Migration, Memory and Identity - No Place Like Home: Southampton

What does it mean to be part of a diaspora? How are our identities shaped by physical locations? Where is ‘home’ when generations move through continents over time?

Inspired by contemporary artists featured in the landscape exhibition Soulscapes (Dulwich Picture Gallery, 2024) and the artwork of the South African-South Asian Kutti Collective, the workshop will provide space to explore your own connections to political geographies and the natural world through writing poetry.

Liz Amos and Susmita Bhattacharya will work with themes of memory, joy, belonging and transformation to explore experiences of land and legacy.

This event is aimed at BPOC people, free entry and suitable for 18+.

About the artists

Liz Amos is Black British of Jamaican heritage and writes to explore multifaceted identities. Her performance poetry has featured in event collaborations with John Hansard Gallery, ArtfulScribe and October Books, and her debut novel, 'All the Truths Between Us', was longlisted for the SI Leeds Literary Prize 2022. A former lawyer, she is currently studying for an MA in Postcolonial and World Literatures at the University of Southampton.

IG @liz.amos_writes

Susmita Bhattacharya’s novel, The Normal State of Mind (Parthian) was long-listed at the Mumbai Film Festival, 2018. Table Manners (Dahlia Publishing) won the Saboteur Award for Best Short Story Collection and was featured on BBC Radio 4 Extra. She mentors underrepresented writers and is co-founder of the Write Beyond Borders Mentoring Project.

IG: @susmita.b.writer

Accessibility

October Books is accessed via one step. There's a ramp available for wheelchair access, and there's a disabled toilet available.

How to get there

On Foot: the venue it's in the heart of Portswood, opposite the Victory Gospel Church, the last building on the corner before the lane that takes you to the Cafe Down the Lane.

By Bike: the venue is close to National Cycle Route 23. Come off it at Horseshoe Bridge from the south, or Riverside Park from the north. Park up at the bike rack outside the neighbours, The Post Office.

By Bus:Red 7, UniLink and Bluestar 2 buses all stop in Portswood. Get your ticket to Portswood Broadway, which is the nearest stop.

By Train: there's a 10/15 minute walk from St Denys railway station.

By Car: there is limited on street parking in Portswood. The nearest car park is Westridge Road, postcode SO17 2HL. The venue is a few minutes walk from there.

You can find further info on the October Books website.

This event is supported by Arts Council England. Writing Our Legacy is part of ACE’s National Portfolio Programme.