Headline slot
For National Poetry Day we are excited to welcome a very special guest headliner in Levi Tafari.
Levi Tafari is a renowned and well established Liverpool-based poet, and Urban Griot (traditional consciousness raiser, storyteller, newscaster and political agitator), starting his artistic journey in the early 80s with the Liverpool 8 Writers. He was born and raised in the city of Liverpool by his Jamaican parents. This gave Levi access to two cultures. In his teenage years, he became known for being a sharp, lyrical observer as he regularly verbalised on the many sound systems in and around his hometown.
He has spent two seasons as poet in residence with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
He has also written a number of plays which have been performed at our theatres as well as Liverpool's Unity Theatre and the Blackheath Theatre in Stafford.
Levi Tafari's musical projects include work with Ghanaian drum and dance ensemble Delado, the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and with his own reggae fusion band Ministry of Love.
He has been Writer in Residence at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic and has toured various countries with the British Council including Czech Republic, Jordan, Portugal, Germany and Singapore. He has also appeared in many television programmes including Blue Peter and Grange Hill, and made a well-received film about Rastafarianism for BBC television’s Everyman programme The Road to Zion.
