Poetry And is a King’s College event series, curated by Professor of Poetry Ruth Padel, which highlights poetry’s connectivity and relevance to all areas of our lives.

Obsidian is a new foundation launched by award-winning poet Nick Makoha, currently a Creative Writing PhD student at King’s, which runs a one-week retreat for Black poets of African descent, to help them grow as writers.

Nick Makoha will read his own work and present three Obsidian alumni: Ariana Benson, Zakia Carpenter-Hall and Saddiq Dzukogi.

Ariana Benson won the 2019 Academy of American Poets'/Edith A. Hambie Poetry Prize and 2021 Graybeal Gowen Poetry Prize. She holds an MA in Poetic Practice from Royal Holloway and is Nonfiction Editor of Auburn Avenue.

Zakia Carpenter-Hall was an inaugural winner of Poetry London's mentoring scheme. Her pamphlet Event Horizon appeared in 2017. She is a Jerwood Bursary Recipient and London Library Emerging Writer.

Saddiq Dzukogi’s first book, Your Crib, My Qibla (University of Nebraska Press 2021) contains powerful elegies for a child. He is studying for a PhD at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.