Desree is an award-winning spoken word artist, producer, and facilitator.
Artist in Residence for poetry collective EMPOWORD, Desree’s work explores intersectionality, justice, and social commentary.
Poet In Residence for Glastonbury Festival 2022, Desree also wrote and voiced WaterAid’s COP27 campaign video, Time’s Up. Following a Nationwide tour of spoken word play CROWDED, written and performed alongside Laura Rae and Slam the Poet, the show won an OFF-WEST END award.
Desree has featured across the UK and internationally, including Bowery Poetry Club New York, Sofar Sounds, Sunday Assembly, Bestival and Greenbelt Festival and is a part of the 2021/22 Jerwood Poetry In Performance cohort. Desree has delivered a TEDx talk; Poetry and Self-Esteem; Finding Truth with Words, and is an experienced creative writing and drama facilitator.
Producer for Word UP!, Word of Mouth London and Empoword, Desree curates’ live events, festivals, and visual media, booking acts from around the world.
Following the sell-out of her first self-published pamphlet I Find My Strength In Simple Things (2017), Burning Eye Books published the pamphlet in May 2021.
Desree’s Eastside Highlight:
“I was placed in a school in Wembley, as Artist in Residence for 6 weeks, working with some young people that were not confident, around the Global Goals, Gender Equality mission. At the beginning of the weekly sessions, one of the young people would not talk out loud, they were painfully shy and even one-to-one, would struggle to say anything. After weeks of discussion, writing poems and confidence building, they performed at the final assembly in front of the whole of KS2 – even their mum, who worked at the school, was shocked!”
Desree’s goals for the future:
One day, I would like to run an arts venue, but not too soon, I’m not done making my own yet!