The intimate moments that a woman experiences during some of the most precious times of her life will be put under the poetic spotlight this month when Ceredigion-based writer Mari Ellis Dunning will read a selection of her work at the Cellar Bar in Cardigan.

Mari’s debt poetry collection, Salacia, was shortlisted for Wales Book of the Year 2019, since when she has been placed second in both the Lucent Dreaming Short Story Competition and the Sylvia Plath Poetry Prize.

She is currently writing a historic novel set in 16th century Wales, where she explores the relationship between accusations of witchcraft, the female body and reproduction.

Her second poetry collection, Pearl and Bone (Parthian) was selected as Wales Arts Review’s Number 1 of 2022 and explores the complexities of becoming a new mother amidst a global pandemic, with the stories of other mothers interwoven amongst the author’s intimate moments, from pregnancy to childbirth and beyond.

These poems showcase the lost voices of women through history – in the throes of labour, Mary paces the stable; in a dim Soho studio, Christine Keeler poses for the infamous Lewis Morley photographs; while above us, the moon laments the number of feet that have stormed her surface.

Mari lives on the west coast of Wales with her husband, their two sons, and their poochon. She is the founder of Pay for Poets, which is a free resource to help writers earn a living through their work.

Mari Ellis Dunning will be appearing at the Cellar Bards on Friday, July 14. Doors and the bar open at 7.30pm. Entry is £3, and open mic spots are available – just sign up on the door by 8pm.