Warsan Shire in Conversation

Warsan Shire in Conversation

Sunday 1 July, British Library
17:30 – 18:45
£15 / £12 for RAS Members

On a rare visit from the US, Warsan Shire joins Sheila Ruiz in conversation to discuss her work, process and inspiration

Warsan Shire is a Somali-British writer and poet. Raised in northwest London, she has read and published her work internationally. Her debut pamphlet, Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth (flipped eye publishing), was published in 2011. Shire was awarded the inaugural African Poetry Prize in 2013. In 2014, she was appointed as the first Young Poet Laureate for London and was selected as Poet in Residence for Queensland, Australia, where she collaborated with the Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts. In 2016, she provided the film adaption and poetry for Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade.Shire’s poetry has been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, Estonian, Swedish and Somali. Her work has appeared in many anthologies and journals. She lives in Los Angeles, she uses her work to document and examine stories of memory and trauma. She also curates and teaches classes around the intersections of art and healing.

Sheila Ruiz is Deputy Director at the Royal African Society (RAS). She joined the RAS in September 2011 as the Events Programme Manager and helped set up Africa Writes in 2012. Prior to joining the RAS, Sheila was the Communications and Programming Consultant for the Africa Centre and previously worked as a freelance events producer for various arts projects in London. Sheila holds an MA in African Studies from SOAS and a BA in History from UCL. She is of mixed Spanish/Equato-Guinean heritage and is bilingual in Spanish and English.

Suitable for ages 16+

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