16.5.2026, 7 P.M. – »Dreams Don't Flow in Square Houses« with Azieb Pool
Join us for an evening with the writer, creative leader and art strategist Azieb Pool from London, UK, who will read from her book »My Fathers’ Daughter« – reprinted in 2022 as part of Bernardine Evaristo and Penguin’s »Black Britain: Writing Back« series.
The event is part of our 2026 poetry & literature series »Dreams Don't Flow in Square Houses« inviting selected lyric writers, poets and authors from the African diaspora to Hamburg. The series reflects Afro-diasporic lyrics, poetry and literature as socially engaged art practices that challenge dominant narratives, encourage collective world-building, and promote togetherness. The title metaphor suggests that rigid (post)colonial Western thinking and social structures restrict freedom of thought, action and art. This concept underpins the series' assertion that poetry and (song) writing are fluid, free, critical and artistic processes that drive social transformation and dismantle racist and oppressive systems. For each event we will dive into an intimate artistic dialogue with our guests about the unifying power of words and lyric, exploring voices, texts and meaning, and discussing the in-between spaces of creativity, vulnerability, dignity, fellowship and solidarity within a shared Afro-diasporic history.
Azieb Pool
Azieb is a senior creative leader, arts strategist, Director of Creative Ambition at »people make it work« and writer, passionate about the power of culture to connect people, unlock hidden stories, and spark radical change. From 2019 to 2025, she led the Bernie Grant Arts Centre in London, UK, helping it become a nationally recognised home for bold, Black-led creativity. During her tenure, she secured Arts Council England National Portfolio status for the first time in BGAC’s history, founded the Tottenham Literature Festival and BGAC Windrush Festival, and developed exciting partnerships with brilliant organisations including Talawa, Dance Umbrella, LIFT, Greater London Authority, National Youth Theatre, Punchdrunk, and major funders such as Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Freelands Foundation, and Barings Foundation.
Prior to BGAC, Azieb was Senior Programmer for Contemporary Culture at Southbank Centre, London, where she led »Africa Utopia«, an annual festival celebrating African and diaspora arts and ideas. She also played a key role in expanding the »Women of the World« festival (WOW), including its international editions in Somaliland, Nigeria, and Baltimore, USA. She has served as a trustee of LIFT, an Artistic Advisor to Manchester International Festival, a patron of the SI Leeds Prize, a member of the Mayor of London’s Black Cultural Events Advisory Group and co-curated the international »Read My World« festival in Amsterdam (2023).
Azieb began her career as a journalist, writing for The Guardian for over a decade and contributing to The Times, Stylist, and Vogue UK. She is the editor of »Fashion Cities Africa« and the author of »My Fathers’ Daughter« – reprinted in 2022 as part of Bernardine Evaristo and Penguin’s »Black Britain: Writing Back« series. She believes that truly ambitious work must be inclusive and collaborative. Her specialist areas include creative ambition, vision, artistic strategy, artistic development, racial and gender equity within the arts, and embedding diverse practices.
16.5.2026, 7 P.M. – Reading & Talk with Azieb Pool,
Venue: M.Bassy e.V., Schlüterstrasse 80, 20146 Hamburg
Entrance Fee: 15,00 € (students, school students or unemployed individuals: 10,00 €)
Please reserve via: reservation@m-bassy.org
We would like to thank the Literature Department of the Ministry of Culture and Media in Hamburg for their funding and support of the series.
