The concert inside me, Not!
Love, that’s a pipe dream
Haiku?, NOW!, that’s my thing
Damian Carlton is a spoken word artist, poet, digital artist and creative who uses digital media as a form of artistic and literary expression. His work centres on the subconscious themes of nature and the expression of the human form in relation to how experiences such as war, upheaval, conflict and violence affect the human psyche and the socio-constructivist reaction (how one reacts because of how these experiences shape them.
Damian has performed at The Slipform Open Mic Anthology (US), Scenes and Spoken Word Open Mic, (US) Wirral Poetry Festival (UK), Read3r’z Re-vu Virtual Festival Poetry Slam (Australia), Positive Words Open Mic (UK), Poetry Break Open Mic (UK), Roundrock Public Library Poetry in Motion (US) Artists Unite Open Mic (India), Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Open Mic (South Africa) and is slated to perform at thr Word N Sound Poetry Digital Slam (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Damian’s work has been nominated for the Mabati Cornell Kiswahili Prize, the National Poetry Competition, the Winchester Poetry Prize, and the London Magazine Poetry Prize. He was also awarded a partial scholarship to attend the ‘Art of Poetry Writing,’ Masterclass by Ernest Ogunyemi which is hosted by award wining Caine Prize Winner Makena Onjerika. In 2021 he was selected as a nominee for an African Liberty Writing Fellowship and was selected as Royal Society of the Arts Fellow. In October 2020 he was honoured as a World Literacy Ambassador in response to his efforts to raise awareness over low child literacy rates in Colombia and was recognized as an African Changemaker Fellow in December 2018.
His work has been featured in compilations and publications such as the Words of Power Anthology, AllPoetry, Poetry Potion, Hip Hop Magazine London, and has exhibited artwork at local exhibitions (Poetry in Motion: A Hidden Haiku, Manjano Exhibition, The Go Down Arts Centre). Damian also runs his own online micro art gallery where he has exhibited several other digital poetic artworks in digital form(Africa Series Dialogue; Haiku I, Haiku II and Haiku III) and is also a member of Baraza Media Lab.