so entertaining. I feel honoured to be part of Spin, and to have spent that time with the other poets too as they were all so talented. Joseph encouraged and pushed us hard, encouraging us to explore new poetic forms. He fostered a supportive environment where we were able to be open with each other about the work we created. The time spent in those zoom workshops felt precious.
Joseph encouraged us to try new poetic forms that we might not have explored before, and I ended up writing a Sestina which begins, “Once beneath the abundance of African stars, we danced to cries of the faraway winds…” That was important because I wanted to use the poem to tell the story of a young child, taken from their west African home, who has lost everything, but still has some hope, because they are able to hold onto the Anansi stories which connect their new life in the Caribbean to the memories of their homeland.
Anneliese Amoah.
– especially since I had never written for children before Spin! It has had a positive impact on how I approach writing poetry now.
The line, The world is a fist for you to somehow open is one of my favourite lines. I wrote it because I want children to know that although the world may look big and scary, we’re all placed in it for a reason and we can conquer it. I also love, So when I scream into a microphone, it is because I want you to know the sound of freedom. Karaoke was a favourite pastime of mine and singing along to songs just brings so much freedom because you escape your environment for a moment and truly channel the song with your whole being. There is nothing like the feeling of freedom.
Antoinette Brooks My name’s Antoinette Brooks, and I was born and raised in London. I was the youngest in a large Caribbean family, with parents who came from Jamaica. As a child, I loved the beauty of words. I had an illness which meant I was often unable to go to school, so reading and writing stories were important to me as they gave me a means to imagine and escape. My favourite book was Charlotte’s Web. I still remember the heartbreak I felt at the end, and it was the first time I knew that a story could change one’s emotions. Working with Joseph and Apples and Snakes, and developing our poems for Spin was such a positive way to start the year. It was enriching to have Joseph as a tutor, not only because of his gifts as a poet, but because of the performance aspect. It was
8 PEN&INC. Sadatu Futa
My name is Sadatu Futa. I am a Fulani- Hausa woman. Growing up, my family used the phrase “dadin-baki” to name my gift with language. I wrote poetry privately until April 2022; I received the Pocc x Shutterstock artist in residence fund for my poetry. And performed spoken-word, nervously, for the first time with Poetic Unity – a Brixton-based charity committed to creating spaces for young people.
I am a writer and a photographer, capturing people, places and movements through my lens and pens. I am involved in conservation and creative work with
Sadatu Futa.
The Nature Nurtures collective. I enjoyed hearing our poems come together, the different approaches, memories and stories we all held in group sessions. I learned a lot about writing for children from Joseph and was introduced to new poetic forms. To support our writing, Joseph and Apples and Snakes made available to us, an out of print poetry writing book – On Good Form. My poem Tight Cords is a pantoum poem which originated from Malaya and other Southeast Asian literature. I have seen Spin digitally and in parts, but to see it in wholeness, in my hands and my bookshelf is what I am most excited for.
The climate crisis especially when children are concerned is a challenging question, one that deepens with avoidance – Psychologists are reporting increasing eco-anxiety amongst children. In Tight Cords I address the environmental impact of fossil fuels and the profit incentive.
I write not to doom-monger, but to pose the problem – which is to begin.
Fossil fuels lit like fireworks, The air outside is a ragged bomb, Ecosystems merrily wiped for perks, Destruction for change in their palm.
Antoinette Brooks.
We are saying no to destruction and children are important to the conversation. Audre Lorde affirms poetry as “what we feel within and dare make real.”
Spring-Summer 2024
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