Poetry on Stage — Dzifa Benson

Poetry in Performance

I write poetry in many performance contexts which are typically interdisciplinary and often collaborative. These have included Tate Britain, the Dissenters’ Chapel at Kensal Green Cemetery, the Doula UK Conference, on a British Council tour of South Africa and the UK, the Royal Festival Hall, Shakespeare & Co in Paris, Keats House, Zetter Hotel, The Verb (BBC 3), British Film Institute, Café Mono Nightclub in Oslo, Glastonbury Festival, Queens Park Literature Festival, the National Gallery, the Courtauld Institute of Art, the London Library, Latitude Festival, BBC Contains Strong Language, Pallant House Gallery, Whitstable Biennale, the Old Truman Brewery, the Whitechapel Gallery and many others. The flyers and images below are a selection of some of my poetry performances.

"Weaver of well-crafted poems and captivating contemporary myths" - Apples & Snakes

"Dzifa was possibly for me the highlight of the evening. A real orator who was able to recite her works from memory and used
her whole body in expressing the words. This was for me, the definition of poetry; irrespective of whether you connected to the
content or use of language, the whole performance for me embodied what true poetry should be. True distinction between
writing and poetry in my opinion with a real feeling of the writer’s input, passion and being." - Christopher Digby, Art & Business

“Oh I could listen to this honey voiced wordsmith all day long. Dzifa’s poems struck at the heart of womanhood – softness,
strength, vulnerability, power, sensuality. Her voice danced as she took us to underwater realms and mythological worlds. Her
words resonated and enthralled. At times you could have heard a pin drop. As birth workers we are no strangers to discussions
about language, debating semantics and verbal nuances. Sometimes this can all get a bit heavy and when it does, it is a gift to
have memories of the way in which Dzifa sensitively and expertly composes language to paint emotions and moments of truth.
It was a truly exquisite experience.” - Siobhan Ridley, Doula UK Conference 2018