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Kemka Ajoku: My camera, my vision

Megha Mohan speaks to photographer Kemka Ajoku about facing racism and finding joy in Black British storytelling.

A rising star of British photography, Kemka Ajoku talks about how his English and Nigerian roots have shaped his outlook. He tells us why he focuses on telling Black British stories and how he handles racist responses to his work.

Linton Kwesi Johnson鈥檚 unflinching political poems about police brutality, social injustice and protest have made him an inspiration for a generation of poets. But whose words inspired him as a young writer? Linton shares with us how the work of Martin Carter fired his imagination and his passion for poetry.

Xiran Jay Zhao鈥檚 New York Times best-selling debut novel Iron Widow has been described as Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid鈥檚 Tale. It tells the story of 18-year-old Zetian, the pilot of a giant robot, who is battling both an insidious patriarchy and menacing alien beings that lurk beyond the Great Wall of China. Xiran reveals how their experiences as a first generation Chinese immigrant and as a non-binary writer have influenced their work.

Presented by Megha Mohan.

(Photo: 'Gestural Greetings' by Kemka Ajoku. Credit: Kemka Ajoku)

Available now

27 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Sat 23 Oct 2021 16:06GMT
  • Sat 23 Oct 2021 22:32GMT
  • Sun 24 Oct 2021 03:32GMT
  • Sun 24 Oct 2021 18:32GMT
  • Mon 25 Oct 2021 09:06GMT

Podcast