Yomi Sode

Yomi Sode is an ethereal poet, playwright and performance poet as who was once longlisted as one of MTV’s Brand New Artists, Writer and Poet, Yomi Sode has been performing for the past 10 years – balancing the fine line between both Nigerian and British cultures that can be, at times, humorous, loving, self-reflective and uncomfortable.

Highlights include opening for Saul Williams and The Last Poets, appearances at Yahoo! Wireless Festival, Latitude, Lovebox, Olympic Village, Sadler’s Wells Theatre and working with Channel 4 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. He successfully runs a monthly poetry night in Shoreditch and is a member of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen. Yomi has had work commissioned by The Mayor’s Office, BBC World Service, BBC Africa and various charities. Recently he was presented at the UN Humanitarian Summit by Gordon Brown.

In 2012 Yomi founded BoxedIN, a quick fire, free poetry night at Boxpark, in Shoreditch.

In 2014 he won a place on Nimble Fish’s Re:Play! programme to begin developing his one man show COAT.

Yomi was selected as 1 of 10 Poets to join The Complete Works in 2016. A national development programme for advanced Black and Asian writers. Past Alumni include Warsan Shire, Malika Booker, Inua Ellams and Karen McCarthy Woolf. He also travelled to New York City as part of British Council’s Shakespeare Lives initiative to read his work at the New York Public Library. He facilitated workshops in schools and read at various poetry spaces.

In 2017 Yomi premiered COAT at The Roundhouse, which amazingly sold out in 24 hours and has since toured nationally.

Adding to his list of achievements is the publication of his work in by being published in Rialto Magazine, Bare Lit and 10: Poets of the New Generation, Bare Lit Anthology and an essay contribution in SAFE: On Black British Men Reclaiming Space.

In 2019 Yomi is one of three writers awarded the Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship. His debut collection of poem, Manorism, is set to be set on stage, courtesy of the South BankCentre. Tickets are on sale.