Momtaza Mehri
Mehri in 2019
Born1995 (age 28–29)
NationalitySomali-British
Notable workBad Diaspora Poems (2023)
StylePoet and essayist
AwardsOut-Spoken Page Poetry Prize, Forward Prize for Best First Collection

Momtaza Mehri (born 1995) is a Somali-British poet and essayist.[1]

Life

Momtaza Mehri is of Somali heritage and grew up in Kilburn, north-west London, and Birmingham in "the kind of household where if you're getting shouted at by your aunt to come downstairs, in one sentence she will use Somali, Arabic, Italian and English."[2] She lives in Kilburn, and has trained as biomedical scientist.[3]

Literary career

Mehri began writing for publication in 2014.

In 2016–2017, she was featured in DAZED,[4] BuzzFeed[3] BBC Radio 4,[5] Poetry Society of America;[6] Mask Magazine,[7] SAND Journal,[8] and Frontier Poetry.[9] She became a member of The Complete Works mentoring programme and went on to win the Out-Spoken Page Poetry Prize (2017) and to publish a pamphlet, Sugah. Lump. Prayer with Akashic Books.

In 2018, Mehri won third prize in the National Poetry Competition and was named the Young People's Laureate of London.[1]

In 2019, Mehri won the Manchester Poetry Prize for unpublished writing,[10] and published a pamphet with Goldsmiths Press.

In 2022, Mehri was shortlisted for the Observer/Antony Burgess Prize for Arts journalism.[11]

In 2023, Mehri won an Eric Gregory Award and the Forward Prize for Best First Collection[12] with Bad Diaspora Poems.[13] Mehri then took up the position of Jessica Bardsley Poet in Residence at Homerton College Cambridge.[14]

Publications

  • 2017: Sugah. Lump. Prayer (pamphlet), Akashic Books.[15]
  • 2017: Contributor to Ten: Poets of the New Generation, edited by Karen McCarthy Woolf, Bloodaxe Books[16]
  • 2019: Doing the Most with the Least (pamphlet), Goldsmiths Press[17]
  • 2023: Bad Diaspora Poems, Random House[18]

References

  1. 1 2 Flood, Alison (16 April 2018). "Somali-British poet Momtaza Mehri named young people's laureate for London". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  2. ↑ Luckhurst, Phoebe (4 June 2018). "Why Momtaza Mehri wants to expand the definition of poetry". Evening Standard. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  3. 1 2 Gani, Aisha (5 June 2016). "5 Somali-British Poets You Need To Know About". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  4. ↑ DeWolf, Anna (1 September 2016). "The new generation of poets mastering DIY culture". Dazed. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  5. ↑ "BBC Radio 4 - Pick a Sky and Name It". BBC. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  6. ↑ "Momtaza Mehri – The Poetry Society: Poems". poems.poetrysociety.org.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "Momtaza Mehri". Mask Magazine. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "Issue 15". SAND Journal. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  9. ↑ "Poetry: Two Poems by Momtaza Mehri | Frontier Poetry - A Platform For Emerging Poetry". Frontier Poetry. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  10. ↑ University, Manchester Metropolitan. "Story, Manchester Metropolitan University". Manchester Metropolitan University. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  11. ↑ Mehri, Momtaza (27 February 2022). "Observer/Anthony Burgess prize for arts journalism 2022: Momtaza Mehri on The White Lotus". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  12. ↑ Knight, Lucy (16 October 2023). "Bohdan Piasecki wins best performed poem in new Forward prize category". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  13. ↑ Olayiwola, Oluwaseun (30 June 2023). "The best recent poetry – review roundup". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "Momtaza Mehri announced as the new Jacqueline Bardsley Poet-in-Residence". www.homerton.cam.ac.uk. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  15. ↑ Mehri, Momtaza (2017). Sugah. Lump. Prayer. Akashic Books. ISBN 978-1-61775-571-2. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  16. ↑ Woolf, Karen McCarthy (2017). Ten: Poets of the New Generation. Bloodaxe Books. ISBN 978-1-78037-383-6. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  17. ↑ Mehri, Momtaza (2019). Doing the Most with the Least. Goldsmiths Press. ISBN 978-1-912685-35-6. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  18. ↑ Mehri, Momtaza (6 July 2023). Bad Diaspora Poems: Winner of the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. Random House. ISBN 978-1-5299-0186-3. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
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