Hannah Kate

poet, short story writer and editor based in Manchester

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 13 March, 2-4pm

Join me on Saturday at 2pm on North Manchester FM for another episode of Hannah’s Bookshelf. This week, I’m going to be talking the fab Jack Horner (aka Leon the Pig Farmer) to the show.

Jack Horner (aka Leon the Pig Farmer) is a Manchester-based Yorkshire beat poet who has a little more than a lot to say. An ex-serviceman who began writing to help him deal with a PTSD diagnosis in 2019, Jack began writing his thoughts and turning them to creative verse. After several local open mic events he was persuaded to take his verse to the stage and step out of his bedroom poet persona to showcase some of his material. His first impromptu live performances at Blackthorn festival near Stockport in 2019 brought great reviews and spurred him on to continue. As a consequence, Leon the Pig Farmer was born. Jack (aka Leon) has an assertive take on spoken word with fast firing rhythmic verse and a sharp outlook on both his mental health recovery and other social topics and observations that catch his eye. His unconventional delivery has been compared to both a belt fed mortar explosion and a staccato assault full of energy and emotion which can silence and mesmerize an audience.

With live events on hold due to lockdown, Jack has been invited to perform at numerous live stream events and provide verse for podcasts, collaborations and radio stations. His most notable being writing a collaborative piece for Shiiine On festival, after a request being received from organiser James Atkin (EMF), and a future booking supporting Peter Hook for a cancer charity gig in Macclesfield. Jack has also dipped his toe into amateur journalism with music reviews for online magazines and creating inspirational stories on various elements of his recovery journey that have been distributed for mental health and military veteran groups. He is currently in the process of self-publishing a 21-verse book with accompanying art interpretations of his verse surrounding mental health recovery, which is due for release in the spring of 2021.

I’ll be talking to Jack (aka Leon) about his poetry, performance and some upcoming projects. And, of course, he’ll be sharing his selections for this week’s Apocalypse Books.

Catch the show on Saturday at 2pm on 106.6FM (if you’re in the North Manchester area) or listen online (if you’re further afield).

Missed the show? You can catch it again here:

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