Back by popular demand, poet Inua Ellams brings his exhilarating live literature phenomenon the R.A.P. (Rhythm and Poetry) Party to The London Library for a nostalgic, no-clutter, no-fuss, evening of hip-hop-inspired poems and favourite hip-hop songs. 

Ten poets + a DJ = the best night out you’ll ever have in a library – or anywhere, for that matter.

Joining Inua will be: Fahad Al-Amoudi, Isabelle Baafi, Alba Frederick, Will Harris, Sunnah Khan, Christy Ku, Shanay Neusum-James, Ben Norris, Nikesh Shukla and DJ Lily Fileen.

'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

Inua Ellams is a Nigerian-born, UK-based poet, playwright and performer who has written for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre and the BBC. His latest play was an adaptation of Chekhov’s Three Sisters set in Nigeria, staged at the National Theatre. The Actual his fifth poetry release, and first full collection was published in 2020 by Penned in the Margins. 

Fahad Al-Amoudi is a poet and editor of Ethiopian and Yemeni heritage based in London. His work is published in Poetry London, bath magg and Butcher’s Dog. He is the winner of the White Review Poets Prize 2022 and has been shortlisted for the Brunel International African Poets Prize. He is an Obsidian alumnus, Writing Squad graduate, member of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen and is the Reviews Editor for Magma. 

Isabelle Baafi is a writer, poet, editor, and critic. Her debut pamphlet, Ripe, was a winner of the 2021 Somerset Maugham Award, and was the PBS Pamphlet Choice for Spring 2021. She is the Assistant Editor at Poetry London, a Ledbury Poetry Critic, and an Obsidian Foundation Fellow. She is currently studying Creative Writing at the University of Oxford, and writing her debut collection.

Alba Frederick is a mixed-heritage poet, podcaster and visual artist from London. Her poetry has featured in numerous anthologies and in 2021 she released On Being, an illustrated poetry pamphlet. In 2018 she formed part of Invisible Presence, a collective for British/Latinx writers and has performed in venues including The Roundhouse, The Albany and The British Museum. 

Will Harris is a London-based poet whose debut poetry book RENDANG, published in 2020 by Granta, was a Poetry Book Society Choice, shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. His poem SAY was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem in 2018 and his essay Mixed-Race Superman, was published in 2018 by Peninsula Press. 

Sunnah Khan is a poet, filmmaker and creative facilitator living in London. Her debut pamphlet I Don't Know How To Forgive You When You Make No Apology For This Haunting was published by Rough Trade Books in 2020. She makes up 1/4 of the radical poetry collective 4 BROWN GIRLS WHO WRITE. 

Christy Ku is a poet, performer, photographer and facilitator. She has worked with the BBC, Apples & Snakes, the Barbican and recently featured on the BAFTA-winning show Life and Rhymes on Sky Arts. An alumna of the Barbican Young Poets, National Youth Theatre and New Earth Actors Academy, she is the founder of BESEA Poets, a platform for British based East and South-East Asian poets and co-host and editor of the TeaTotal podcast. 

Shanay Neusum-James is a southeast London-based writer and actress. She is an alumna of the Roundhouse Poetry Collective, Barbican Young Poets and The Obsidian Foundation and has had work published in Ambit, Magma and fourteenpoems journal and featured at London Fashion Week 2021. She is a staff writer at sweet-thang zine and her debut pamphlet surrender dorothy is forthcoming with Bad Betty Press this year. 

Ben Norris is a poet, playwright and actor. His second poetry pamphlet, Some Ending, was published with Verve in 2019. He has performed everywhere from Latitude Festival to the Proms and is currently appearing in The Choir of Man in the West End. An award-winning playwright, he has been commissioned by the BBC, Southbank Centre and was a former writer-in-residence at Theatr Clwyd and Creative Associate at Nottingham Playhouse.

Nikesh  Shukla is a novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of the novels Coconut Unlimited, Meatspace and The One Who Wrote Destiny, YA novels Run, Riot and The Boxer and the editor of the bestselling essay collection The Good Immigrant. He is co-founder of The Good Journal  and The Good Literary Agency and was named one of Time’s cultural leaders, Foreign Policy's 100 Global Thinkers and The Bookseller's 100. His new book is Brown Baby: A Memoir Of Race, Family And Home.

N.B. This event will take place in person at The London Library in alignment with up-to-date government COVID recommendations. 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.

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