Leanne Ellul spoke with poet Malika Booker about her upcoming participation in the 2024 Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival, organized by Inizjamed.
LE: Malika, you have Guyanese and Grenadian roots and identify as British-Caribbean. How does your identity influence your poetry?
MB: I see myself as a British writer with Guyanese and Grenadian heritage. My background as a diasporic woman, influenced by a transnational upbringing, deeply impacts my poetry. My parents were part of the Windrush generation who moved to the UK in the 1950s and 1960s to help rebuild the country after the war. They faced racism and returned to Guyana, where I was born in 1970. I moved back to Britain at age 11 to live with my mother’s Grenadian family. My family’s Caribbean experiences shape my poetry, reflecting the food, music, culture, and history of my upbringing. My work is influenced by the legacy of the middle passage and the harsh realities faced by my ancestors.
LE: Your poetry often incorporates themes of food. How did Malika’s Poetry Kitchen come about, and where is it headed?
MB: The idea for Malika’s Poetry Kitchen emerged from a conversation with poet Roger Robinson. We had recently completed a course called ‘Afro Style School’ with poet Kwame Dawes, which had greatly influenced us. At that time, Black and working-class writers lacked access to literary workshops and safe spaces. Roger and I wanted to continue the supportive environment we experienced. We decided to start our own initiative, named Malika’s Poetry Kitchen. Using June Jordan’s book “Poetry for the People” as a guide, we launched the project 24 years ago. It has significantly impacted the British literary scene, with our members achieving notable success.
LE: How does performing poetry differ from writing it? Do you write with performance in mind, and have you written pieces that were never performed?
MB: Writing and performing are distinct processes. Initially, I focus on crafting the poem for the page, considering elements like punctuation and line breaks. Once the poem is drafted, I refine its musicality through vocal practice and pacing. This helps align the poem’s rhythm with its emotional tone.
For performances, I shift from writing to treating the poem as a script. I use dramatic elements like tone, pauses, and body language to enhance the performance. I prefer the term ‘engaged reading’ to describe this process, as it involves communicating with the audience through various strategies, including gestures and facial expressions.
Some poems, especially deeply personal ones, are challenging to perform due to their emotional weight. However, I occasionally include these in my performances as a personal challenge. Direct speech in poetry can effectively convey different voices, adding a conversational and performative quality to the work.
The Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival will feature seven authors from five countries: Malika Booker from the UK, Irene Chias from Italy, David Aloisio and Mario Cardona from Malta, Raymond Antrobus from the UK, Josep Pedrals from Spain, and Maja Ručević from Croatia.