Conversations with African Diasporic Women Writers on Migration - Online, Sat., 11 April 2026 (7-8pm UK time)
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Ambrose Musiyiwa
Apr 9, 2026, 3:00:06 AMApr 9
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Join us for an evening of poetry and conversation on migration with African diasporic women writers.
The poetry indaba takes place online, from 7pm till 8pm UK time, on Saturday, 11 April 2026, and is organised by the Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series in association with Global Majority Writers WhatsApp Group.
REGISTRATION
As part of the evening, women featured in Japa Fire: An Anthology of Poems on African and African Diasporic Migration (CivicLeicester, 2024. Eds. Ambrose Musiyiwa and Munya R), and From Here To There (2025. Eds. Nandi Jola and Omobola Osamor) will read and discuss their work alongside those from the Global Majority Writers WhatsApp Group.
Taking part in the conversation are Angel Patricks Amegbe, Ayo DeForge, Yvonne Greaves, and Sheda (GMW), and Philippa Hatendi, Nandi Jola, Rene' Level, and Epiphanie Mukasano (Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series).
Taking part in the conversation are Angel Patricks Amegbe, Ayo DeForge, Yvonne Greaves, and Sheda (GMW), and Philippa Hatendi, Nandi Jola, Rene' Level, and Epiphanie Mukasano (Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series).
ABOUT THE POETS
Angel Patricks Amegbe is a Nigerian-Belgian writer, performing poet, and visual storyteller. She is the author of The Days of Silence (MASOBE 2021) and Sundance her debut Poetry collection. With a passion for amplifying unheard voices and shedding light on sensitive themes, she seeks to inspire change and foster meaningful dialogue through impactful storytelling. Angel has worked with the Asmara Addis Literary Festival in Exile (AALFIE) Belgium, and facilitated a class at the Creative Writing Academy for Refugees and asylum seekers in Brussels. Her essays have appeared in AYO magazine and Afreada. She currently lives in Belgium with her family.
Ayo Deforge is a Nigerian writer based in the south of France. An alumna of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Creative Writing Workshop and the Faber Academy, her work has appeared in Litro Magazine, Brittle Paper, JAYLIT, Ayo Magazine, Kalahari Review, Lucy Writers Platform, the Love Grows Stronger in Death anthology, and other publications. She is the author of Tearless (shortlisted for the ANA Fiction Prize and the Chinua Achebe Prize), Grips of Grief (shortlisted for the ANA Non-Fiction Prize), and the poetry collection the Mind is not an ally. Her second novel, Under the Rain, was released in December 2025.
Yvonne Greaves is a determined fighter with words. She writes about everyday light, be it work, blackness, femalehood, age, aloneness, neurodivergence and justice.
Philippa Hatendi-Louiceus was born in Zimbabwe and traversed three continents for education. Her journey culminated in a bachelor’s degree in the arts. Scribbling since her teens, her pen dances to the rhythms of African culture, mythos, and folklore, weaving tales that honor the richness of her heritage.
Nandi Jola was born in Gqebera, South Africa. She holds a Masters of Arts degree in English (Poetry) from Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Nandi is a poet, storyteller, playwright and creative writing facilitator, and is well known in Northern Ireland and beyond for her work in the Arts and Museum Heritage sector. Nandi was curator of the Golden Shovel Poetry Jukebox and is a creative writing facilitator for Quotidian. Amongst her plays, the topically titled Partition, and The Rise of Maqoma, engage with and also seek to move beyond Eurocentric themes.
Rene' Level is an international academic advisor, educator, speaker, and leadership coach committed to empowering others through knowledge, purpose, and action. She is the author of Dream Code, Shine Like You, and Activate the Strength Within: Becoming Your Own Hero: Mastering Self-Leadership, Discipline, and Emotional Strength. She has also published impactful books and peer-reviewed journal articles on leadership, education, and personal development. She continues to write and inspire lives worldwide. The Leadership Edge: Inspiring Vision, Driving Change, and Making an Impact is a powerful call to action for individuals ready to lead with clarity and conviction. She is also the founder of the Dr. Level Poetry Club, a creative platform dedicated to helping individuals express themselves, build confidence, and develop leadership potential through the power of words.
Epiphanie Mukassano was born in Rwanda in 1961. Now she lives in Cape Town and writes poems and short stories. Her poems were published in a collection, Living on the Fence (2007), by refugee women from Africa. In 2010, she published her own collection, Kilimanjaro on my lap.
Philippa Hatendi-Louiceus was born in Zimbabwe and traversed three continents for education. Her journey culminated in a bachelor’s degree in the arts. Scribbling since her teens, her pen dances to the rhythms of African culture, mythos, and folklore, weaving tales that honor the richness of her heritage.
Nandi Jola was born in Gqebera, South Africa. She holds a Masters of Arts degree in English (Poetry) from Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Nandi is a poet, storyteller, playwright and creative writing facilitator, and is well known in Northern Ireland and beyond for her work in the Arts and Museum Heritage sector. Nandi was curator of the Golden Shovel Poetry Jukebox and is a creative writing facilitator for Quotidian. Amongst her plays, the topically titled Partition, and The Rise of Maqoma, engage with and also seek to move beyond Eurocentric themes.
Rene' Level is an international academic advisor, educator, speaker, and leadership coach committed to empowering others through knowledge, purpose, and action. She is the author of Dream Code, Shine Like You, and Activate the Strength Within: Becoming Your Own Hero: Mastering Self-Leadership, Discipline, and Emotional Strength. She has also published impactful books and peer-reviewed journal articles on leadership, education, and personal development. She continues to write and inspire lives worldwide. The Leadership Edge: Inspiring Vision, Driving Change, and Making an Impact is a powerful call to action for individuals ready to lead with clarity and conviction. She is also the founder of the Dr. Level Poetry Club, a creative platform dedicated to helping individuals express themselves, build confidence, and develop leadership potential through the power of words.
Epiphanie Mukassano was born in Rwanda in 1961. Now she lives in Cape Town and writes poems and short stories. Her poems were published in a collection, Living on the Fence (2007), by refugee women from Africa. In 2010, she published her own collection, Kilimanjaro on my lap.
Sheda is a published and performance poet, amongst other attributes, living in West London, who writes under the pen name Holda Poetry, continually piercing her talents on a vigorous, demanding circuit. As a professional dancer and model, Sheda toured the USA and Asia before returning to England in 1991 to join the family's new catering business in North West London, Sheda's Restaurant. From the Semi-finals of Reggae Star Factors' 1st season in 2014, and since season four, Sheda is now their regular host of the competition. Under the banner of Hash Tag on Tour Productions, Sheda produced a One Woman Show - Holda Poetry (2016). Sheda hosts two monthly open-mic events, Poets and Monologues (Est 2018) and presents The Formula 1 and all sports weekly radio talk show on BBMC Radio.
ABOUT THE GLOBAL MAJORITY WRITERS (GMW)
Founded in December 2022 by Yorùbá-Nigerian writer and UNESCO Global Poetry Slam Champion 2022, Abíọ́dún (pronounced A-byaw-doon) Abdul, Global Majority Writers (GMW) collective has organically grown into a friendship space for GMW women to support/celebrate each other’s writing/arts-related projects, share various writing/arts-related events and opportunities, and coordinate meetups during literary/art events.
ABOUT THE POETRY ANTHOLOGY SERIES
The Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series is a volunteer-led initiative organised by Forced Migration and The Arts in association with CivicLeicester and the migrants’ rights collective, Regularise.
ABOUT THE GLOBAL MAJORITY WRITERS (GMW)
Founded in December 2022 by Yorùbá-Nigerian writer and UNESCO Global Poetry Slam Champion 2022, Abíọ́dún (pronounced A-byaw-doon) Abdul, Global Majority Writers (GMW) collective has organically grown into a friendship space for GMW women to support/celebrate each other’s writing/arts-related projects, share various writing/arts-related events and opportunities, and coordinate meetups during literary/art events.
ABOUT THE POETRY ANTHOLOGY SERIES
The Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series is a volunteer-led initiative organised by Forced Migration and The Arts in association with CivicLeicester and the migrants’ rights collective, Regularise.
The series has open calls for poems (40 lines or less) and short prose (100 words or less) exploring:
The readings and conversation will be recorded and made publicly accessible through the Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series dedicated playlist on CivicLeicester and through social media and the blog and website we are setting up around the initiative.
- 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.
Inspired by the African Union and IOM's Africa Migration Report (Second Edition) (2024), the poetry anthology series takes 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.
RECORDING
The readings and conversation will be recorded and made publicly accessible through the Africa Migration Report Poetry Anthology Series dedicated playlist on CivicLeicester and through social media and the blog and website we are setting up around the initiative.
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)
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