Connor Allen’s cultural highlights

Connor Allen is an award-winning, multidisciplinary artist and former Children’s Laureate of Wales (2021–2023). He has worked with leading companies including National Theatre Wales, Sherman Theatre, and the BBC. His acclaimed debut show The Making of a Monster premiered at Wales Millennium Centre in 2022 and won the Imison Award in 2023 for the radio version of the same name.

Connor is a former member of the BBC Welsh Voices, Welsh Royal Court Writers Group and Hay Festival’s Writers at Work, and his work explores themes of identity, masculinity, love, and grief. His poetry collections Dominoes and Miracles were published in 2023, and he holds an Honorary Doctorate in Literature from the University of South Wales.

Album: The Boy Who Played The Harp by Dave

As a poet and a lover of words, I just feel like Dave’s pen is unmatched when it comes to intricate wordplay and autobiographical storytelling. For me, this album feels like it’s taking my hand and walking me closer to the heart of the human condition. With all ten tracks, Dave has something to say, whether he’s unpacking why he hasn’t been to church lately or sharing a meal and a moment with Kano. There’s a tender, honest portrayal of a young man’s humanity woven throughout, and it made me reflect on the people in my life and the gratitude I hold for them.

https://open.spotify.com/album/24f1GFXCkViGoRpmGqlSSl

Book: I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee

Walking in someone else’s footsteps and understanding their journey is a true gift, and that’s exactly what Baek Se-hee gives us in her incredible memoir, built around conversations with her psychiatrist. There are few books that have stayed with me over the years, let alone affected me, but this one sat in the honest parts of my humanity. It’s a universal gift in transparency and in the struggles that many of us face. Knowing that Baek has passed away makes the book even more precious. She leaves behind a legacy of empathy and a vulnerable depiction of mental health that offers comfort and understanding for those reading.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/i-want-to-die-but-i-want-to-eat-tteokbokki/baek-sehee/anton-hur/9781526648099

Poem: ‘Home’ by Warsan Shire

Sitting with my partner in a small coffee shop in Malaysia earlier this year, coffee in one hand and Warsan Shire’s Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head (2022) in the other, I stumbled on the poem ‘Home’. I started reading it aloud and the moment the lines –

you have to understand,
that no one puts their children in a boat
unless the water is safer than the land

– left my mouth, I watched tears gather and slip down my partner’s cheeks. Something in those words about home – about the ache of being forced to leave it – hit her hard. It hit me too. It was one of those quiet moments that reminds you just how much power language can carry and how deeply lived experience shapes the way we meet it.

https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/441165/bless-the-daughter-raised-by-a-voice-in-her-head-by-shire-warsan/9781784743703

TV series: This Country 

As a huge lover of the mockumentary style, I still find myself, years later, having This Country on as my ultimate feel good TV show. The authenticity of these cousins from the Cotswolds cracks me up every time. It’s a masterclass in character arc and development, whilst also giving an insight into rural life, which is so different from mine in a city. I can practically recite the jokes and still end up laughing just as hard as I did the first time. Truly, a TV gem.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6583806/?ref_=sr_t_1

Exhibition: Places + Faces at Sotheby’s, London, March 2025

I’ve been an avid follower of Places + Faces for many years now, slowly amassing a collection of their signature football shirts for my wardrobe. But that wasn’t what intrigued me all them years ago: it was their ability to freeze distinct, intimate moments through polaroids and capture stories that got me hooked. So, when I heard they were having an exhibition at Sotheby’s, I was straight there to explore the multitude of humanity their work has shown me over the years. Their images highlight cultures from every corner of the world, offering glimpses into other people’s lives and stories. A standout was the giant photograph of a Black man in the River Nile that towered over me, as I lost all concept of time, immersed in the collection of images.

https://www.sothebys.com/en/digital-catalogues/places-faces

Favourite WritersMosaic writer

For me there is only one person that takes that mantle and that’s Jeffrey Boakye. Black, Listed did so much for me, and his curiosity and dedication really shines through in every book of his I read.

https://www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/stock/black-listed-black-british-culture-explored-jeffrey-boakye

Connor Allen

Connor Allen is a poet, playwright, actor, artist and former Children’s Laureate Wales (2021-2023).