In a softly lit community hall somewhere in Newcastle, the voice of Nigerian British poet Tolu’ A. Akinyemi rises above the shuffle of chairs and hushed greetings. He delivers poems from his book titled ‘Architects of a Cleaner Financial System.’ A piece as unexpected as it is urgent, tackling corruption and financial crime prevention in the voice of a working-class observer. His audience, a mix of locals, students, retirees and asylum seekers, leans in with intent. Moments later, Nigeen Dara, a British Kurdish writer and junior doctor, takes the mic to share a bilingual poem in Kurdish and English, weaving stories of exile and healing.
Scenes like this unfold across the Northeast every week. Often undocumented in mainstream cultural reporting, these gatherings form a mosaic of multilingual, migrant-led poetic expression and headline local literary festivals. Poets like Akinyemi, Dara, and Vanessa Napolitano, a British American poet and translator, are reshaping how the region thinks about identity, language and belonging and doing so in ways that challenge national immigration policy.
A cultural shift in quiet spaces
Literary festivals and high-profile publishers remain important cultural markers, much of this movement is taking shape through writing workshops and residencies, exhibitions, and open mics events. Platforms like New Northern Poets 2025, supported by the University of Leeds, have helped elevate voices like Dara and Napolitano through mentorship, community programming, and regional performances. Their work appears in zines, on podcast platforms, and across the social web, but its impact lies in what it builds offline: trust, consistency, visibility, and a sense of home for others navigating cultural margins.
Akinyemi was a participant in the 2024 New Writing North Inkubator annual development programme for writers and freelancers who want to develop skills in facilitation and participatory arts practice with children, young people and adults. He was previously endorsed by Arts Council England as a writer of exceptional talent, has published over twenty-three books and regularly mentors young writers across the Northeast and beyond. Known locally as ‘The Lion of Newcastle.’ He sees poetry not only as an art form, but also as a medium of expression. With an observant eye, he believes in the importance of documenting stories and events to avoid erasure.
“Writers are defiant by nature, like a two-edged sword, symbols of chaos and calm after the storm. By default, writers are tormentors of policymakers and bad leaders,” he stated.
When a visa becomes a value statement
In 2024, the UK government updated its list of skilled occupations eligible for work visas. Among them, for the first time in public view, appeared a curious listing: “poets, authors and literary translators.” Within hours, political figures and columnists took to social media to mock the inclusion. Reform UK’s deputy leader Lee Anderson quipped that Britain was “importing rhymes” instead of electricians, echoing a broader hostility to migration framed around utility and productivity.
Behind the headlines lies a deeper issue. The government’s 2025 immigration white paper proposes higher salary thresholds for Skilled Worker visas and a narrowing of qualifying professions. Poets, many of whom work freelance or in education-adjacent settings, often fall outside these thresholds. Only those who qualify under the Global Talent visa are reserved for “exceptional” creators who remain eligible, provided they can prove significant recognition through awards or endorsements.
Akinyemi’s track record, Dara’s festival appearances, and Napolitano’s multilingual writing portfolios meet those standards, but many others with comparable community impact do not. And the gap between influence and eligibility continues to grow.
The unseen curriculum
What is often missing in policy debates is the cultural labour that migrant poets perform every day. Vanessa Napolitano, who splits her time between Saltaire and Sunderland, has led poetry sessions in public libraries for English language learners. Dara, whose Kurdish identity informs her dual practice as a doctor and writer, runs workshops that help refugee women articulate stories they had no language for in the systems that process them. Akinyemi uses proceeds from books to support charitable causes for education and improving the lives of older people.
These contributions rarely make headlines or get included in economic metrics. They unfold in conversations and support groups, build bridges where integration policies fall short and document what it feels like to be both here and not quite at home.
What makes a poet “skilled”?
In the context of immigration policy, the word “skilled” is bureaucratic. But for the communities gathering around these poets, skill looks like multilingual storytelling, cross-cultural fluency, and the emotional intelligence to hold space for others. Their readings may not go viral, but they go deep.
As the UK reassesses what counts as talent and contribution, it may need to look again at who is writing its future and in how many languages that future is being told.
Written by: Lanre Sonde.
Photo by Benson Omoruyi
This article was first published on North East ByLines. This has now been republished to correct some errors identified in the original article.