- British Council celebrates 10 years of partnership with BBC Contains Strong Language, the UK's biggest festival of poetry and spoken word
- Leeds-based poets return from a cultural exchange in Rio de Janeiro to perform work as part of the Music and Poetry of the Black Atlantic programme
- Anniversary events highlight a decade of international literary collaboration, connecting poets, communities and cultures across the world through language, creativity and storytelling
The British Council is celebrating ten years of partnership with BBC Contains Strong Language, the UK's biggest festival of poetry and spoken word, by supporting a programme of events showcasing the power of international literary exchange.
The 2026 festival, taking place in Salford from 24-27 September, marks a decade of cultural exchange between the British Council and BBC Contains Strong Language. Poets, writers and creative practitioners from around the world have collaborated through projects spanning countries including Jamaica, India and, most recently, Brazil through the programme.
As part of this year's festival, poets from Leeds and Rio de Janeiro will come together for Music and Poetry of the Black Atlantic, a UK-Brazil collaboration exploring sound system culture, music, identity and poetry through creative exchange.
For Leeds-based poet and writer Jamila Pereira, that exchange meant taking part in a creative journey exploring shared histories, music and identity across borders.
Born in Guinea-Bissau and now based in Leeds, Pereira is an award-winning journalist, writer and poet who works across English, Portuguese and Kiriol. Her writing explores migration, identity, memory and the experiences of African and Black women in the diaspora.
Jamila Pereira said: "The programme gave me an opportunity to think about the Black Atlantic as something lived. Through music, poetry and conversation, I was able to think more deeply about the connections between Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and the Americas, and the ways those connections continue to shape how we understand ourselves."
Created through the British Council's UK/Brazil Season of Culture 2025-26, the Music and Poetry of the Black Atlantic project was developed by the National Poetry Centre and Rio de Janeiro's Festa Literária das Periferias (FLUP), with support from the British Council.
Together, Leeds-based writers Kadish Morris, Omari Swanston Jeffers and Jamila Pereira travelled to Rio de Janeiro earlier this year to perform at FLUP alongside Brazilian poets Mileny, Valen and Ryane Leão. Through workshops, performances and creative exchange, the group explored the shared histories, musical traditions and creative cultures that connect communities.
Reflecting on the experience, Pereira said one of the most memorable aspects of the project was the connections formed between participants from different cultures: "There is something powerful about being in a space where people arrive from different cultural and geographical backgrounds but recognise certain things in one another. Sometimes that recognition happens through language, sometimes through rhythm, sometimes through the subjects we write about."
Leeds-based poet, artist and educator Omari Swanston Jeffers also took part in the exchange, travelling to Rio de Janeiro to collaborate with Brazilian writers and artists through workshops, performances and creative development opportunities. Swanston Jeffers began his artistic training in West African, Afro-Caribbean and contemporary dance before moving into directing and creative writing, with his work spanning stage, screen and literature.
Swanston Jeffers said: "It's hard to express the feeling of being, for the first time in your life, completely yourself and completely seen. That's what Rio gave me. The power of the Black Atlantic is magnificent, and the euphoria of the African diaspora is incomparable. When we step into spaces across the globe, places we've never been and faces we've never seen... and still we recognise that we are home, that is what this project has meant to me."
The poets will present new work at Brazil: Music and Poetry on 26 September and will also take part in Poetry Across Borders: 10 Years of the British Council at Contains Strong Language on Sunday 27 September, a special event celebrating a decade of international literary collaboration at the festival.
The anniversary event will also feature poets Karen McCarthy Woolf and Jay Mitra, whose previous participation in British Council-supported collaborations demonstrates the lasting impact of international literary exchange, including UK-Caribbean and UK-India partnerships that have gone to generate new publications, performances and creative collaborations.
Rachel Stevens, Director of Literature at the British Council, said: "For ten years, Contains Strong Language has provided a unique platform to showcase the power of international literary exchange. We're proud to have worked with the BBC and an incredible range of partners to create opportunities for poets, writers and audiences to connect across cultures, languages and borders. The festival demonstrates how literature can open up new conversations, foster understanding and build lasting international relationships."
Sue Roberts, Director of BBC Contains Strong Language, says “Working with the British Council to bring more international voices to Contains Strong Language has been a valuable part of the festival for the last 10 years. As we head to Salford to celebrate the festival’s 10th anniversary, we are pleased to provide a platform for the poets from both Rio de Janeiro and Leeds to tell their stories. Over the past decade, Contains Strong Language has continued to demonstrate that poetry can bring people together and inspire audiences from across the UK and around the world.”
Nick Barley, Director of the National Poetry Centre, said: "The British Council is an organisation full of unsung heroes: people committed to building powerful connections across oceans. That commitment is what has made the National Poetry Centre's partnership with the FLUP festival in Rio de Janeiro so impactful and at times downright joyful."
"Three poets from Britain and three from Brazil are examining the stories and cultures that connect them across the Black Atlantic, performing both at FLUP in Rio and at BBC Contains Strong Language in Salford. The Brazilian poets are being heard on BBC Radio 4 while the British poets will have their work showcased across Rio. These are life-changing experiences for the poets involved."
Khadijah Ibrahim, poet and mentor on Music and Poetry of the Black Atlantic, said: “The exchange between Brazil and the UK is central to the Sound System, Music and Poetry of the Black Atlantic project. It invites us to consider what connects and distinguishes us as poets, creating a shared space for dialogue, cultural exchange and creative expression. Through mentoring and collaboration, poetry continues to evolve and renew itself across the Atlantic. As both a poet and mentor, engaging with Brazilian and Black British poetic traditions has been deeply enriching, offering insights and experiences that continue to resonate.”