The Poetry Translation Centre is very proud to present our first workshop on Igbo poetry, focussing on the work of Nigerian poet Amarachi Attamah.
Our online poetry translation workshops can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Join like-minded poetry lovers from across the world to discover new poetry and different cultures, share insights and language skills, working together to open up a poem in its original language and reassemble it in English.
We have had participants from the UK, Ireland, Nigeria, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. The workshops are the perfect way to keep you feeling creative, engaged and connected to the world at large. A rough and ready guild translation is provided by the guest translator so there is no need to know the language being translated, simply sign up and bring your love of language.
This online workshop will take place over two 90-minute sessions on Zoom over two consecutive Tuesdays. This format will let us spend time with a single poetic voice. The workshops will be lead by translator Joseph Ike who is an expert in the language, and the professional poet Miriam Nash. They will offer insight into the nuances of the language and culture, and give helpful suggestions for the direction of the translation that is produced.
We are pleased to present this workshop in partnership with the Aké Arts and Books Festival.
‘Pay-What-You-Want’ Pricing
We want to keep our workshop experience as accessible as possible, especially as we are aware that Covid has put many people at a financial disadvantage.
Amarachi Attamah
Amarachi Attamah is an award-winning Chant Performance Artist, Poet, Broadcaster, Festival Manager, Creative Entrepreneur and a strong passionate voice in the sustainability of Igbo language speaking as well as other African languages. Recently, she completed a four month fellowship with the Royal National Theatre, London, United Kingdom, where she performed in the fifty-two theatre productions of the “Three Sisters” directed by Nadia Falls. A play by Inua Ellams, an adaptation of Chekhov’s Three Sisters. She has also performed in numerous virtual events through the Pandemic including Igbo Conference organised in the UK, Abuja Literary Festival, Nigeria, Global Poetry Festival organised by Shared_Studio and Divercities poetry connect by Planet Word Museum, both of US based organisations. She has received numerous awards and honorary mentions for her very unique art.
About the Translator
Joseph Ogbonna Ike, in their own words: Legend has it that no one really knows when Joseph Ogbonna Ike was actually born, or where. It is thus often said, that he came to the world when the world needed him the most. Upon arrival, he took on the language that most closely resembled what they spake from where he came, Igbo and resided atop Milikin Hill, modern-day Enugu State. This is as much as we know. And this is all we need to know.
About the Facilitator
Miriam Nash is a poet, performer and educator. Her first collection of poems All the Prayers in the House was published by Bloodaxe Books in 2017. It won a Somerset Maugham Award (2018) and an Eric Gregory Award (2015) from the Society of Authors and was runner-up for the Edwin Morgan Award (2016). Her most recent publication The Nine Mothers of Heimdallr was published by Hercules Editions in 2020 and is a retelling of Norse mythologies featureing artwork by Christina Edlund-Plater.
Miriam runs online poetry workshops for adults at Lightkeepers.co.uk and helps children and young people become authors at the Ministry of Stories in London. She has brought poetry into schools, museums, prisons and mental health organisations for over 10 years.
Full Details
To try and make the online experience as enjoyable and manageable as possible, places will be restricted – if you book please do make sure you can attend both sessions.
Workshop materials and the log-in details to join the sessions with easy to follow instructions, will be sent out by email when you book your place.
• The PTC will deliver these workshops online via Zoom.
• This online series will follow our usual workshop format, working as a group to translate the poem line by line.
• Working from a guide translation of the original poem, guided by a translator and poet to facilitate the sessions.
• Two sessions lasting 90 minutes over two weeks working on one longer poem
• In advance of the beginning of the series, we will share the original poem and the guide translation that the group will be working from as well as further materials to aid the experience like audio examples of the poetry and a video introduction to the poet by the translator
• On consecutive Thursday evenings 20 and 27 May, 18:30-20:00 GMT.
• Pay-What-You-Want donation when reserving your ticket.
• Reserve one ticket for both sessions.
