganda posters. I gave my reading first, opening with my poem Shackles, which received a round of applause. The audience were incredibly receptive and it was lovely to see some familiar faces again that had attended my poetry reading at Berl’s in Brooklyn in April. I read poems from both collections and a handful that will be in my third collection, which will be out in Spring 2018.

After my reading there was a break during which it was lovely to hear feedback from the audience, which poems they’d enjoyed most and how it’d affected them.

We resumed the reading to hear Tadeusz Dabowski’s witty and visceral poems, which generated much applause and laughter. And the grand finale was Ariana Reines. I really enjoyed her reading, I think my favourite of her poems was the last one she read with its complex imagery and truths that cut right through to you.

I’d like to give a very special thanks to Stephanie La Cava, Matthew Yeager, Dennis and everyone at KGB, and Ariana Reines and Tadeusz Dabowski.

I’m looking forward to returning to KGB soon.

My introduction from the evening

Welcome everyone to Week 7, Season 40, Year 20 of the KGB Monday Night Poetry Series. I’m happy to back, at least for an evening, and to stand up here as underprepared as I’ve been to introduce a poet in the five and a half years I’ve stood up here introducing poets. David Lehman used to be able to do this without notes, which to me always seeming like skiing a black diamond slope without poles, or driving a bus on a switch-backing mountain road at night without headlights.

Our first poet this evening comes to us from the city of London. She’s a poet and performer, the author of two volumes of verse “Rocking Underground” and “The Lock and the Key.” Her name reached my ears first from a poet for whom I (and basically everyone in poetry) have a tremendous amount of respect - Dan Chiasson; he suggested we have this young British poet at KGB and the adjective that he used to describe her work was “glam.” I don’t know what my definition of glam is - maybe I don’t have one - but I expected a patina of irony to coat the poems; one way to protect a poem is for a poet to…hmm…hold it by the ankles and dip it in irony, often to interesting effect; I expected a polyphony of speaking tones, not a darkly sonorous vowel music, not a poetry of singing, full of wildness, and reverence for the spiritual forces at play in the world; Scarlett’s poems, even when written in prose, are written with an imperative that they have to work when said aloud; the breath in them is the breath of a "singing" speaking voice; the speaker is on the balls of her feet, moving with a forward lean, and some speed....there’s a spiralling music that she generates in her poem THE FIFTH CIRCLE OF HELL by the irregular repetition of that phrase, the fifth circle of hell. For emerging from an island whose citizens are known for their stolid emotional control, her poems are startlingly emotional. What else to say? She wrote, directed and starred in her poetic short film “Burning” which was produced by BAFTA winning producer Charlie Hanson in 2012. In October 2016 GQ online released a video of Scarlett performing her poem Feathers at Leighton House to celebrate National Poetry Day. Sir Van Morrison commented on Scarlett's poetry: ""What strikes me about Scarlett's work it that it's very cutting edge and it's making poetry interesting again. I love both the intensity and the spiritual aspect she conveys." Scarlett is currently working on her third collection of poetry which will be released in Spring 2018.