National Poetry Day with Patience Agbabi

On 6th October, Queen Anne's English Department welcomed the poet, Patience Agbabi in conjunction with our National Poetry Day celebrations.
 

Patience ran two brilliant sessions; the first was a poetry masterclass on October's Black History Month theme of 'Celebrating our Sisters, Saluting our Sisters, and Honouring Matriarchs of Movements’. In this inspirational session, Patience spoke to members of the Afro-Caribbean Society about the hidden histories of forgotten black female figures. A keen runner herself, Patience celebrated the life and achievements of athlete Anita Neal in a poem of hers which she performed to the group.

A dynamic performance poet, Patience entertained and inspired the L4s and 4s in her second session, with her poem, 'The Word', where she celebrates the interaction between the spoken word and the written word. She also shared poems in which she explores her cultural identity such as 'Seeing Red' and 'UFO Woman' (pronounced oofoe). Students and staff were extremely lucky to meet such a talented and engaging poet!