“I want to find a way to pull back the curtain to reveal the inner room. To make sense of the lives I see, by writing the stories of the peripheral, the quiet, the backstage character.”
Edson Burton is a poet, drama writer, curator and historian.
Edson Burton in conversation with Colin Grant
Talking about his evolution as a poet, playwright and public intellectual, as well as his mesmeric creation for radio, the time-travelling, eternal Deacon.
Biography
Dr Edson Burton is a prolific writer of audio, live drama and poetry. Edson won the 2025 Tinniswood Prize for Man Friday, an adaptation of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. Edson’s previous audio dramas include the acclaimed Radio 4 series Deacon, starring Don Warrington. Recent live work includes the listening journey Duppy Hunter, produced by Tamasha Theatre, and the theatrical promenade Destination Old Market.
Edson is the author of the poetry collections Seasoned (2009) and Witness (2025). Edson is a contributor to WritersMosaic, a member of the film collective Come the Revolution, and a board member of Lyra poetry festival and Afrika Eye film festival.
