Foundation
Poem Stellium was founded in 2021 by writer and published poet Jamiyla Ferguson.
At its roots, Poem Stellium began through a deeply personal relationship with writing. For Jamiyla, creativity became a way of processing trauma, understanding difficult emotions and giving language to experiences that were not always easy to express. That relationship with writing became one of the driving forces behind the creation of Poem Stellium and continues to shape our belief in the power of creative expression.
But Poem Stellium was never built solely from one person’s story.
As a Black woman, writer and independent founder, Jamiyla was also deeply aware of the lack of representation of Black writers, poets, authors and Black-led spaces across literature and publishing. Poem Stellium grew from a desire to contribute to changing that landscape — by building another space where writers could be discovered, published, encouraged and given room to tell their own stories.
Poem Stellium is proudly Black-founded, Black-owned and independently built.
That identity is an important part of our foundation.
We believe Black literature, poetry and storytelling deserve to be recognised not only through moments of celebration, but as an integral part of the wider literary landscape. Through our platform, we want to continue celebrating Black writers and literary voices across Britain and throughout the global African and Caribbean diaspora, while creating opportunities for emerging writers to have their work seen.
Our commitment to representation does not end there.
Poem Stellium has grown into an international creative community welcoming writers across cultures, identities, backgrounds and lived experiences. We believe literature should make room for difference, and that the literary world becomes richer when people are able to tell their stories without having to separate themselves from the experiences, cultures and identities that shaped them.
What began as an idea in 2021 has continued to evolve.
Today, Poem Stellium exists at the intersection of creative writing, psychology and astrology — exploring both the human mind and the worlds we create from it. From poetry and storytelling to the unconscious, symbolism and the stars, curiosity remains at the centre of what we do.
Above all, Poem Stellium remains independent.
It was built from the ground up with the belief that we do not always have to wait for existing spaces to make room for us.
Sometimes, we can create the space ourselves.
More about Jamiyla
Jamiyla Ferguson is the founder, CEO and director of Poem Stellium. She is a writer and published poet with a BA (Hons) background in Integrative Counselling Therapy, whose interests in creativity, psychology and the unconscious have helped shape the direction of Poem Stellium.
She is also a self-taught astrologer and tarot reader, with a long-standing devotion to the symbolic language of the stars.
Her relationship with astrology began through curiosity about the cosmos — reading, journalling and studying charts until astrology became part of the way she understood people, relationships, creativity and the world around her.
Her own creative work often exists between the seen and unseen, the rational and mystical, and the conscious and unconscious — exploring themes including duality, past lives, memory and the inner world.
You can find Jamiyla’s poetry and creative work on Instagram at @Jl.poesy.
A POEM FROM OUR FOUNDER:
“LIFE LET ME GO
SO I HAD NO CHOICE BUT To FLOW
I SURRENDER TO THE STREAM
TO MAKE SOMETHING OUT OF EVERYTHING
THROUGH FALLS AND TRIPS
I FOUND MY WAY
THE REASON FOR WHO I AM TODAY”
– Jamiyla Layla
