Inua Ellams
Inua Ellams is a poet, playwright, performer, graphic artist and designer and the founder of The Midnight Run, The Rhythm and Poetry Party, and Poetry + Film / Hack (P+F/H).
Identity, displacement and destiny are reoccurring themes in his work, where he tries to mix the old with the new: traditional African oral storytelling with contemporary poetics, paint with pixel, texture with vector.
A fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Complete Works poet alumni, Ellams regularly runs accessible creative writing workshops. He has appeared regularly at the Southbank Centre, and curated the 2025 Koestler Arts exhibition Night Owls and Abstractions.
Upcoming events
Future Sounds: RAP Party x Out-Spoken
Articles & video
How I create... with poet and playwright Inua Ellams
Which tools are vital to a poet? Find out as Inua Ellams shares his creative process.
‘You have to be creative in prison’: Life After Prison podcast joins Inua Ellams for Koestler Arts
Join Life After Prison podcast hosts Zak and Jules and poet and curator Inua Ellams for a video tour of the 2025 Koestler Arts exhibition.