Writer’s Realm
A plethora of Poets, musicians and their families gathered together on Saturday 16th September to celebrate the culmination of the Writer’s Realm poetry workshops.
The workshops were held over a period of four months by acclaimed poet and writer Farah Gabdon, a published poet and author titled ‘Breathing Just a Little’.
Students were encouraged to share personal experiences through a range of trust-building exercises to explore topics such as family, identity, belonging, loss and memory.
Intifaac, “I just feel like a different person. It’s really brought me out of my comfort zone.”
Ayan, “Farah has been excellent in guiding us and helping us to express our voices.”
The aims of the workshops were to provide a safe space for participants to delve into difficult topics through the medium of art.
Mariam, “It just became a really safe space to express yourself, which is what I think poetry is all about.”
Writer’s Realm proved to be a launch pad for those that never performed their poetry, like 40-year-old Farah, to seek out more opportunities to do so.
Farah, “I never thought writing poetry could be so much fun.”
It was also a catalyst for those who had previous experience writing poetry, like 21-year-old Hashi and wanted to gain the confidence to perform his work publically.
Hashi, “In Writer’s Realm, I’ve made life-long friends and I’ve been able to develop and mould myself as a writer.”
ATM would like to thank the Writer’s Realm collective for sharing the work they’ve produced over the past few months which has inspired many people from all walks of life. If you’d like to check out their work please follow them here:
Sagal Farah, Mariam Nuur, Abdallahi Mohamed, Hashi Adan, Fahima Hersi, Neimo Askar, Amina Muridi, Ayan Ali, Zahra Said, Intifaac Mohamed, Farah Mohamed, Jawahir Mohamud and Najiib Dahir.
ATM invited a collective of artists and poets to perform on the day, some of which had supported the Writer’s Realm Collective during rehearsals. Check out their work below:
Sulthana Bea, Tommy “A-Man” Evans, Saraiya Bah, Celestina Rowaiye, Annotate, Faisal Salah, Elise Palmer and Aaliyah.