Multi award-winning Nigerian poet and novelist Ben Okri will deliver our inaugural Free Word Lecture, which will celebrate the political power of words to uphold free speech.

On the 30th anniversary of An African Elegy, his first book of poetry, Okri will talk about his latest collection, A Fire in My Head, and what has changed in the three decades in between.

Okri’s work speaks to many of the issues of our time, from the climate crisis and the colonial legacy in Africa to racism and the treatment of refugees. His new book brings together many of his most acclaimed and politically charged poems.

Join us to find out why poetry is so important in a world of crisis in this special event with one of the foremost writers of our time.

 

About The Poet

Ben Okri

Ben Okri is a highly acclaimed author and poet whose many books include The Famished Road, which won the Booker Prize in 1991. His work blends history, myth and folktales to explore the workings of the soul and the nature of humanity and has been translated into 26 languages. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and has been presented the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum for his outstanding contribution to the Arts and cross-cultural understanding. He was born in Nigeria, and lives in London.