Malika’s Poetry Kitchen (aka MPK, aka Kitchen) is a writers’ collective founded in Brixton by Malika Booker and Roger Robinson in 2001. It nurtures the writing, performance and careers of poets by emphasising craft, community and development.
Jill Abram was been the Director from 2010-2022. Under her stewardship the group met for workshops on Friday evenings (the saying goes that, as MPK members give their Friday nights over to poetry, we must be very dedicated). During the lockdown meetings were on Zoom, before a shift to Tuesday evenings at the London Library.
Some sessions were led by members of the collective, others by guest poets from the UK and beyond, such as Kei Miller, Mona Arshi and Olive Senior. MPK Alumni include Inua Ellams, Warsan Shire, Kayo Chingonyi, Karen McCarthy Woolf, and Denise Saul.
This lively, London-based community of dedicated poets inspired similar Kitchen models to be set up worldwide, from Chicago to Delhi, creating an international MPK family.