Dubbed “the Gil Scott Heron of his generation” by Charlie Dark, London-born-and-bred spoken word artist Dean Atta has been making waves ever since his poem “I Am Nobody’s Nigger” went viral last January. The poem, which took 30 minutes to write and received thousands of views, likes and shares in a matter of days, was inspired by the killing of Stephen Lawrence and the use of the N-word in rap. It became the title of Dean’s debut poetry collection, which was published in February by The Westbourne Press.

If you are familiar with the London spoken word circuit, no doubt you will be familiar with Dean. The 27 year-old has been writing and performing poems for over 10 years, running workshops with schools and poetry nights all over the capital. His focus is on using writing and spoken word to break down barriers and discuss difficult issues within race, gender and sexuality.

LitroTV manages to grab four minutes with him on the Docklands Light Railway to discuss how London has inspired his work and what’s next for this very busy, 21st century poet.

You can order Dean debut collection, I Am Nobody’s Nigger, here.

Henry Fry

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4-Minute Hangout Dean Atta LitroTV Poetry spoken word