About INKspired

What We Believe

We believe that poetry is not a solitary act — it is a conversation. Every poem is a letter sent into the world, and a community is the room where those letters are read aloud. INKspired holds space for every kind of voice: the polished and the raw, the celebrated and the searching.

The Founder

INKspired was founded by Jide Badmus — Pushcart Prize-nominated poet and author of eight collections, including Obaluayé (FlowerSong Press, 2022). By day, he works as a Principal Project Engineer; by calling, he is a poet who founded INKspiredNG from a conviction that African poets deserve a permanent home for their craft, not just occasional platforms. He tweets @bardmus.

How We Gather

Community members meet in digital spaces and at live events throughout the year. Our flagship event — INKterlude — is an annual open-mic and poetry hangout held in Lagos. It is an evening of performance, conversation, and celebration of the written and spoken word.