RAKAYA ESIME FETUGA
Welcome! Rakaya here. I tell stories through poetry, fiction and theatre.
ARTIST BIO
Rakaya Fetuga is an award-winning poet, facilitator and events producer based in London. Rakaya has received writing awards from the New York TV & Film Festival (2024) and Royal Holloway University of London (2015 & 2016), as well as winning the national Roundhouse Poetry Slam (2018), international Rooftop Rhythms Slam (2020) and Spread the Word’s London Poetry Awards (2017).
With a 1st class BA & MA in Literature and Creative Writing, Rakaya’s writing has spearheaded an array of campaigns by the UN, BBC and Bloomberg Philanthropies, as well as brands such as Cartier, Microsoft, L’Occitane, Rimmel London, Instagram and Facebook. Rakaya also curated a 10-week arts engagement programme for Apple and the Mayor of London, managing 8 artist-facilitators as they worked with young women in the city.
Rakaya’s poetry has been published in anthologies by HarperCollins, Pan Macmillan and Penguin Random House and she is currently working on a fiction novel.
At the Roundhouse Last Word Festival, Rakaya produced and performed her monodrama ‘Unbraided’ to sold out audiences in 2019 and 2021. Rakaya has performed on stages around the world from Qatar’s DIFI Conference (2024) to Cuba’s Interkontinentale Poesie (2024), across the UK and Europe from Newcastle to the Netherlands, and has shared her poetry at countless London venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Speaker’s House, Westminster Abbey and Southbank’s Royal Festival Hall.
An advocate for self-expression, Rakaya hosts an open mic at Rumi’s Cave and facilitates workshops to help others nurture their creative voice. Leading writing and performance workshops for people from all walks of life, from hospital staff, law barristers, refugee community groups and hundreds of school students every year, Rakaya uses her fervour for the written and spoken word to inspire creativity and confidence in others. Rakaya has hosted the Rumi’s Cave Open Mic since 2020 and finds joy in creating spaces of inspiration, connection and community.
Rakaya is represented by Seren Adams of Lexington Literary and is working on her debut novel.
With a 1st class BA & MA in Literature and Creative Writing, Rakaya’s writing has spearheaded an array of campaigns by the UN, BBC and Bloomberg Philanthropies, as well as brands such as Cartier, Microsoft, L’Occitane, Rimmel London, Instagram and Facebook. Rakaya also curated a 10-week arts engagement programme for Apple and the Mayor of London, managing 8 artist-facilitators as they worked with young women in the city.
Rakaya’s poetry has been published in anthologies by HarperCollins, Pan Macmillan and Penguin Random House and she is currently working on a fiction novel.
At the Roundhouse Last Word Festival, Rakaya produced and performed her monodrama ‘Unbraided’ to sold out audiences in 2019 and 2021. Rakaya has performed on stages around the world from Qatar’s DIFI Conference (2024) to Cuba’s Interkontinentale Poesie (2024), across the UK and Europe from Newcastle to the Netherlands, and has shared her poetry at countless London venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Speaker’s House, Westminster Abbey and Southbank’s Royal Festival Hall.
An advocate for self-expression, Rakaya hosts an open mic at Rumi’s Cave and facilitates workshops to help others nurture their creative voice. Leading writing and performance workshops for people from all walks of life, from hospital staff, law barristers, refugee community groups and hundreds of school students every year, Rakaya uses her fervour for the written and spoken word to inspire creativity and confidence in others. Rakaya has hosted the Rumi’s Cave Open Mic since 2020 and finds joy in creating spaces of inspiration, connection and community.
Rakaya is represented by Seren Adams of Lexington Literary and is working on her debut novel.
COMMISSIONS
Ode to the Women of L’Occitane. March 2022. Written and performed by Rakaya Fetuga.
Bodyright. UNFPA 2021. Written and performed by Rakaya Fetuga.
The Future’s Not Cancelled, BBC News 2021. Poem written by Rakaya Fetuga.
FICTION
CONTACT
Email: rakayaesimefetuga@gmail.com