Otis Mensah, is a hip-hop poet and master of vulnerable expression. Otis became the City of Sheffield’s first poet laureate and his live performances include Glastonbury Music Festival and opening for numerous artists. Otis breaks down barriers of power, elitism and control including stereotyping and branding. He reminds "people that poetry is meant to be for the people.” – The Guardian. We explore curiosity and courage through identity, power struggles, daily fears, anxieties, the beauty of dyslexia and how we can give language freedom to let ourselves flourish. We discuss why poetry can speak but we may not speak to each other.

Closed Captions are added to all interviews in this series. Read only, text versions of every interview can be found here: www//canartsaveus.com/

Image: Ai Narapol.

Audio edit courtesy of Joey Quan.

Series Music - Courtesy of Barry J. Gibb

Discover Otis Mensah: www.otismensah.com/