On 1 October 2020, National Poetry Day, Cecilia Knapp was announced as the new Young People’s Laureate for London, and Shaniqua Benjamin was crowned Croydon’s first ever Poet Laureate. Earlier this month, these two poets met online to discuss poetry, what inspires them, how London offers a unique space for poets, and what they’re looking forward to in their Laureateships.
In this conversation, Shaniqua shared a profoundly moving poem called ‘Forgotten Ones’, a homage to young Black men murdered by the police, which forms part of a larger collection she’s currently working on called Ghosted. Cecilia read ‘You Know a Market Where the Tulips are Still Three Quid,’ – a poem about the slivers of joys within self care whilst living with loss and grief.
The full transcript is available to read here: Transcript- Two Laureates in conversation – Cecilia Knapp and Shaniqua Benjamin
We hope you enjoy watching the Laureates in conversation. We can’t wait to see the work and projects that they’ll be involved with over the next year – watch this space!
Published 19 November 2020