introduce yourself
My name is Inua Ellams and I am a poet, performer, graphic designer, illustrator, to tie it all together; a graphic and word artist.
fav lyric from a song
“Children of the night, only some will star the sky, only believers in death will die…”
what inspires you?
I am inspired by small moments, the wind, music, Keats, Mos Def, Shakespeare, poetry, Terry Prattchett, Ben Okri – the famished road, Tolkein, Love, Life, Family, Teenage mutant hero turtles, Pigeon Street, Charlotte Bailey, what is beautiful or considered to be, the scenario of one person standing against impossible odds, the epic within the miniscule, texture, flat shades of colour, Old School, New School, symmetry…
the nublack philosophy/mantra according to Inua
“Conformity is an enemy to success, Stay weird”.
who are you past/present icons and why?
Nii Parkes for believing, Mo Brown for Real, Roger Robinson for himself, Saul Williams for the Genius, Ben Okri for teaching Saul, Sam Cook for being born by the river, Marvin Gayefor Sexual healing, D’angelo for Voodoo, Frodo Bagging for the strength, Martin Luther King for the dream, Ghandi for Martin, Malcom for the means necessary, Obama for proving the mo fos wrong.
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