SAFIYA KAMARIA KINSHASA

In An Ackee Shell

Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa is a British born Barbadian raised choreopoet and researcher whose exhilarating style of poetics which braids dance and poetry on the page and stage, is a force to be reckoned with .  Her debut poetry collection Cane, Corn & Gully (Out-Spoken Press, 2022) explored the narratives of enslaved Barbadian women and their descendants through their dances. It is the first book to feature dance notation of the enslaved. Cane, Corn & Gully was the 2022 Poetry Book Society ‘Winter Choice’. It was shortlisted for the 2023 Rathbones Folio Prize and 2023 Felix Dennis Forward Prize for Best First Collection. Safiya is currently a PhD student in Cultural Studies, her research explores how Afro-diasporic improvisational dance techniques can be used to archive the living histories of Afro-diasporic communities. 

More on Safiya's Story 

Safiya's first spoken word encounter happened by chance in 2017 at a poetry slam called Milk Poetry in Bristol, hosted by Malaika Kegode. Safiya was dared to perform after a poet did not show up, she performed a freestyle and the host encouraged her to continue. Safiya was at first reluctant, but soon discovered poetry could bridge her passion for cultural studies and dance. In 2018, when studying poetic form, Safiya encountered challenges unique to her neurodiversity. To overcome her obstacles she began using dance to develop her own innovative frameworks to write, create choreography & unearth lost narratives. Safiya's debut collection 'Cane, Corn & Gully' was published by Out-Spoken Press in November 2022. The collection explored her Barbadian heritage through the dances of women, the book was written in partnership with the Barbados Museum & Historical Society.  'Cane, Corn & Gully' is the first book to feature dance notation of the enslaved.

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Her unique interdisciplinary style on the page and stage has led her to become a force to be reckoned with in the poetry community. Safiya won multiple national slam championships including the UK Hammer & Tongue National Slam Championships and the BBC Edinburgh Fringe Award. In 2020 she was awarded The New Voice in Poetry Prize and was shortlisted for the Out-Spoken Page Poetry Prize and Creative Future Writer’s Award. She is an Obsidian Foundation fellow & Apples & Snakes/ Jerwood Arts Poetry in Performance recipient. Her notable commissions include writing for English Heritage, BBC Bitesize and The Wailers. 

In 2021 Safiya started a free poetry poetry programme in Barbados; the initiative offers professional lessons teaching a variety of techniques, form & poetry around the world and across time. 

 

Before poetry, Safiya's dance talent was discovered at the age of 14 at Swindon Dance Academy. In college Safiya won multiple competitions for public speaking as part of the Rotary Speakers' National Competitions. She then went on to study Cultural Studies (University of Leeds, BA) then Dance Cultures (University of Surrey, MA). 

 

Awards & Achievements
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• White Rose Arts & Humanities Doctoral Scholarship 

• Shortlisted 2023 Rathbones Folio Prize For Poetry

• Shortlisted 2023 Felix Dennis Ford Prize For Best First Collection

• ' The Guardian's Best Poetry Roundup - Read Here

• Poetry Book Society 'Winter Choice - Read Here

 

(This bio will be updated regularly to keep up with her.)