Panellists: Momtaza Mehri, Michelle Angwenyi, Willie Oeba
Moderator: Abigail Arunga

Celebrated poets Momtaza Mehri, Michelle Angwenyi and Willie Oeba explore meaning-making through the written word and recurring motifs in their craft. Momtaza Mehri is a British-Somali poet, essayist, editor, and researcher. Her poetry collection, Bad Diaspora Poems is the winner of an Eric Gregory Award and the 2023 Forward Prize for Best First Collection. Michelle Angwenyi was shortlisted for the 2017 Short Story Day Africa Prize and the 2018 Brunel Africa International Poetry Prize, and is the author of Gray Latitudes, selected for the New Generation African Poets Chapbook series (Akashic Books, 2020). Willie Oeba is a Spoken Word artist and 2024-2025 Ford Global Fellow who champions social justice, economic equity, and democracy.