Name: Visiting Writers: FELISPEAKS & Nithy Kasa
Start: 2024-10-09T15:30:00-05:00
Location: Flowers Hall 230

Visiting Writers: FELISPEAKS & Nithy Kasa

The #TXSTEnglish TKL Literary Series, in partnership with Torch Literary Arts, presents visiting writers, Nithy Kasa and FELISPEAKS.
FELISPEAKS is a Nigerian-Irish Poet, Performer, Playwright from County Longford, currently based in Dublin City. FELISPEAKS was nominated ‘Best Performer’ by Dublin Fringe Festival (September 2018) and went on to win ‘Best Performer’ in 2022. A member of the Poetry Ireland Board of Directors appointed (June 2020), and a member of the Poetry Collective, WeAreGriot. FELISPEAKS is an Artist-in-Residence with Axis Ballymun and Visual Carlow, and an Associate Artist with THISISPOPBABY. FELISPEAKS’ poem: ‘For Our Mothers’ is in the English Ordinary Level Leaving Certificate Curriculum (2023 and 2025), as is their poem “Rainbow Blood” (2025). In 2020, FELISPEAKS commissioned a new piece for RTÉ’s The Big Picture on the theme of ‘the New Normal,’ this poem, entitled Still captured the minds of the nation and has been performed to audiences all over the country. Of late, FELISPEAKS has been commissioned by the Irish Repertory Theatre and Fishamble: The New Play Company for the Transatlantic Commission for Black Irish Artists. FELISPEAKS ended 2021 as an Irish Tatler Woman of the Year with a win in the Catalyst Category - which recognises a woman who has affected change in Irish society in a pivotal way. FELISPEAKS is also an ambassador for Laya Health Care’s Beats TV and Media Campaign.
Nithy Kasa is a Congolese-Irish poet whose work is featured on the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation website, the University of Galway’s archive, the Special Collections of University College Dublin, Poetry Ireland Review and others. She is among the ten poets selected for Poetry as Commemoration for the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 programme by UCD supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. She's the recipient of I bhFad i gCéin international residencies for Cave Canem by Poetry Ireland, The Arts Council and the Department of Foreign Affairs. She received the Poetry Ireland Commission 2020 and was shortlisted for The Eavan Boland Emerging Poet Award 2021. Her debut collection of poetry, Palm Wine Tapper and The Boy at Jericho, Doire Press 2022, was selected by the Art Council of Ireland for the ‘read mór’ for Culture Night Ireland 2022, was listed among the top poetry books of 2022 by the Irish Times, and was shortlisted for the Pigott Poetry Prize 2023. Nithy is also a facilitator registered with the Irish Writers Centre.