Mothers loom large

Main Stage

Sunday, 10th May
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Panellists: Safiya Sinclair, Lina Meruane, Dr. Nick Makoha

Moderator: Lily Bekele-Piper

A frank conversation about how maternal figures materialize in fiction and life and the gray areas between truth and reverence with 2024 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature winner and poet, Safiya Sinclair whose memoir, How to Say Babylon chronicles her mother’s strength and sacrifices; Ugandan poet and playwright based in London, Dr. Nick Makokha, whose work explores fatherhood and was recently shortlisted for the 2025 T.S. Eliot Prize and award-winning Chilean writer and scholar, Lina Meruane whose essay, Contra los Hijos (Against Children) warns of the dangers of conservative ecofeminist ideals.

Supported by the Open Society Foundations’ South-to-South Initiative