The R.A.P. Party @The London Library: Windrush Day (In person)
We're joining forces with the RSL to bring the exhilarating live literature phenomenon, the R.A.P. (Rhythm and Poetry) Party, back to The London Library with a Windrush Day twist. Still the usual nostalgic, no-clutter, no-fuss, evening of poetry and music, but this time we're swapping hip-hop for reggae and the evening will be curated and hosted by award-winning poet and RSL fellow Raymond Antrobus. The line up includes: Dean Atta, Casey Bailey, Malika Booker, Anthony Vahni Capildeo, Courtney Conrad, Mr Gee, Keith Jarrett, Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa, Deanna Rodger and DJ Hasani.
Ten poets + a DJ = the best night out you’ll ever have in a library – or anywhere, for that matter.
'A truly fluid literary event not just mingling poetry and music together seamlessly, but also bringing different tribes of poets: ages, races, gender, styles together. You will be moved in your heart and in your head.’— Roger Robinson
This event will be BSL interpreted.
Raymond Antrobus MBE FRSL is a multi-award-winning poet, writer and educator. He is the author of Shapes & Disfigurements (Burning Eye, 2012) To Sweeten Bitter (Out-Spoken Press, 2017), The Perseverance (Penned In The Margins / Tin House, 2018) and All The Names Given (Picador / Tin House, 2021).
Dean Atta is an award-winning British author and poet whose works include a poetry collection There is (still) love here and a novel in verse, The Black Flamingo, which won the Stonewall Book Award and was shortlisted for numerous further prestigious awards.
Casey Bailey is an award-winning writer, performer and educator, born and raised in Nechells, Birmingham. Casey was the Birmingham Poet Laureate 2020 - 2022. He is a fellow at the University of Worcester, and in 2021 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Education by Newman University.
Malika Booker FRSL is a British poet of Guyanese and Grenadian parentage, a lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University and co-founder of the writers' collective, Malika’s Poetry Kitchen. Her collections include Breadfruit and Pepper Seed and her poem 'The Little Miracles' won The Forward Prize for Best Single Poem (2020). She was awarded the Cholmondeley Award (2019) for outstanding contribution to poetry.
Anthony (Vahni) Capildeo FRSL is Professor and Writer in Residence at the University of York. Their site-specific word and visual arts includes responses to Cornwall’s former capital, Launceston, as the Causley Trust Poet in Residence (2022) and to the Ubatuba granite of the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds (2023). Recent publications include Like a Tree, Walking and A Happiness .
Courtney Conrad is a Jamaican poet. She is an Eric Gregory Award winner and a Bridport Prize Young Writers Award recipient. Her work has been widely anthologised and she is an alumna of The London Library Emerging Writers Programme, Malika's Poetry Kitchen, Barbican Young Poets, Obsidian Foundation Retreat, Griots Well Collective and Roundhouse Poetry Collective.
Mr Gee has been a veteran on the UK's Spoken Word scene since the 90s. He has presented several radio series for Radio 4 and National Prison Radio and his poetry has been used to launch the 2023 FA Cup Finals and the 2021 Euros. His work has also been included in the 2022 anthology The Other Windrush which explored the story of Indian and Chinese Indentured labourers in the Caribbean.
Dr Keith Jarrett is a writer, performer and academic of Jamaican heritage. His work explores Black history, religion and sexuality. A multiple poetry slam champion, he was selected for the International Literary Showcase as one of 10 outstanding LGBT UK-based writers. Keith teaches at NYU London and is completing his debut novel.
Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa is a British born Barbadian raised choreopoet and PhD student at the University of Leeds, whose interdisciplinary art braids dance and poetry. Safiya is an Obsidian Foundation alumna and an Apples & Snakes/ Jerwood Arts Poetry in Performance recipient. Her debut collection Cane, Corn & Gully was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize and won Barbados’ Gine On People’s Choice Book of The Year Award.
Deanna Rodger is a former UK Poetry Slam Champion who has performed and facilitated around the world. She has worked with FIFA, Disney, St Paul’s Cathedral, Nationwide, Keats’ House, Young Vic and Adidas and her reimagined 'If', was read by Serena Williams for BBC Sport International Women’s Day 2021. She is founder of Who Knows Poetry, a facilitation training platform. Publications include I Did It Too and his fingers have left.
The Royal Society for Literature, founded in 1820, is the UK’s charity for the advancement of literature, acting as a voice for the value of literature, engaging people in appreciating literature, and encouraging and honouring writers.
Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
Books by the artists will be available to purchase at the event and online through our partner bookshop Hatchards.
N.B. This event will take place in person at The London Library. Please see our Event Access and COVID Guidelines before you arrive. Doors (and the bar) open at 6.30pm for a 7.00pm start.
London Library events are subject to Terms and Conditions.
