Diasporic Community Building: Creating a Poetry Organization

In a literary world built for resourcing the predominantly white, Western canon, literary organizations that serve African diasporic writers are more important now than ever. For 30 Years, Cave Canem has been committed to cultivating the artistic and professional growth of Black poets, inspiring other organizations like Kundiman, CantoMundo, and Obsidian to do the same in their respective communities. 

Join Cave Canem for an information session and community dialogue centered on providing Nairobi-based poets with the resources they need to build long-lasting writing communities. This will also be a resource-sharing space from which Cave Canem can learn and grow with African diasporic poets. 

This event is hosted in partnership with the African Poetry Book Fund and Cheche Bookshop and Cafe.

About Cave Canem

Cave Canem is a nonprofit organization committed to cultivating the artistic and professional growth of Black poets. Founded by artists for artists, Cave Canem fosters community across the diaspora to enrich the field by facilitating a nurturing space in which to learn, experiment, create, and present. Cave Canem develops audiences for Black voices that have worked and are working in the craft of poetry.

About The African Poetry Book Fund

The African Poetry Book Fund (APBF), founded by Kwame Dawes, promotes and advances the development and publication of the poetic arts throughout the African continent through its book series, contests, workshops, and seminars, and through its collaborations with publishers, festivals, booking agents, colleges, universities, conferences, and all other entities that share an interest in the poetic arts of Africa. The Fund is committed to seeking the resources to support this mission and to ensure that all its efforts are carried out with excellence. Established through the generosity of Laura and Robert F.X. Sillerman, the APBF promotes the writing and publication of African poetry through an international complex of additional collaborations and partnerships.

About Cheche Bookshop and Cafe

Cheche Bookshop and Cafe, established in 2020 by Kenyan-Somali Ubax Abdi, is a pan-African bookshop that celebrates African and feminist politics while promoting lesser-known authors. The cozy space features a mural honoring influential figures like Wangari Maathai, Toni Morrison, and Leila Aboulela. In addition to its focus on African literature, the bookshop also showcases poetry and works by local creatives from Nairobi.