More Fiya (edited by poet Kayo Chingonyi) is a compelling collection of Black British poetry. Included in the anthology are the work of Rommi Smith, Selina Nwulu and Sheffield’s own Warda Yassin.
The event at Durham Book Festival was co-programmed by the Turn Up for the Books scheme, a partnership project between New Writing North and English PEN designed to give young people aged 16-25 an insight into careers within the world of literature.
The event unfolded with readings from each poet, both from the anthology and brand new material. It was incredible to hear them read their work in their own voices, particularly as the anthology has a particular focus on the performance aspect of poetic verse. These readings, whilst incredibly powerful, were simultaneously incredibly vulnerable. It felt like a real privilege that these words were being shared with me.
The event then moved on to an informal Q&A session. It was effectively a conversation with the poets about their writing, their performance and their process, too. The event was chaired by two young women from the Turn Up for the Books scheme and they truly did an amazing job (especially as it was their first time doing anything like this).
The conversation with the three poets was really fascinating and centred around the significance of their work being collected in a print anthology. This led to a discussion about dispelling the misconception that Black writers are not interested in publishing their work and that they just like to perform it.
All in all, it was an incredible event and I’m really grateful that I had the chance to watch the poets read and to celebrate their poetry. I would encourage anyone who has an interest in literature and the arts to check out Durham Book Festival next year.
