A Dumbarton man will be raising money for prostate cancer research through a poetry and spoken word night at a local library.
Andrew Connolly’s show “The Promise of a Setting Sun” will take place on April 16 from 7pm at Alexandria Library in West Dunbartonshire.
His late father had prostate cancer, and he hopes to use the event to raise awareness about the condition while collecting donations for cancer research.
He will open the night by giving a five minute talk about prostate cancer statistics and the importance of getting checked.
Andrew said: “As well as hopefully entertaining people, there's a wee bit of education there at the beginning and hopefully people will know after hearing that to get checked.”
Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK, and it’s estimated that one in eight men will be diagnosed in their lifetime.
In Scotland, around 1,000 men die from prostate cancer each year, while 32,700 men are living with or after the condition.
When caught early, people with prostate cancer have more treatment options, higher survival rates, and a better quality of life.
Prostate Cancer Research, the beneficiary of Andrew's fundraiser, funds a diverse range of research projects that aim to increase survival rates and improve quality of life for people with prostate cancer.
In his previous poetry fundraiser at the Black Bull Gartmore, Andrew raised £360 for the cause. He will also be running a non-ticketed fundraiser at the Winnock Hotel in Drymen on April 19 at 2pm.
He says that he tries to make poetry that’s accessible and enjoyable to all audiences, even if they’re not familiar with poetry or spoken word.
“Some of it's quite good humour, some of it's dark,” he says. “One minute we're laughing, next minute I'm making them think.”
Andrew hopes that his performance will encourage others to give poetry a try, adding that writing down their thoughts in such a way can help people with their mental health.
"If people hear my poetry and I express things that are worrying me or concern me in a poetic form, they might think and go, 'Oh, I could quite fancy giving that a go,'” he says.
Tickets are free to book, although there will be opportunities to donate to Prostate Cancer Research throughout the night.
