Final Poets of Colour showcase explores the meaning of home, sleep and AI

Ideas on the power of sleeping and dreaming, technology’s ability to connect and divide, and what home means to us were explored by talented writers as part of a pioneering project to support emerging poets of colour in the North of England.  

From large-scale projections of poems-as-paintings to musical interpretations, and even performance poetry designed to simulate sleep stages, the graduating poets showcased their work last night (September 12) at Manchester’s Contact Theatre. 

Their work was the culmination of a year-long creative development programme which has supported them to hone their craft and gain the confidence and tools needed for career success. 

The final performance marked the conclusion of the inaugural Poets of Colour Incubator, a programme delivered by Manchester Met’s Manchester Poetry Library and immersive change agency Words of Colour, and funded by Art’s Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants. 

The initiative gave poets Jeremy Pak Nelson, Ilisha Thiru Purcel and Princess Arinola Adegbite access to and support from a team of experienced mentors.  

This included TS Eliot prize winning poet Roger Robinson, plus the opportunity to develop their creative ideas alongside students and staff at Manchester Met, and the public, and a £6,000 bursary to create vibrant new work in response to a global challenge of their choice. 

Becky Swain, Director of Manchester Poetry Library, said: “It has been amazing to see the quality of new writing and performance created over the last year by Ilisha, Jeremy and Princess. Each of our poets, and the Incubator Collective, have been supported by a host of brilliant writers and creative wellbeing mentors on this year-long programme. As a team at Manchester Poetry Library, we have learnt so much from co-leading the Poets of Colour Incubator with Joy Francis, and we will take that learning into our future work.” 

Joy Francis, Executive Director of Words of Colour and the Poets of Colour Incubator’s Project Manager, added: “It has been a pleasure to work with Ilisha, Jeremy and Princess this past year. They have experimented, pushed beyond their comfort zones and have flourished as individual artists - and as a collective. As a result, they have produced exciting, stimulating and thought-provoking work.” 

Among the experts supporting the poets over the past year has been award winning Creative Writing Lecturer at Manchester Met’s Manchester Writing School Malika Booker, who gave a recital of her own poetry at the event. 

About the poets 

The concept of home and what reminds people of home was Jeremy Pak Nelson’s chosen theme, with his poetry and final performance taking inspiration from Hong Kong, where he lived until moving to the UK in 2018. 

Blending spoken word references from his childhood, audio soundscapes, and projected animated images of post-it notes written by members of the public in response to ‘what makes you think of home?’, Pak Nelson’s performance explored ideas around relocation and common identity. 

He said: “At a community drop-in session earlier this year I asked people to note down what home means to them. I used this as inspiration for my poetry, as well as my own experience moving from Hong Kong and elements of my childhood memories. 

“I also worked with an incredible Manchester-based artist called Ula Fung, who was also born in Hong Kong, and who painted a large-scale canvas titled Human, Beast, Ghost as a response to our ongoing conversation about migration and diaspora. Working with Ula and everyone involved in the Poets of Colour programme including at the masterclasses, has been a privilege and will be hugely valuable for my future career.” 

Taking sleep as her theme, Ilisha Thiru Purcell investigated the question of who is able to rest. Following input from interviews and her own experiences, she developed her performance which took the audience through various cycles of sleep to highlight the issue of health inequalities and the power of dreams. 

She said: “My performance moves through stages that are surreal and dream-like, punctuated by questions from a sleep questionnaire that I created. I’ve enjoyed introducing movement and audiovisual elements for the audience to have an immersive experience. 

“Getting the opportunity to work with such inspiring professionals and receive mentoring over this past year has been amazing and I’m grateful for all the support I’ve received.” 

Thiru Purcell collaborated with Newcastle based visual artist Janna Ajmal, who created a piece of art in response to Thiru Purcell’s poem 10 Ways into Water, images of which were projected onto the screen at the performance.  

Poet Princess Arinola Adegbite created work spanning poetry, live music and film, each exploring AI and technology’s role in romantic relationships, family and health. She said: “For my performance I mixed poetry, films and music for a cross-art form immersive experience.