Fitzcarraldo Editions, renowned for publishing literary heavyweights like Olga Tokarczuk and Annie Ernaux, has ventured into poetry for the first time with Oluwaseun Olayiwola’s debut collection, Strange Beach. A poet, choreographer, and critic based in London, Olayiwola brings a unique interdisciplinary approach to his work, drawing inspiration from movement, visual art, and existential inquiry.
Exploring Fluidity in Poetry
For Olayiwola, the creative process is fluid:This openness to evolution and transformation is at the heart of Strange Beach, which takes its title from a passage in Claudia Rankine’s Citizen: An American Lyric:Olayiwola uses this metaphorical beach to examine themes of identity, relationships, and the boundaries between the visible and invisible, body and mind, land and earth. The collection unfolds like a choreographed movement, with words shaping and shifting like dancers on stage.
From Dance to Poetry
Before becoming Fitzcarraldo’s first published poet, Olayiwola was deeply immersed in dance and choreography. In fact, Strange Beach first emerged as a dance piece in 2016. However, he felt there was more to explore beyond movement, leading him to translate his ideas into poetry.His experience as a dancer informs his poetic style, bringing a kinetic energy to his writing. Each poem pulses with rhythm, tension, and release, much like a performance unfolding in real time.
A New Era for Fitzcarraldo Editions
With Fitzcarraldo known for publishing some of the most intellectually and artistically ambitious books of recent years, Olayiwola is honored to be in their literary conversation:His debut not only signals a new direction for Fitzcarraldo but also highlights the growing recognition of poetry as an expansive, multidisciplinary art form.
The Future of Strange Beach
As Olayiwola continues to develop his practice, his work challenges traditional boundaries between literature, performance, and visual art. He cites influences like Dorothea Tanning, whose surrealist paintings explore the fluidity of space and form—concepts mirrored in his own poetic landscapes.
With Strange Beach, Olayiwola invites readers to step onto a shoreline of shifting meanings, where poetry and movement merge, and the boundaries between self and world dissolve.
