“I write for performance, not the page. I come from a family of talkers who retold their lives sat around coal fires in a converted terrace shop with a crooked window installed by a ‘whole village’ of Black men. I want my work to sound like a conversation – the exchange of secrets, often some that should not really be spoken.”
A poet, performance artist, dramatist and librettist
Remember where you started is important
In the presence of a wealth of talented people
SuAndi in conversation with Michael McMillan
SuAndi reflects on how and why she wants her work to be powerful, and the need for it to be honest with a Scouse humour.
Biography
SuAndi OBE is a poet, performance artist, dramatist, librettist and writer. Her three published collections are Style, Nearly Forty and There Will Be No Tears; her one-woman show The Story of M is on the curriculum for A level English Literature and the MA in Black British Literature at Goldsmiths.
In her role as the freelance Cultural Director of the National Black Arts Alliance, SuAndi has led members in training weekends, exhibitions and performances as well as producing three pieces of ground-breaking historical research: Afro Solo UK, Voices for Freedom, and Strength of Our Mothers. She is a Writing Fellow at Leicester University.
