Poetry Indabas | Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series | Feb. 21 & 28 (6-7.30pm UK time)

[Ambrose Musiyiwa]

Dear Colleagues,

As part of the series of poetry indabas we are hosting to mark 100 years of Black History commemorations in the African diaspora, where Black History Month is celebrated in February in the US and in October in the UK – and to draw attention to African and African diasporic migration and immobility, and the horrors that are taking place in the English Channel – the events readings and conversations we have lined up for the remainder of February are:

• Sat., 21 Feb. 2026 (Online, 6-7.30pm; Registration). From Here To There – African and African Diasporic Poetry I. Featuring US poet Octavia McBride, and Abíọ́dún Abdul (Nigeria / UK), Joan A. Green (UK), Nandi Jola (South Africa / Northern Ireland), Rene’ Level (Jamaica), and Zama Madinana (South Africa), and

• Sat., 28 Feb. 2026 (Online, 6-7.30pm; Registration). From Here To There – African and African Diasporic Poetry II. Featuring Jamaican poets, Rene' Level, Zonia Level, Erica Moses and Annmarie Rubie, and Sarpong Agyemang (Ghana), Aliker p’Ocitti (Uganda), Zita Holbourne (Caribbean / UK), and Nandi Jola (South Africa / Northern Ireland).

NOTES

The Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series is volunteer-led and is organised by Forced Migration and The Arts in association with CivicLeicester and the migrants' rights collective, Regularise.

The series was inspired by the Africa Migration Report: 2nd Edition (African Union and International Organisation for Migration, 2024), and has open calls for poems (40 lines or less) and short prose (100 words or less) exploring: 

• African and African diasporic migration and (im)mobility, 
• how African and Asian refugees are being left to drown in the English Channel, and 
• Edward Nkoloso, Afronauts and the 1960s Zambian Space Programme.

We take the African diaspora to include all people of African descent in all the ways they define themselves, e.g. African, African American, African Asian, African Brazilian, African Canadian, African Caribbean, African Italian, African Latino, African Palestinian, Afropean, Afro Turk, Black British, Black Canadian, Black, etc.

So far we have released two poetry collections: Japa Fire: An Anthology of Poems on African and African Diasporic Migration (CivicLeicester, 2024), edited by Munya R and I (both, Zimbabwe / UK), and From Here To There (CivicLeicester, 2025), edited by Nandi Jola (South Africa / Northern Ireland) and Omobola Osamor (Nigeria / USA). More are on the way.

The series is currently not in receipt of funding from any source. 

To cover some of the costs associated with the work, we have a crowdfunding appeal. 

Any support you can lend us in spreading the word about these and about books in the series will be appreciated.

"Through fire and water" (Morning Star, 12 March 2025) and "The songlines of migration" (Morning Star, 16 January 2026), reviews of Japa Fire (CivicLeicester, 2024) and From Here To There (CivicLeicester, 2025) might also be of interest.

Kind regards,

Ambrose Musiyiwa

Coordinator, Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series

Ambrose Musiyiwa | Coordinator, Forced Migration and The Arts (Blog), Journeys in Translation (Journal Article; Video Playlist), and The Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series (Concept Note; Call for Submissions; Video Playlist; Funding Appeal) | (Ed.) [New Book] Japa Fire: An Anthology of Poems on African and African Diasporic Migration (CivicLeicester, 2024. Co-edited with Munya R from the migrants' rights collective, Regularise); Welcome to Britain: An Anthology of Poems and Short Fiction (CivicLeicester, 2023); Black Lives Matter: Poems for a New World (CivicLeicester, 2020)