Malika Booker invited to perform alongside Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka for World Poetry Day
Renowned writer and creative writing lecturer at Manchester Met Malika Booker has been invited to perform with Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka on World Poetry Day at an event in Lagos, Nigeria celebrating his 90th birthday.
The University’s Manchester Writing School and Manchester Poetry Library will also be celebrating World Poetry Day (21 March) with events and activities taking place during the day.
Booker was invited to write two response pieces to Soyinka’s poems from his new collection Selected Poems (1965-2022): A Retrospective exploring themes of activism, justice, freedom, and civil rights, as well as performing some of her own poems.
Booker will perform at the prestigious event ProvidusBank World Poetry Day Café: An Evening with Wole Soyinka to mark his 90th birthday which will feature music and performances from several local and international poets.
A multi-award-winning poet, Booker most recently won the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem in 2023 for her powerful poem Libation which focuses on grief and Caribbean rituals.
A Nigerian playwright, poet and political activist, Soyinka was the first African writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986.
Soyinka is an inspirational Nigerian icon who has published hundreds of plays, dramas, novels, essays, and poetry during his illustrious career alongside his profound activism work.
Booker said: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I feel overwhelmed to have been asked to contribute to this momentous event, and excited to be in the company of such a legendary literary figure.
“Being able to personally celebrate Wole Soyinka’s 90th birthday, his new poetry collection and World Poetry Day in Nigeria is an honour. I’ve long admired Soyinka’s writing, his activism, and the legacy he’s left for poets of colour. I can’t wait to celebrate with him on World Poetry Day.”
World Poetry Day is held every year on March 21 and the University is also celebrating the day with a variety of events and activities that demonstrate its strength in creative writing.
The University’s Manchester Poetry Library, the first public poetry library in the North West, will be hosting the second Manchester Translation Series on March 21, from 6.30pm to 8pm.
Hosted by Dr Brian Sneeden and featuring literary translator and editor Peter Constantine, and award-winning Modern Greek poet Eleni Kefala, the event will include a poetry reading, and a discussion on translation, visual art, and multilingualism.
Also part of the Manchester Translation Series is Lost Wor(l)ds Exhibition: Intersemiotic Translations by Peter Constantine, an exhibition on display at Manchester Poetry Library until April 25 featuring a collection of artworks created by Peter Constantine, alongside broadside prints designed by 35 MA Publishing students which are translations of Greek poetry by Elena Kefala created in a collaborative public translation workshop.
Elsewhere, the University’s Manchester Writing School are hosting a two-part event in collaboration with Manchester Cathedral on March 21 exploring Christianity in poetry.
From Caribbean Ritual to an Elizabethan Magus: Placing Christianity in Contemporary Poetry will feature University poets and lecturers Malika Booker, who will be joining the event virtually, and Michael Symmons Roberts alongside poet, critic and poetry editor at the Times Literary Supplement Camille Ralphs who will talk about how they engage with Christianity in their work.
There will be a discussion at the University’s All Saints Library (12pm to 1pm) followed by an evening poetry reading at Manchester Cathedral (6.30pm to 8pm).
