Ten young poets tell South London commuters what community means to them
A Brixton-based charity teamed up with Transport for London (TfL) to give a platform to 10 young poets for World Poetry Day.
Poets from Poetic Unity wrote poems on the theme of community, which were projected from sound systems at Brixton and Stockwell railway stations over the weekend.
One of the young poets, Selorm Adonu, 21, from Croydon, said: “Community is important to me because it’s where you learn different perspectives.
“Everything from uncle at the barber shop or going to the hairdressers with my mum – it’s the same sort of lessons you learn in the home.”
As part of the project, the group’s poems were also printed on to posters which were put up around London Bridge, Waterloo, Victoria, Brixton and Stockwell railway stations.
Founded in 2015, Poetic Unity is based in Windrush Square, Brixton. The charity delivers 1,141 services to more than 40,000 young people in the UK with regular programmes focused on using poetry as a tool to support young people’s mental health.
Although the charity supports young people from all backgrounds, it particularly focuses on support for young people from black and black-mixed backgrounds who are marginalised.
The team is black-led with more than 10 years experience of working with young offenders, marginalised young people, and children at risk.
Ryan Matthews-Robinson, founder and chief executive of Poetic Unity, said: “We are excited to be celebrating World Poetry Day by platforming some of our amazing young people’s poetry across five prominent train stations in London.
“The theme of this campaign is ‘community’, a key value of ours and something that is integral to a functioning society.
“We are constantly looking at ways of spotlighting young voices and giving young people opportunities to be seen and heard, which is why this is going to be an amazing day for our young poets with thousands of people reading and listening to their poetry.
“Thank you to TfL and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for the support.”
Pictured top: From left, Myself Blaize, Mya Onwugbonu, Selorm Adonu, Obinna Iwuji, Binta Yade, Lara Grace Ilori (Picture: Poetic Unity)
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