Mansfield author joins Nottingham reading campaign addressing systematic racism

Richard C Bower, aged 45, of Whitwell – originally from Mansfield – was approached to join the reading campaign by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

Nottingham UNESCO invited Richard to partake in the Big City Reads campaign.

The Big City Reads project will be running until Friday, August 12.

Richard has published several books during his career, with poetry books – Sanctuary and Postmodern to his name.

The writer said that he has a debut novel on the horizon, with plans to launch a nature-inspired poetry book, titled Pleasures in the Pathless Woods later this year.Richard recently headlined a sold-out closing event for the Nottingham Poetry Festival, which was held at the Toffee Hut on Regent Street, Mansfield.

Richard said: “It's an honour to be approached by UNESCO Nottingham City Of Literature to be a part of this project.

”The collaborative reading aims to raise awareness of institutional racism and also highlight the power of art – and demonstrate how this really can make a difference."

The campaign will dedicate a week to the book – Punching the Air – by writers Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam.

The book uses free verse as a tool to address concerns of systematic injustice in the American justice system.

UNESCO will launch a collaborative reading video to emphasise the power of free verse within the book.

The video will be shared week commencing August 1.