Esme Allman

Esme Allman is a poet, theatre-maker, and facilitator from South London. Her work explores history, B/blackness, world-making, and desire. In March 2025, she published her debut collection, Sweet Bone Girl, with Broken Sleep Books. Most recently, she has collaborated with sound artist Merce Jade to develop four poems from the collection into soundscapes.

She also received poetry commissions from the Barbican Centre, working with Claudia Rankine, and in response to Carrie Mae Weems' portraiture, as well as Pace Gallery, English Heritage, NHS Arts and Heritage, Poetry Vs Colonialism with the London Metropolitan Archives, the Roundhouse, Institute of Contemporary Art, BBC Radio 3 & 6.

Her hopes for the Studio South Residency are to develop her artistic practice by pulling together poetry and sonic forms to bring her page poetry to life. She is excited about collaborating with musicians and producers to explore what sound will unlock in her work.