What does it mean to write the story of an ongoing catastrophe? In honour of the 75th anniversary of HMT Empire Windrush’s docking and in conjunction with Refugee Week, Wasafiri and Black Cultural Archives invite you to the launch of Wasafiri 114 – ‘Windrush: Writing the Scandal’, an essential collection of important, informed, and inspiring voices, edited by Henghameh Saroukhani and John McLeod. In the context of ongoing hostility against those ‘illegalised’ by the state, the poets, journalists, critics, artists, filmmakers, and activists gathered in the special issue demonstrate how advocacy and art intertwine in the midst of an unravelling political crisis.

This intimate event will explore the rebellious role of writing in our contemporary culture, featuring readings by Momtaza Mehri (poet, essayist, 2018 Young People’s Poet Laureate of London), Ira Mathur (award-winning journalist and OCM Bocas Prize winner for non-fiction, 2023), and James Goodwin (poet and PhD candidate at Birkbeck, University of London), who will all be conversation with Dr Henghameh Saroukhani (Assistant Professor in Black British Literature, Durham University). The event pays tribute to the legacy of those pioneering Windrush migrants while complicating what it means to commemorate in the context of continuing state antagonism. Together, we turn to creativity and writing in search of new forms of solidarity and resistance.