2023 Festival Programme

FRIDAY, MAY 26

7:30pm – 8:30pm
CARIBBEAN COMPLEXITIES
Curdella Forbes
Kevin Jared Hosein
Ingrid Persaud

9:00pm – 10:00pm
CULTURE CARRIERS
Natalie Diaz
Cathy Park Hong
Roger Robinson

10:30pm – 11:30pm
FAMILIAL FICTIONS
Maisy Card
David Chariandy
Alecia McKenzie

Midnight – 2:00am
CALABASHMENT: LIVE AND DIRECT
Concert featuring
Imeru Tafari
Ras-I
& Tanya Stephens

SATURDAY, MAY 27

10:00am – 11:30am
NEW DAUGHTERS OF AFRICA
in conversation with Margaret Busby 
Yvonne Bailey-Smith
Taiye Selasi
Namwali Serpell

12noon – 1:00pm
REASONING Presents:
Jeremy Poynting
& Linton Kwesi Johnson

with
Kwame Dawes

1:00pm – 2:30pm
OPEN MIKE hosted by Carolyn Cooper

1:15pm – 2:15pm
CALABASH CAFÉ SERIES The Art of Storytelling

2:30pm – 4:00pm
SOMETHING TORN AND NEW
Jonathan Escoffery
Sadie Jones
Tom Zoellner

4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
REASONINGS presents:
Padma Lakshmi
in conversation with
Kei Miller

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm 
OPEN MIKE hosted by Carolyn Cooper

8:00 pm – 9:00 pm
LAURELS & LAUREATES
Kei Miller
Andrew Motion
Olive Senior

9:30pm – 11:00pm
MIX UP MIX UP
Xavier Navarro Aquino
Staceyann Chin
Nicole Krauss

11:30pm – Midnight
SCREENING: Moon Over Aburi

Midnight – 2am
CALABASHMENT: DANCE A KEEP!
DJ Anash
Chromatic Live – HeavyD and Ariez

SUNDAY, MAY 28

10:00am – 11:30am
Tribute reading of Michael Thelwell’s
THE HARDER THEY COME

Caribbean classic read by Jamaican notables.
Blakka Ellis
Sally Henzell
Carol Lawes
Sheldon Shepherd

12noon – 1:00pm
REASONINGS presents:
Joyce Carol Oates
in conversation with
Paul Holdengraber

1:00pm – 3:00pm
OPEN MIKE hosted by Carolyn Cooper

1:15pm – 2:15pm
CALABASH CAFÉ SERIES Writing Reggae

3:30pm – 5:00pm
THE CALABASH ACOUSTIC ENSEMBLE
A Celebration of Third World

Ibo Cooper
Steve Golding
Seretse Small
and special guests