Experience a live broadcast featuring poetry and creative writing inspired by David Oluwale, reflecting on thresholds, identity and hope.

Writing Hope on the Threshold – Live Radio Broadcast

A Remember Oluwale & Chapel FM event

With Emily Zobel Marshall and supported by Leeds Beckett University as part of the Being Human Festival

Join us in Chapel FM’s atmospheric radio theatre for a live broadcast sharing poetry and creative writing inspired by David Oluwale and the cultural crossroads that shape our lives and communities.

David Oluwale came to Leeds from Nigeria in 1949, making a new life in a city shaped by migration and the meeting of different cultures. His story and legacy offer a starting point for thinking about belonging, identity, memory and place, as well as the stories and cultures we inherit, carry with us and create together.

Earlier in the day, some participants will have taken part in a creative writing workshop exploring cross-cultural fusion, migration and identity. Through guided writing activities and shared discussion, they will have reflected on David’s story alongside their own experiences and ideas about belonging, memory, place and the cultural crossroads that shape our communities.

This live broadcast gives participants the opportunity to take that new writing from page to airwaves, sharing work created during the workshop alongside other poetry and creative contributions. You can come along to perform, listen as part of our studio audience, or tune in from home.

The event is inspired by humanities research into David Oluwale’s legacy, migrant communities in Leeds, race and social justice and marginalised voices.

We welcome you to join the workshop, take part in the broadcast, or both. If you can’t make it in person, you’ll be able to listen to the broadcast live on the Chapel FM website or catch up later through their archive.

Please note that some of the themes explored may be challenging; the event is recommended for ages 12 and over.

How to book

Radio broadcast: book your place here to attend as an audience member or, if you have joined the workshop, to share your creative writing during the live broadcast. Just click on 'Get tickets'.

Workshop: if you would also like to take part in the daytime creative writing workshop, you can book your place here (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1997971350092?aff=oddtdtcreator).

Meet the host

Emily Zobel Marshall is a poet, literary activist, and Professor at Leeds Beckett University. An expert in African diasporic cultures, she’s published Anansi’s Journey: A Story of Jamaican Cultural Resistance (2012) and American Trickster: Trauma, Tradition and Brer Rabbit (2019). She co-edited Oluwale Now: An Anthology of Poetry, Prose and Artwork (2023) with Sai Murry and has written two poetry collections published by Peepal Tree Press, Bath of Herbs (2023) and Other Wild (2025). Her work explores folklore, cultural resistance and 'othered' perspectives on the natural world.

Trigger warning

We'll be discussing sensitive topics and how we can find hope in the darkness. Themes surrounding David's life and death include mental ill-health, homelessness and racism. Please feel free to contact us before the event if you have concerns.

With thanks to

This event is part of Being Human Festival, the UK’s national festival of the humanities, taking place 5-14 November 2026. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. For further information please see beinghumanfestival.org

Description supplied by the event organiser.