As part of the University’s celebration of Black History Month 2020, poet Rachel Long from the Octavia Collective will perform poems she has written inspired by the University's Black History Month themes. There will be a recital from Rachel each week throughout October, culminating in a special live poetry event with guest poet Gboyega Odubanjo.

Week One  – #BlackIsHere

Week Two – #BlackIsDiverse

Week Three – #BlackIsJoy

Week Four – #BlackIsPower

You can find out about the full University events programme for Black History Month 2020 here.

Rachel Long:

Rachel Long is a poet and the founder of Octavia, a poetry collective for womxn of colour. Rachel's poetry and prose have been published widely, most recently in Granta, The Poetry Review, and The White Review. She is a poetry fellow of the University of Hertfordshire. Her Forward Prize-nominated debut collection, My Darling from the Lions, is out now from Picador.

www.OctaviaPoetryCollective.com

Gboyega Odubanjo

Gboyega Odubanjo is a British-Nigerian poet born and raised in East London. In 2018 he completed an MA in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. His debut pamphlet, While I Yet Live, was published by Bad Betty Press in 2019. Gboyega is a member of the Roundhouse Poetry Collective and a Barbican Young Poet alumni.

@OdubanjoGboyega