Continuing our look back at Spring 2013, one memorable event was a reading on March 28 by poet Kadija (George) Sesay. A graduate of Birmingham University, where she majored in West African Studies, Kadija is the founder/publisher of SABLE LitMag and SABLE LitFest. She’s also the editor of several anthologies of work by writers of African and Asian descent: Dreams Miracles and Jazz: New Adventures in African Fiction (Picador Africa 2008); Red: Contemporary Black British Poetry (2010); Dance the Guns to Silence: 100 Poems for Ken Saro-Wiwa (with Nii Ayikwei Parkes) and IC3: The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain (with Courttia Newland) and Write Black, and Write British: From Post Colonial to Black British Literature. Kadija has published her own poetry, short stories, essays and articles in magazines, journals, and anthologies in the UK, USA and Africa; her work has been featured on the BBC.
Kadija has coordinated various literary events, such as “Word from Africa” at the British Museum (2008), and organized international writer’s residencies: the SABLE Writer’s HotSpot to The Gambia, Cuba and New York. She’s a fellow of the George Bell Institute, a Fellow of the Kennedy Arts Centre of Performance Arts Management and an associate of Vision Quest International. She’s received several awards for her work in the creative arts.
Her poetry collection, Irki (which means “Homeland” in the Nubian language) was published by Peepal Tree Press this March.
The event was sponsored by the English Department, the Office of the Provost, and International Programs.