All the Birds Were Invited to a Feast in the Sky

Soukeyna Osei-Bonsu’s debut collection of poems, All the Birds Were Invited to a Feast in the Sky, is a poetic exploration of belonging, spirituality, and diasporic identity. Based in London, with deep African and Islamic roots, Osei-Bonsu writes at the intersection of geography, memory, and faith. Her background in anthropology and international relations at SOAS, combined with her involvement in Black activism and spiritual exploration, lends breadth and depth to the collection. From Ghana to London, from earth to sky, from the material to the spiritual, readers are captivated by a beautiful journey that crosses nations and worlds.

The title itself is a central metaphor for the collection. Birds, across traditions, represent freedom and resilience. By envisioning birds gathering for a ‘feast in the sky,’ Osei-Bonsu imagines belonging as a choice rather than a constraint, a communion that resists the fractures of displacement. Birds also carry spiritual resonance: they migrate, they serve as messengers between worlds, and they symbolise hope and renewal. This symbolism is also given profound depth in a hadith of the Prophet Muḥammad (blessings and peace be upon him), which describes the souls of the martyrs residing in the bodies of green birds, nesting in chandeliers suspended from the throne of the Almighty.