Rebecca Swift Foundation Announces Creative Associates
The Rebecca Swift Foundation (RSF) has announced the appointment of three Creative Associates who will be representing the charity in Newcastle, Wolverhampton, and London as part of its Arts Council England-funded ‘By Poets, For Poets’ programme.
Carmen Marcus (Newcastle), Kuli Kohli (Wolverhampton), and Tolu Agbelusi (London) join the charity as it expands and develops its UK-wide Women Poets’ Network, with over 1,000 women poets signed up so far. These new posts have been designed to encourage in person networking and relationship-building, offering peer to peer support through a series of workshops and seminars. The live sessions will bring together women poets, identifying their needs within each region, developing their skills, supporting their wellbeing and celebrating their creativity. Findings from the Creative Associates will be presented at a Symposium to mark the end of the 2-year programme, in 2026.
Carmen Marcus, RSF Creative Associate for Newcastle, said:
“I’m the first Rebecca Swift Foundation’s Creative Associate for Newcastle! I’m saying this out loud, with equal parts excitement and fear. Pride because the Foundation exemplifies to me what real nurturing peer-to-peer support looks like. Fear because I know what is at stake. Writing alone doesn’t work. It’s so vulnerable and exposing. There are so many permissions needed. So many internal, industry and practical blocks we need a network to break. And – there are so many routes to making work now – it’s too confusing to navigate alone. I am excited to start on this journey with the team to shape a cracking network for northern women poets together!”
Tolu Agbelusi, RSF Creative Associate for London, said:
“I am thrilled to be appointed as the London Creative Associate for the Rebecca Swift Foundation. This role aligns perfectly with my creative practice, which centres on listening to and reflecting women’s experiences in all the subtle, often overlooked ways that shape their lives. It presents an extraordinary opportunity to bring together women poets across London, understand their needs, and create meaningful support systems for their work. Being part of the Foundation’s wider mission to connect women poets throughout the country is particularly exciting, as it allows me to contribute to a national network of creative support and collaboration. I am eager to begin this journey of deep listening and community-building.”
Kuli Kohli, RSF Creative Associate for Wolverhampton, said:
“I am genuinely thrilled at the prospect of working alongside women poets in Wolverhampton; it feels like a significant milestone in my career. This opportunity allows me to help these talented individuals articulate their thoughts and transform their insights into powerful words, poetry, and stories that resonate on a deeper level. I believe that every narrative matters and it is particularly important to bring forth the unique experiences and perspectives of women from various cultural backgrounds. Through this initiative, I hope to foster an environment where creativity flourishes and women feel empowered to express themselves freely. It is a dream come true to be part of a project that not only highlights the beauty of poetry but also champions the voices of women who have been historically marginalized. I look forward to collaborating with these poets and contributing to a vibrant community of creativity and strength.”
The Creative Associates begin their work with RSF this Spring in Newcastle with a two-day active retreat entitled STITCH which is open for booking here exclusively to members of the Women Poets’ Network. Public access tickets will be made available soon. All events will be available for free to members of the Women Poets’ Network. Further announcements will be made on the RSF website and in its newsletter. The Rebecca Swift Foundation is grateful to our regional venue partners Alphabetti Theatre, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, and Apples and Snakes.
Membership for the Women Poets’ Network currently starts at £15 annually.
Additional information
The Rebecca Swift Foundation is actively seeking Patrons to support its work. Anyone with connections to the three regions within which the Associates are working who would like to make a contribution is invited to submit an expression of interest to Degna Stone at
Creative Associate Bios:
Carmen Marcus (RSF Creative Associate for Newcastle) is a poet, author and playwright from Redcar. As the daughter of a Yorkshire fisherman and Irish Chef she writes mythical realisms creating imagined worlds where real traumas can be resolved. Her play AND THE EARTH OPENED UP UNDER HER won the Faber New Play Award 2023, which Dipo Baruwa-Etti described as ‘a story of complex human relationships with a rich theatricality and poetry.’ Her debut novel HOW SAINTS DIE was published by Vintage in 2018, it won New Writing North’s Northern Promise Award and was long listed for the Desmond Elliott Prize. Daisy Johnson describes it as a ‘glorious, beautiful sea shanty of a book.’ Her poetry has been commissioned by BBC Radio, The Royal Festival Hall, Durham Book Festival and Apples and Snakes. She was named as a BBC Verb New Voice 2015. As a neurodivergent writer who has made the journey from council estate to the page and stage, Carmen has become a creative leader, mentor, and campaigner for underrepresented voices in the region, who supports writers and communities to write their lives their way. Carmen is reading for a PhD at the University of Teesside which asks: what is the role and responsibility of the writer within the community?
Tolu Agbelusi (RSF Creative Associate for London) is a storyteller, educator and artist working across poetry, theatre, film and photography. Author of Locating Strongwoman (2020), her work is concerned with the unperformed self and deconstructing received narratives, particularly on womanhood, race and social justice. A recipient of the Here and Now International Fellowship in 2023, she has performed internationally including at Medellin International Poetry Festival Columbia, Pa Gya Festival Ghana, Cheltenham Lit Festival and Stanza International Poetry Festival, Scotland. Tolu’s poems are published widely, and she hosts the Unlearning Strongwoman podcast. Her debut full-length play Ilé La Wà opened to a sold-out audience in 2016 and toured the UK in 2018 and 2019 alongside her multidisciplinary project Home Is which incorporated poetry with a wider range of visual arts. Short films produced and directed by Tolu have been screened at Toronto Food Film Festival (2022), Museum of Food and Drink New York and Forecast International Festival (2021). Current Lead Facilitator of the Spread the Word Young Poets Collective, and Producer of the Forward Prize’s Young Poets Summit, Tolu is an educator and cultural producer who supports the development of writers through mentoring, teaching, editing and community building initiatives.
Born in India with cerebral palsy, Kuli Kohli (RSF Creative Associate for Wolverhampton) transformed adversity into creativity, ultimately leading to a fulfilling life. She moved to Wolverhampton where she built a loving home with her husband and three children. Despite physical and social challenges, Kuli enjoyed a 32-year career at Wolverhampton Council. Throughout her life, she has embraced writing and poetry as therapy. Offa’s Press published her debut pamphlet Patchwork and full collection A Wonder Woman. Kuli has shared her work at notable venues, including universities in London and Berlin. She’s been across the airwaves on BBC Radio 4’s Poetry Please!, BBC Radio 3’s Words and Music, her life story was highlighted on BBC News online and BBC1’s Sunday Morning Live. Kuli founded the South Asian Women’s Writing Group, providing a platform for women in the West Midlands to share their stories. Kuli is the Poet Laureate of Wolverhampton (2022–2025). She received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Wolverhampton. Active in the literary community, she co-runs Virtual Voices and supports new talent, continuing to inspire others through her journey. Last year a photograph of her by Anand Chhabra was acquired by the National Portrait Gallery, recognising her literary and cultural influence.