26-year-old Nigerian poet and English teacher has been named as London’s first Young People’s Laureate.
Caleb Femi was given the prestigious role by a panel of arts bodies and
individual judges, including The Roundhouse, the Poetry Society and
Jacob Sam-La Rose.
The poet, teacher and photographer has been given the responsibility to
raise the awareness of poetry in the capital, nationally and
internationally.
Spread the Word’s young laureate initiative funded by the Foundation for
Future London, follows the young poet laureate for London scheme, a
position held in the past by Warsan Shire, the Somali-British poet who
hit the headlines for her role in Beyonce’s visual album ‘Lemonade’ and
also Aisling Fahey and Selina Nwulu
The laureate will also support the development of aspiring poets and
youths, through development initiatives such as Poetry Lab and raising
issues that affect them in his prose. Speaking about his new role, Femi
said:
“I feel honoured and excited to be the First Young People’s Laureate for
London. I want to maintain that awareness that anything is achievable. I
also want to normalise poetry across all demographies.”
The Nigerian teacher arrived in London at the age of seven and grew up
on the North Peckham Estate, where Damilola Taylor lived before his
murder in 2000 at the age of 10. Femi believes his professional and
social backgrounds will equip him to address the issues affecting young
black men and women.
“Because of where I have lived and taught, a school in Tottenham, I
became familiar with a high percentage of the pupils who were young
black boys and girls. The result is that I’m aware of the platforms and
issues that are relevant to them. I want to translate these issues into
poetry, which I believe will make them more understandable,” he added.
During his year-long residency, the laureate will work alongside Spread
the Word, London’s writer development agency, to develop a range of
poetry opportunities and achieve his objectives. Among the projects Femi
will lead include The Young People’s Poetry Prize and The Young
People’s PoetryLab – a development project which will involve working
alongside poetry mentors and practitioners.
At the end of his tenure, he will lead a development day, The Young
People’s Poetry Salon, which will feature a showcase of the finest new
young page and spoken word poetry talent in London. Femi, who started
writing what he refers to as “grime” at the age of 16, has advice for
aspiring poets.
“It’s important to read as much diverse poetry collections as possible –
Indian, Caribbean and African. That will provide ideas as to where
developing poets can fit in and how they can introduce something new.”
More photos…
Source: The Guardian UK/Voice Newspaper/Caleb Femi
