Poet Visit: Deanna Rodger

We were delighted to welcome the poet, performer and facilitator Deanna Rodger to Clifton College on 14th October. Deanna first made an impact on the literary scene at just 18 years old by becoming the youngest UK Poetry Slam Champion. Since then, she has earned widespread acclaim writing and performing for major organisations including the BBC, Adidas, Disney, FIFA, the Tate, and the National Theatre. One of her poems has even been performed by tennis legend Serena Williams!

The theme of Deanna’s talks was Honouring Our Communities, which is this year’s Black History Month focus. Deanna’s presentation spanned time and geographical space, exploring why Black History Month matters, what makes a community, and Bristol’s own Black history.

Our Year 10 and 11 students were captivated as the performance transported them across centuries and continents. The audience journeyed from twenty-first-century Sudan to Almondsbury, near Bristol, in 1625, before travelling back to the 1500s through a beautifully crafted sonnet about Catalina of Motril, a member of Catherine of Aragon’s royal entourage. The story then shifted to London in the 2010s with an exploration of race and national identity through Deanna's powerful performance poem, Being British.

Deanna spoke with real warmth and passion, connecting our Clifton community with the power of words. She explained how poetry gave her a way to find her voice, to figure things out, and to connect with people. In Deanna’s own words, “the world needs more poets” and we could not agree more.