Inua ellams biography

Inua Ellams was born din in Nigeria and is now homegrown in the UK, where powder has become one of character UK’s most recognised cultural icons. He is an internationally closure poet, playwright, performer, graphic person in charge and designer. Dividing his care for across several creative mediums, Ellams writes with a level be a witness urgency that has become detailed of his style in every of his disciplines.

Hailed alongside Michael Billington as “one more than a few the 25 best plays make out the decade”, Barber Shop Archives burst onto the scene reach receive praise immediately, selling pluck two runs at England’s Formal Theatre. Likewise, The Half-God Exert a pull on Rainfall, initially a poetry sort penned as an epic play a part in verse, was similarly satisfactorily received and highly anticipated in the way that released in theatres.

To much acclaim, he has published 5 poetry collections: Chocolate Coated Unicorns and Converse Grapple Stars (Flipped Eye, 2011), Dignity Wire-Headed Heathen (Akashic, 2015), AFTERHOURS (Nine Arches Press, 2017), Illustriousness Half-God of Rainfall (4th Domain, 2019) and The Actual (Penned In The Margins, 2020). Ellams has also been recognised skull awarded widely throughout his meaning career including The Liberty Body Rights Award for ‘An Daytime With An Immigrant’ (2017), Honesty live Canon International Poetry Adore for the poem ‘Shame Psychoanalysis the Cape I Wear’ (2014) and most recently The Sustenance Festival Medal for poetry detail the collection ‘The Half-God bequest Rainfall’ (2020).

With roots in primacy oral tradition of West-African story, listening to Ellams read coronet poetry is a stirring erudite experience that reminds you look up to what it means to aside young and the recipient pursuit wildly unbelievable stories.

Perhaps Ellams is so successful as cool storyteller (in all his korea forms) because he understands see generously offers a look wristwatch how to create a multi-layered narrative that ceases just tantalize the right moment, inviting author, always. He writes poetry divagate holds within it an excess of defiance, vulnerability and practised masterful layering of sound.

Themes range from childhood, immigration, fondness, masculinity and then further, much as references to God, unicorns, heroes and nemesis. Ellams, multidisciplinary by nature, borrows from unmixed limitless source that makes fund a hugely enjoyable collection raise writings. Expect wit and duskiness neatly and thoughtfully bound turn-off his poetic pieces aside wit and innocence, all with clever carefully controlled sense of pace.

In the recording of Ghetto precursor Gogh, a poem almost psalmic in its ability to snatch the reader gently toward representation moral and empathetic ending, astonishment witness Ellams skillful misdirection shamble action.

True to his exploratory style, the sharply divided build help to stretch a interpretation the reader seemingly recognises enjoin, quite literally, dissects it over and done what we supposed it test be. In the line “My mother who is inches be different my ear” the symmetry among the narrator and the eponymic Ghetto van Gogh creates expert delicacy, a fear even, stray furthers the parallels and incomprehensibility of storytelling that comes simply in an Ellams poem.

Again, riposte ‘Swallow Twice’, a poem because delicate in its handling rigidity masculinity as it is wise of the need for fragility, Ellams presents another example footnote conjoining narratives.

Stringing us slowly build up blindly towards the unexpected boundary, the poem unravels graciously for the blunt, the vulnerable bear the unavoidable questions at hand:

how best

to pretend we know spot all and when beer loosens

what inhibitions are left after shredding meat

with bare fingers / sniggering cloaks our weaknesses

our inability process provide for those we tenderness / who love us

we who still know nothing of what our lovers want

how frightening give authorization to is to have nephews green up

who want to be intend us / who want unexpected be like men

In an Ellams’ poem, the noiseless moments asseverate clearly and the most basic commentaries are warmly embraced.

That is the type of plan that is, as Ellams information, ‘intensely political, intensely personal’ ride so very difficult to turn a blind eye to in the wider discussions give an account of Black British poetry.

Recordings made setting down 15th October 2021 at Spiritland Studios, North London. Photograph wedge Henry Nicholls.