Poetry under Occupation
By Shareefa Energy. I was invited to The Freedom Theatre in Jenin Refugee Camp in the West Bank in Palestine as lead facilitator for the 2022 ‘Through The Eyes of Women – Feminist Theatre Festival,’ to deliver poetry and creative writing workshops, alongside performing poetry in Jenin and Ramallah. I last facilitated poetry and public speaking…
Michael Rosen – ‘Many Different Kinds of Love’
In March 2020, I got Covid. My condition dipped and I was put into an induced coma for 40 days. By the time I got home after 3 months in hospital, I was weak and confused. I started to write poems to help me get a handle on what had happened and what was happening day by day now that I was out.
Shaun Hill – ‘That night, I saw god under a traffic light, hold me warm blooded thing’
Shaun Hill is a 26-year-old poet mapping post-capitalist ways of being. He lives in leafy Birmingham and was the recipient of an Apples & Snakes | Jerwood Arts: Poetry in Performance Award for 2020.
Rojbin Arjen Yigit – ‘B Flat Seventy-Five Octaves Below Middle C’
Rojbîn Arjen Yigit is a Kurdish writer and medical student. She has written for Bad Form, Gal-Dem, Lucy Writers, theartsdesk and AZEEMA. She is part of The Writing Room – a poetry programme led by Apples & Snakes.
Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa – ‘Carnival Queen’
Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa is a British born Barbadian raised interdisciplinary poet who chiefly uses movement and dance to compose her work on the page and stage.
Neelam Saredia-Brayley – ‘Wives’
Neelam Saredia-Brayley is an award-winning poet, captivating audiences for over 9 years. Effortlessly warm and honest, Neelam works with illustrators, musicians and dancers, creating unique, multi-disciplinary performances.
lisa luxx – ‘I Always Thought’
lisa luxx is a queer writer, performer, essayist and activist of British and Syrian heritage. She writes for freedoms, for healing, to mobilise and to inquire.
Lashay Green – ‘Teething’
Lashay is a poet, spoken word artist, writer, and playwright from North-West London. She recently completed a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing. Her past creative engagements include the Kiln Theatre, in which she wrote a short play Eulogies written entirely in spoken word.
Ingrid McLaren – ‘Blue’
Ingrid is a writer, artist and musician who is trying to be heard and stuff. She has performed poetry nationally, was selected to perform as a regional poet at Hit the Ode in Birmingham and ran a poetry and discussion event called Processed Feud in Brighton which was funded by hummus.
Eileen Gbagbo – ‘Oil Fields’
Eileen Gbagbo is a spoken word artist and journalist based in London. Originally from Ghana, she is interested in how we use the boundaries of language to help understand the historical and phenomenon of the world.
Desree – ‘Snakes’
Desree is a spoken word artist, writer and facilitator based in London and Slough. Currently Artist in Residence for poetry collective EMPOWORD, Desree explores intersectionality, justice and social commentary.
Chika Jones – ‘Is This why we Have Nightmares?’
Chika Jones is a performance poet who was endorsed by the Arts Council of England in 2021 and received the Global Talent Visa. He relocated to the UK and has performed for the British Billingual Poetry Collective. He is currently working on a Poetry translation for a British Sign Language project.
Cherry Eckel – ‘Rising’
Cherry is a London-based writer, director, performer, and spoken-word poet. She is interested in creating work that is relevant, empowering, electric, and blurs boundaries between disciplines.
Anneliese Amoah – ‘Sorry for the Late Reply’
Anneliese has been writing & performing spoken word poetry for almost five years. Having grown up and lived in Ghana, London and now Essex, the themes of her work centre mainly around her upbringing, race, religion & current affairs.
Bhumika Billa – ‘My Mother Lives In Me’
Bhumika (she/her) is an Indian poet, Kathak dancer and legal academic based in Cambridge, UK. She writes on privilege, heritage, and mental health to bring together languages, art forms, and people.
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