A Newcastle-based poet who lived in Japan for 10 years is launching her first collection. Sing Me Down From the Dark explores the highs and lows of Alexandra Corrin-Tachibana’s sojourn in Japan, two international marriages, a homecoming, and the struggles of cross-cultural relationships.

Alexandra Corrin-Tachibana teaches humanities at Newcastle University and holds a Masters in Japanese language. One fellow poet, Heidi Williamson, has said that she “explores expectations on women in different cultures, in marriage, and motherhood. Love in all its unidealised difficulty is explored with humour and grittiness and is by turns spirited, suffocating, salty, sweary, sexy.”

She will be at Waterstone’s in Newcastle on Friday 11 November at 7pm to talk about her collection and sign copies of her book. More details

Publication of the collection earlier this month also marks part of the relaunch of Salt Modern Poets, which was initiated in 1999.