I just appointed Sheffield's 1st Poet Laureate →

It is with the greatest of pleasures that I announce that I will be appointing the phenomenal Poet/Hip Hop artist Otis Mensah as Sheffield's first ever Poet Laureate!

The appointment will be made as part of Off the Shelf Festival Of Words, a three-week literature festival curated by the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University on 6-27 October.

Otis represents all that is great about Sheffield, he's dynamic, skillful and radical. And this certainly shows in his work too. Otis will without a shadow of a doubt help advance and enhance the already incredible arts & culture of the city.

Mensah, who was born and raised in Sheffield, has been receiving growing attention in the UK and internationally as a poet and hip-hop artist.

A committed advocate of the power of vulnerability in art, Mensah’s writing addresses intimate themes of nostalgia, loneliness, and what Mensah calls ‘existential quarrel.’

Since performing his poetry and experimental hip-hop set at Glastonbury in 2017, he has landed support slots with the likes of Arrested Development, The Sugarhill Gang, Mahalia, and Wu-Tang Clan’s Killah Priest, as well as shows at major festivals including Hip Hop Kemp in Czech Republic.

Otis Mensah’s new book of poetry titled, ‘Safe Metamorphosis’ will be published soon, and will be available via his Bandcamp page.