POETRY DAY IRELAND - MAY DAY
JAPA FIRE Book Launch with Poetry Readings from NANDI JOLA & Other Poets
Little Acorns Bookstore Derry
Thurs 1 May 2025 / 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Free Admission / Booking essential / Light Refreshments
Books for sale & signing
POETRY DAY IRELAND is an annual island-wide celebration of poetry taking place on Thursday 1 May with the theme MAY DAY.
Rich with poetic inspiration, MAY DAY is rooted in the ancient fire festival of Bealtaine, which celebrates renewal, hope and abundance. It’s also a day of solidarity and collective strength through it's global recognition as International Workers' Day.
JAPA FIRE: An Anthology of Poems on African and African Diasporic Migration, edited by Ambrose Musiyiwa and
R. Munya, features 63 poems from 20 poets, published by CivicLeicester (Dec 2024). Paperback £9.99.
It is the first in a new series of poetry anthologies exploring themes around African and African diasporic migration and (im)mobility.
One of the contributors, South African poet, NANDI JOLA, based in Belfast, will be reading in person along with five other contributors (virtually) that include the poets Tifany MarSah, Mark Kennedy Nsereko, Philippa Hatendi-Louiceus, Ayo Ayoola-Amale (who's poem 'The Japa Fire' inspired the title) and Anayo Dioha, via a pre-recorded YouTube link.
Coordinated by Forced Migration and The Arts, CivicLeicester (publisher)and the migrants' rights collective, Regularise; the Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series was inspired by the Africa Migration Report: Linking policy, practice and the welfare of the African migrant. This is the first anthology of the series.
The Derry event is held in partnership with The School of Arts and Humanities, Magee University / Ulster University.
ABOUT THE POETS:
* Nandi Jola was born in Gqebera, South Africa, based in Belfast, is a poet, a playwright and a creative writing facilitator. She is a guest editor for Poetry Ireland's Trumpet and professional member of the Irish Writers Centre. She holds a MA in Poetry from the Seamus Heaney Centre, is a UK Game Changer in the Arts and is currently research fellow with the Ulster Museums working on colonial legacies. Her debut collection Home Is Neither Here Nor There was published in 2022 by Doire Press.
* Tifany MarSah is an all rounded creative currently solidifying herself in the UK poetry scene. As a poet she encapsulates vulnerability through imagery, storytelling and conversation. Through "spoken letters" her pieces send a message from experiences and paint a connection to past/present/futuristic emotions and moments that are mutually experienced.
* Mark Kennedy Nsereko is a Muganda writer, and lawyer. His works are a reflection on injustice. They are also a glimpse into the orchestra of beautiful chaos that is his mind. These have been featured in the poetry anthology, I Promise This Song Is Not About Politics (East African Network of University Law Clinics, 2022) and in the magazines Brittle Paper, African Writer, Akpata, and Iskanchi.
*Philippa Hatendi-Louiceus was born in Zimbabwe and traversed three continents for education. Her journey culminated in a Bachelor's Degree in the Arts. Scribbling since her teens, her pen dances to the rhythms of African culture, mythos and folklore, weaving tales that honour the richness of her heritage.
* Ayo Ayoola-Amale is the author of six volumes of poetry. She believes that art expresses the inherent beauty in human experience and the environment with a sense of poetry and unbridled sensitivity. Ayo is a Social Justice poet and the founder/director of Splendors of Dawn Poetry Foundation.
* Anayo Dioha is a lawyer and writer from the Igbo tribe of Nigeria. His poems lie on the online and print pages of The New Verse News, Queen's Quarterly, Password: Very Short Poetry and The Literary Cocktail Magazine. He's on course to complete PhD in Law.
**
In association with Forced Migration and The Arts / CivicLeicester (publisher) / Regularise & Ulster University (Magee)
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