Nailah Folami Imoja: Writing CARIFESTA XV Into History

Nailah Folami Imoja - Literary Arts Coordinator, CARIFESTA XV

When Barbados welcomed the region home for CARIFESTA XV, one of the brightest guiding lights was Nailah Folami Imoja, award-winning Barbadian/British novelist, poet, spoken word artist, and teacher. Winner of the Frank Collymore Literary Endowment Competition 2024 and Bermuda’s Writer-in-Residence 2025, she is as much at ease in the classroom as she is on stage, balancing decades of teaching with a prolific literary career. 

This year, Nailah was entrusted with one of the festival’s most dynamic tasks: coordinating the Literary Arts programme.

Building the village of words

For Nailah, CARIFESTA is more than a festival, it’s a family reunion.

 “We are providing the village: the venues, the stages, the screens and the performers, as well as the opportunities to sell and to be seen beyond our respective shores. That’s our gift.”

And what a gift the Literary Arts team delivered. Nailah recalls her best moment with pride:

“The Literary Market – ‘the world’s largest Caribbean bookshop’. At one point I looked up and realised the space was full of readers and authors and book buyers. I turned to Beverly Smith-Hinkson of Chattel House Books (Literary Market coordinators) and said, ‘Look! Look! We did it!’,” she said excitedly, adding that The Launch Pad, a mass launch of 14 Caribbean publications was also historic.

Nailah also noted that the hybrid Writers’ Clinic broke new ground; she and her team coordinated the region’s first poetry slam, called ‘Wapax!’, honoured Caribbean authors in the Literary Roots–Global Reach Gala, and held a breathtaking reading by Canisia Lubrin, Jacob Ross, and Kwame Dawes in ‘Literary Luminosity’ at Oceana Innovation Hub.

“Seeing our Literary Arts plans come to fruition and knowing we created history with our innovative programming—that was it. We did it,” she relayed with satisfaction.

Lessons, pride, and spirit

For Nailah, the lessons of CARIFESTA ran as deep as the achievements. “What you don’t get is as much a blessing as what you do get. There’s a blessing to be found in every disappointment,” she said.

Her proudest moment wasn’t just in the events, but in the spirit of collaboration. “Seeing our Caribbean brethren and sistren pitch in to assist when they saw the need. They truly embraced the spirit of CARIFESTA… the sharing. Special shout out to Tanya Batson-Savage of Blue Banyan Books. She wins my Spirit of CARIFESTA Award!”, Nailah said with a rich laugh.

A life-changing experience

As someone who has worked in cultural development for decades, Nailah found her CARIFESTA XV experience transformative:

“Seeing my creative vision as an arts administrator played out on such a large scale was thrilling. I recognise that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I feel blessed (despite my current exhaustion) for having been afforded it.”

The legacy she leaves

Nailah’s vision stretches beyond 2025. She hopes to inspire a new generation of Caribbean writers and advocates for CARICOM leaders to recognise the literary arts’ viability by investing more consistently in the advancement of the artform.

“From a literary perspective, I’d like us as a regional people to recognise our literary prowess… to inspire writers, especially children and youth, to share their stories, poems, plays with the world.”

And she’s not done yet. “I’m looking forward to experiencing future CARIFESTAs,” she says with a smile. "As a writer!" she adds with a laugh.

With her passion, wit, and unwavering belief in the power of words, Nailah Folami Imoja didn’t just coordinate CARIFESTA XV’s Literary Arts programme, she wrote a new chapter in its history.