where Africa speaks and the world listens

Presented by London Slam Central:
history -¦- about London Slam Central -¦- featured readers

SPECIAL EVENT - November 10, 2005
Start Time: 6.30pm - 7.30pm

The African Writers' Evening hosts another quality evening of literature in two parts and in two venues: We start at the Poetry Cafe with the acclaimed Ghanaian poet Atukwei Okai who will do an exclusive reading and Q&A, then we head to Jamm in Brixton to join in the launch of one of the most significant poetry collections for Africa's equitable treatment struggle, Dance the Guns to Silence - published in honour of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 8.

Address 1: 22 Betterton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2
entry: £4
to reserve a seat: events [at] x-bout [dot] com

Address 2: 'Jamm' 261 Brixton Rd SW9 6LH
8.00pm - 3am
£5 b4 9.30pm £7 after

Readings from 7.30-9.30 with Jack Mapanje, Sarah Maguire, John Lyons, Rommi S, and later performances with Heather Taylor, Steve Tasane, and Zena Edwards.

featured reader
November: Atukwei Okai
Biography:

Author of Oath of the Frontonfrom (Simon & Schuster, 1971; Ghana Edition: GPC, 2005) and Logorligi Logarithms (GPC 1974, 2005) and fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Atukwei Okai's poems have been published in numerous anthologies and international journals such as The New African Okyeame, The New American Review, The Atlantic Monthly, Black World, and Literary Cavalcade, and have been translated into several languages. His performances worldwide include an acclaimed 1975 appearance at Poetry International at Queen Elizabeth Hall and his poem, Oblongo Concerto, was featured in a special meridian-line display at the Millennium Dome exhibition in Greenwich.


Prof Femi Osofisan of Nigeria declared in the Second Annual African Studies Lecture at Leeds University that "Okai was the first to try to take African poetry back to one of its primal origins, in percussion, by deliberately violating the syntax and lexicon of English, creating his own rhythms through startling phonetic innovations …"


News:

African Writers' Evening listed in BBC recommended events list
Previous feature, Diana Evans, wins Orange New Writer Prize
Founder Nii Ayikwei Parkes fronts BBC's African Bookclub


Upcoming Features:

Next year

for previous features click on relevant months below

This event is now supported by the Arts Council.
Other London SLAM Central events supported by the Arts Council are: Outdooring and Spoken Soul

*SLAM stands for Society, Literature, Art and Music