Zena Edwards

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Zena Edwards
Born1960s
Hackney, London, England
EducationMiddlesex University
London International School of Performing Arts
Occupation(s)Poet, performer and multidisciplinary collaborator
Websitezenaedwards.com

Zena Edwards (born 1960s) is a British writer, poet, performer and multidisciplinary collaborator, who explores her African roots in work that utilises her musical talents.[1] She has performed internationally at festivals, as well as in schools and colleges.[2] She has been described as "one [of] the most unique voices of performance poetry to come out of London".[3]

Biography

Of Caribbean heritage and African descent, she was born in Hackney and brought up in Tottenham, North London,[4] the only child in a single-parent family.[5] She graduated in Drama and Communications studies from Middlesex University and also studied at the London International School of Performing Arts.[3]

Her career as a performance poet spans more than two decades and in her extensive worldwide travels (supported by the

Baba Maal.[8]

Edwards has had commissions from

Poetry Café in Covent Garden, and was shortlisted for the first Arts Foundation Award for Performance Poetry in 2007,[2] winning the Hidden Creatives Award in 2012.[10] She has written and performed three solo shows, Security (2009) — described by Annemarie Kropf as "an absolute tour de force about humanity that bonds us all", and about which Lyn Gardner said in The Guardian: "Edwards is a superb performer, equally at ease as an elderly Caribbean man, as a would-be teenage MC, Ayleen, or as a lonely, 47-year-old Palestinian photographer, Mahmoud" — and in 2011 Travelling Light (2011), followed by The Fury Project.[11] She has also produced the CDs Healing Pool ("a clever and fresh fusion of eclectic, soulful and African traditional vibrations") and Mine 4 Life.[2]

Her work has appeared in publications including Dance the Guns to Silence: 100 Poems for Ken Saro-Wiwa (Flipped Eye, 2005),[12] Security (Flipped Eye, 2012), No Condition is Permanent (Platform London, 2010),[12] Reflections From Mirror City (Tongue in Chic),[13] and New Daughters of Africa (edited by Margaret Busby, 2019).[14]

Among her involvement with various other activities and projects, Edwards is founder and Creative Director of ©ViD, an umbrella creative arts and activism company.[8][15]

References

  1. ^ "Zena Edwards". 35 Years of Performance Poetry. Spoken Word Archive. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Zena Edwards". British Council | Literature. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Season for Ex-Change: Tackling Climate Change and Building an Inclusive Movement with Zena Edwards". Season for Change. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Zena Edwards". PRS Foundation. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  5. ^ Sharifi, Arash (5 December 2014). "Interview With @ZenaEdwards The Woman Of Words!". I Am Hip-Hop Magazine. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Zena Edwards". The Complete Freedom of Truth. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Zena Edwards". Greenbelt Festival. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b "About". Zena Edwards ~ The Dialogue. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Writers who Arvon has worked with for (M)OTHER TONGUES" (PDF). Writers Database. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Our workshop facilitators". English PEN. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Unity Words with Zena Edwards". Black History Month. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  12. ^ a b "New poetry on climate justice launched: No Condition is Permanent". Platform London. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Publications". Zena Edwards ~ The Dialogue. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  14. ^ Rocker-Clinton, Johnna (August 2019). "New Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Writing by Women of African Descent". San Francisco Book Review. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  15. ^ "About ©ViD". Verse In Dialog. Retrieved 5 May 2022.

External links

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