The good folks at the NYT profiled me. One to show my grand kids. You can read the whole piece here
Thank you Will Smith
I wrote a whole ass article about how this clip became a poem called Fuck / Tiffany in The Actual. You can read it right here on Wasafiri, and drop me a comment or ask a question about it below…
I wrote and recorded this for the BBC’s forth coming series. 7 Documentaries in total and they will be available on the BBC’s iPlayer. They are Brilliant!
Praise Poem /
Praise the land of hand woven homes
of rainbow seedlings spun to marital necklaces
of cow-belly and calabash, song and string
praise the land of rebellious literature
and literary queens
of literal kings and terrible conquests
praise the terrible, les enfants terribles
raise the dust and praise
the pioneers, the patriots, the painters
and their pain and praise the grace within
I’m really pleased that The Half God Of Rainfall is The Hay Festival’s book of the month. You can read up a lil more about it here, and on the 21st, I’ll be hosting a reading and q&a.
These are odd times to live in, and if, like me, you are and introvert and an extrovert, and oscillate from one extreme to another, being quarantined is challenging on multiple levels. The prime aim is to stay safe and stay healthy and survive this.
237 Likes, 7 Comments - Inua Ellams FRSL (@inuaellams) on Instagram: "Had TOO MUCH FUN in Colombia last week. Shout out to the entire @hayfestival team @britishcouncilco..."
I had never been to Colombia before, bur 4 days after returning from India, I boarded another plane and zoomed to another part of the world. Over the four days there, I got to experience a lot of upper-class white Colombian culture… which is to say that the Afro-Colombians were vastly under-represented across the lineup of events and speakers. However, I met, and have begun to have conversations about what I might be able to do to change that. I had the most fun and the warmest reception there, from those who came to my event, and from people I met on the streets of that affluent, beautiful city.
510 Likes, 21 Comments - Inua Ellams FRSL (@inuaellams) on Instagram: "My theatre face."
I spent a week in India, Delhi and Kerala, performing An Evening with An Immigrant, and found other resonances, other parts of our world that reflect the ideas and themes of the play.
India is vast, over a billion people and over a thousand dialects and language spoken, across many religions. The current Prime Minister, Modi, is essentially a Hindu Trump, who’s nationalist ideas and beliefs is manifesting in a bill of law that stems the migration of Muslims into India and, makes many who have settled there, illegal immigrants.
Many have been campaigning, mostly led by muslim women, who are out on the streets, taking over public roads and spaces, hosting sittings, chanting, praying and refusing to budge while their children write poetry, sing and host political rallies and speeches. As I struggle to finally settle my immigration battles, they help me consider what I have achieved and what so many stand to loose.
452 Likes, 9 Comments - Inua Ellams FRSL (@inuaellams) on Instagram: "From last week's trip to Delhi & Kerala. Good people, Good vibes. X"
859 Likes, 67 Comments - Inua Ellams FRSL (@inuaellams) on Instagram: "On Sunday, We (Half God Of Rainfall) won best Theatre Production at the inaugural Black British..."
This was such a surprise to the team. No one had a speech prepared. My mouth fell open and stood up confused. Really proud one everyone, Kate McGrath @ Fuel, Indhu Rubasingham @ Kiln, Nancy Medina, Kwame Odoom, Rakie Ayola, Max John, Imogen Knight, Jackie Shemesh & Tanjua Amarasuriya.
You missed the play, but you can still buy the book and audio book. The Legend lives on!
Colonel Gaddafi died on this day in 2011. A few years later, I visited Libya and had a meeting with the director of the national theatre there. We got to talking about Gaddafi and he was surprised that I didn’t out and out condemn like most westerners (far as he was concerned, I was an Englishman, imagine, to him) did. He told me that if I ever write a poem about Gaddafi, he would publish it. This is the sonnet I wrote... (haven’t sent it to him)…
For Muammar al-Gaddafi.
#After Simon Armitage
And he took power in a bloodless coup
And brought his people democratic rule
And championed free speech, building new schools
And hung a student who critiqued his views.
And all his speeches were received lukewarm
And he kept promises he’d made to charm
And gave free equipment to start-up farms
And gunned down protestors marching unarmed.
And to each Libyan he pledged a home
And channelled a river through desert stone
And fought imperialism from his bones
And never found peace, and he died alone.
Here’s how we should rate him when we look back:
Sometimes he did this, sometimes he did that.