October 2022
The past years saw the phenomenal growth and spread of contemporary live literature in different realities in Europe and elsewhere. How can poetry and music, creative writing and film, create and highlight the artistic interconnectedness of plural voices in Italy and the UK? Whose wor(l)d is this? Diverse Voices in Urban Literature in the UK and Italy explores and promotes Live Literature practices (poetry, playwriting, and creative nonfiction writing) in relation to music, film and other artistic expressions to generate an inclusive, socially engaged artistic language for the new generations of diverse voices, with dedicated events between Rome and London, and the publication of a zine.
Whose wor(l)d is this? Diverse Voices in Urban Literature in the UK and Italy is supported by the British Council International Collaboration Grants, which are designed to support the UK and overseas organisations to collaborate on international arts projects. The project is a collaboration between SPAZIO GRIOT, OhhFive - Inua Ellams and Orbita/Spellbound.
Inua Ellams
is a poet, playwright and performer. He is an ambassador for the Ministry of Stories and his published books of poetry include Candy Coated Unicorns and Converse All Stars, Thirteen Fairy Negro Tales, The Wire-Headed Heathen, #Afterhours and The Half-God of Rainfall – an epic story in verse. His play The 14th Tale was awarded a Fringe First at the Edinburgh International Theatre Festival and Barbershop Chronicles sold out two runs at England’s National Theatre. He recently completed his first full poetry collection The Actual, is currently touring An Evening With An Immigrant and working on several commissions across stage and screen. He lives and works in London, where he founded the Midnight Run, The Rhythm and Poetry Party (The R.A.P Party) and Poetry + Film / Hack (P+F/H). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.