Writing
NSDF Spotlight 1: Luwa Adebanjo
In the first of the NSDF Spotlight features, Luwa Adebanjo discusses her journey of publishing her poetry anthology: A Visitor Who Belongs Here.
“There are many ways to tell a story. This is mine.”
In the first of the NSDF Spotlight features, Luwa Adebanjo discusses her journey of publishing her first ever poetry anthology: A Visitor Who Belongs Here.
Luwa is an award-winning writer, actress and theatre-maker from Nottingham. She will be reading poetry extracts from her anthology, discussing her publishing journey, and hosting a live Q&A. This spotlight features advice for writers, including building confidence, how to publish and being a black writer in the industry. I highly recommend tuning in!
“There are many ways to tell a story. This is mine.”
A Visitor Who Belongs Here is Luwa Adebanjo’s debut poetry anthology all about home, belonging and the joy of surviving despite all the hardships she has faced. The anthology follows Luwa’s journey after arriving in the UK from Nigeria. As a child, she struggled to fit into her new environment while remaining the perfect daughter she felt her family needed. Every place felt unfamiliar, and she began to feel like a visitor no matter where she went. At home, the pressure of looking after her brothers and hiding her struggle with her sexuality in an abusive household meant she never felt safe. At school, she felt alone and out of place, unable to fit into British culture. She was, in her own words “too weird, too loud, too fat, too crazy, too gay, too black- and yet somehow not enough of anything to belong”. At 19, after battling with anxiety and depression all her life, Luwa was diagnosed with OCD. This diagnosis pushed her to change her life and begin a journey of healing, fighting to turn her suffering into joy.
“There are many ways to tell a story. This is mine, and it is a celebration.”
A Visitor Who Belongs Here is available for pre order here.
This NSDF spotlight will be available 6th February 2021 here.
For more information: Luwa Adebanjo
