Selected coverage of Matthew Byrne and the Spittoon Arts Collective.
Interviews and Features
The Beijinger — August 2020
Musician and Founder of Spittoon Literary Magazine Matthew Byrne Bids Farewell to Beijing. A full interview with Matthew before leaving China after seven years, covering Spittoon’s growth, the magazine’s evolution, and the collective’s future. Read →
That’s Shanghai / That’s Beijing — April 2021
How a China-based Arts Collective is Growing Around the Globe. Cover story for That’s Magazine’s April 2021 issue across Shanghai, Beijing, and GBA editions, tracing Spittoon’s growth from a Beijing hutong bar to a collective spanning four continents. Read →
China Daily Hong Kong — June 2021
Expat-initiated Arts Collective Thrives in Multicultural Beijing. Syndicated across China Daily’s Hong Kong and mainland platforms, covering Spittoon’s sixth anniversary and quoting Matthew Byrne on the collective’s ethos and mission. Read →
Manchester Metropolitan University — March 2019
Alumnus Matthew Byrne Founds Spittoon Collective in Beijing and Gothenburg. A feature by the Manchester Writing School profiling Matthew’s work building Spittoon since graduating with an MA in Creative Writing. Read →
The World of Chinese — January 2019
Spiterary Ambitions. An interview with Matthew Byrne and Simon Shieh about Spittoon’s mission to bring contemporary Chinese writing to international readers. Read →
China.org.cn — May 2018
Spittoon Poetry Marks 3 Years of Literary Exchange in Beijing. A feature on China’s state-backed English-language news portal covering Spittoon’s third anniversary, with Matthew Byrne quoted directly as founder. Read →
The Beijinger — September 2017
Nosedive Into the Universe of Spoken Word With Spittoon Collective. An interview with Matthew ahead of the Spittoon Literary Tour and the launch of the Spittoon Poetry Slam. Read →
The Beijinger — May 2017
Party Time for Poets at Launch of Second Spittoon Magazine. Matthew Byrne and Simon Shieh discuss the growth of the magazine and Spittoon’s expanding reach across China. Read →
The Beijinger — November 2016
Great Expectorations for Spittoon, Beijing’s Newest Literary Magazine. Coverage of the launch of Spittoon Literary Magazine Issue 1, with over 200 people attending the launch night. Read →
Capital Ethiopia — September 2019
New Open Mic Event for Poets and Writers. Coverage of the launch of Spittoon Addis Ababa, describing the collective founded by British poet Matthew Byrne as it spread to East Africa. Read →
Loreli China
Matthew Byrne, Poetry is Rock n’ Roll. An early interview about Spittoon’s founding philosophy, the poetry-in-translation format, and what makes Beijing’s literary scene distinctive. Read →
Loreli China
Read Spittoon. An interview about the launch of Spittoon Literary Magazine, its origins, and Matthew’s vision for the publication. Read →
Podcast and Audio
Sinica Podcast — July 2024
Anthony Tao: The Poetry and Soul of Beijing. In an episode of Kaiser Kuo’s widely-read China affairs podcast, Spittoon’s Beijing coordinator Anthony Tao credits Matthew Byrne as the founder of a collective still running a decade after its creation. Read transcript →
Crazy in a Good Way Podcast — January 2018
The Arts and Literary Scene in China. Matthew Byrne as a guest discussing Spittoon’s activities, the Spittunes format, and Beijing’s literary community at the collective’s third year. Listen →
Also Mentioned In
The Beijinger — Backgrounder on Spittoon, Beijing’s Literary Supergroup (July 2022)
The Beijinger — Art Battle Beijing (February 2019)
The Beijinger — Anthony Tao Poetry Book Launch — tribute to predecessor Matthew Byrne (May 2024)
Paper Republic Newsletter — Spittoon founder Matthew Byrne interviews Simon Shieh and Xiao Yue (April 2022)
The Beijinger — Spittoon Turns 10: A Night of Literature and Music (May 2025)
Matthew Byrne | Writer, Founder, Digital Marketer 