What happens when poetry falls into the hands of an actor and a musician? When words are not only read, but also embodied, moulded and reborn?

In How do you carry a poem? we interwove performance, music and language. This created a new embodiment of a poem. Wasim Arslan, music artist, and Robbie Wallin, actor, theatre maker and stand-up comedian, interpreted the same poem from Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head by poet Warsan Shire, and performed it.

They also discussed their choices and experiences with moderator Sophia Blyden. Together, they sought the answer to the question of how to wear a poem. It promised to be a surprising, intimate and powerful experience.

Wasim Arslan is a singer and songwriter. His soulful voice is known for reaching people’s hearts. Having faced the atrocities of war, Wasim has experienced both the light and the dark side of life. His poetry and melodies speak of these two forces. Wasim’s music is diverse, ranging from ballads to dance music, acoustic, electronic, traditional and folk music.

Robbie Wallin is a versatile artist and theatre maker. His theatre solo Bakfiets was a show about issues such as racism, gentrification, police violence and politics. Together with Luan Buleshkaj and Guilliano Herdigein, he performed the show Godenzonen, a mix of music, cabaret, comedy and spoken word. Robbie directed a group of young actors in Donnie, a raw retelling by Poldertheater and the Dutch National Opera of Mozart's Don Giovanni.

Daniëlle Zawadi is a writer of prose, spoken word, theatre pieces and columns. She performs on theatre stages, publishes in literary magazines, and made her one-woman show Alstublieft, Zawadi (Please, Zawadi), followed by Ondervonden (2023). Her stories are often about what it means to be a a second-generation bicultural GenZ-er, her Congolese roots, and friendship. In 2025, she published Ik kan eigenlijk niet op deze manier werken (I Can't Really Work This Way), a collection of recitation texts dedicated to the FreePalestine, FreeSudan, and FreeCongo movements.

Sophia Blyden is a writer, poet, curator at Oerol and Mensen Zeggen Dingen, and editor of literary magazine Tirade. Her prose and poetry explore themes such as loneliness, power relationships, and her Caribbean roots. In her debut collection Dobberen (2024), the development from girl to woman is central to various storylines.

How do you carry a poem? was curated for Writers Unlimited Festival by Ilonka Reintjens and Daniëlle Zawadi.