Amarachi Attamah is a performance poet, broadcaster, author and promoter of African and Igbo culture. Now performing and writing solely in Igbo, her first full Igbo collection is ‘’Akuko Ifo Nnem ochie koro m” (Folktales my Grandmother Told Me). She has three further poetry titles. As an advocate for Igbo language and culture she performs in schools, encourages pupils to learn the language, organises festivals and runs initiatives about Igbo. Her poem will be translated under the guidance of Joseph Ogbonna Ike.

The Poetry Translation Centre is very proud to partner with the Aké Arts and Books Festival to present a special series of translation workshops on the Nigerian languages of Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa.

Do all three workshops! Find out more here.

Join like-minded poetry lovers from across the world to discover new poetry and different cultures, share insights and language skills, working together to open up a poem in its original language and reassemble it in English. The result will be new group translations of contemporary Nigerian poems. This session on Igbo will look at a poem by Amarachi Attamah.

To help in this task you will be guided by the translator Joseph Ogbonna Ike who is an expert in the language that is the focus for that session, and the professional poet Miriam Nash. They will offer insight into the nuances of the language and culture, and give helpful suggestions for the direction of the translation that is produced.

Taking place online via Google Meet, the workshops are the perfect way to keep yourself feeling creative, engaged and connected to the world at large. A rough and ready guide translation is provided by the guest translator so there is no need to know the language being translated - simply sign up and bring your love of poetry and language.

The Poet

Amarachi Attamah is an award-winning Chant Performance Artist, Poet, Broadcaster, Festival Manager, Creative Entrepreneur and a strong passionate voice in the sustainability of Igbo language speaking as well as other African languages. Recently, she completed a four month fellowship with the Royal National Theatre, London, United Kingdom, where she performed in the fifty-two theatre productions of the “Three Sisters” directed by Nadia Falls. A play by Inua Ellams, an adaptation of Chekhov's Three Sisters. She has also performed in numerous virtual events through the Pandemic including Igbo Conference organised in the UK, Abuja Literary Festival, Nigeria, Global Poetry Festival organised by Shared_Studio and Divercities poetry connect by Planet Word Museum, both of US based organisations. She has received numerous awards and honorary mentions for her very unique art.

The Translator

Joseph Ogbonna Ike, in their own words: Legend has it that no one really knows when Joseph Ogbonna Ike was actually born, or where. It is thus often said, that he came to the world when the world needed him the most. Upon arrival, he took on the language that most closely resembled what they spake from where he came, Igbo and resided atop Milikin Hill, modern-day Enugu State. This is as much as we know. And this is all we need to know. Iseee!!!