In Conversation with Writer-in-Residence Tolu Agbelusi

Join us for an evening with our Quay Words/ Libraries Unlimited Writer-In- Residence Tolu Agbelusi as she shares from her new poetry collection Locating Strongwoman, followed by an in conversation with the host organisations during which Tolu will discuss her work and reflect on what she hopes to achieve during her residency. There will also be an opportunity for questions from the audience.

Tolu is a Nigerian British poet who has performed internationally including at Cheltenham Lit Festival, Poetry Africa, Stanza Poetry Festival and Lagos Poetry Festival International. She is also a playwright, an educator and a human rights lawyer. Her book, Locating Strongwoman, has been described as a portrait of unperformed femininity and a celebration of what it means to inhabit all of yourself without boundaries, especially as a woman.

Tolu Agbelusi is the author of Locating Strongwoman (Jacaranda Books 2020). A Nigerian British poet, playwright, educator and human rights lawyer. She was shortlisted for the 2018 White Review Poetry Prize and Longlisted for the Jerwood Compton Poetry Prize in 2017 and 2019. Her work has been published internationally including in Aké Review, White Review, Pittsburgh Poetry Review, Brittle Paper and Peepal Tree’s Filligree Anthology. Tolu has performed on many stages including at Cheltenham Lit Festival, Stanza International Poetry Festival, Lagos International Poetry Festival Poetry Africa & Women of the World Festival. She is the founder of Home Sessions, a poetry development program for young Black poets and she also facilitates a variety of workshops for schools, universities, festivals, etc. For more information about her work, visit www.ToluAgbelusi.com

Quay Words is a partnership between Exeter Canal and Quay Trust and Literature Works, the literature development charity for South West England. Quay Words is based at the historic Exeter Custom House on Exeter Quayside. It showcases literature as an accessible and diverse art form and is funded by Arts Council England until May 2022 to continue developing this Grade 1 listed building as a hub for literature at the heart of Exeter – a newly-designated UNESCO City of Literature.

For further information, please visit the Quay Words website: www.exetercustomhouse.org.uk

This partnership is made possible through funding from Arts Council England and Exeter City Council.