Everybody is welcome to our bimonthly book group! We meet on the first Tuesday of every other month.
This month, Tuesday 2nd March at 7.30pm, we’ll be reading poetry by Caleb Femi, which we’ll post here soon. Everyone is welcome, and there’s no pressure to read the book ahead of time. Bring a glass of wine or a cup of tea and join us! soon here and in our monthly newsletter.
Femi is a young poet and director. He arrived in the UK from Nigeria at age seven, to live with his parents on London’s North Peckham Estate. His poems tend to explore the trials, tribulations, dreams and joys of young Black boys in twenty-first century Peckham.
His debut collection, ‘Poor’, has been described as ‘startlingly beautiful’ and ‘a breath-taking ode to Femi’s black boyhood lived inside the concrete blocks and walkways of the estate’. We will talk about 3 of the poems particularly, which have all been filmed and are available online in video format:
‘Because of the Times’, read here by Yinka Bokinni in tribute to Damilola Taylor who died on the estate Femi grew up on: Damilola Taylor: A tribute to my friend - BBC News
‘Coping’ Caleb Femi - Coping - YouTube explores grief and mourning through the eyes of black boys.
‘And They Knew Light’ Caleb Femi - And They Knew Light – YouTube, a poem and film Femi made after the Grenfell Tower tragedy to take back that narrative on council estates.
Join us on the Zoom meeting link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89113426399?pwd=QllFUTB0aEU0b3o0YmxHYk05UzJnUT09
Meeting ID: 891 1342 6399
Passcode: 661616