Award-winning poet Momtaza Mehri was formerly Young People’s Poet Laureate for London working with schools and young people aged 13 to 25 across London. She has completed residencies at St. Paul’s Cathedral and the British Library. She has established herself as a versatile poet using the artform as a bridge to connect with people and their experiences. Her first book of poems was published earlier this year and her work has been featured in Vogue, The Guardian, Granta and on the BBC.
Her poem “Brief Dialogue Between the Self-declared East African Micronations of Regent Park Estate (Toronto) & Regent’s Park Estate (London)” is a chosen work for National Poetry Day 2023 which this year takes the theme of ‘Refuge’. Momtaza will be a guest on BBC Radio 3’s Free Thinking on 5 October.
Momtaza, who is Somali British and grew up in north-west London, is particularly drawn to the versatility of poetry as an expressive artform. Multilingual in English, Arabic and Somali, Momtaza also works with translators and collaborates with artists across disciplines. She is drawn to the theme of movement in her writing; people, places, language, disruption, displacement and reconstitution. Momtaza is keen to work with Homerton and the broader Cambridge community. She is interested in widening participation by working with communities, libraries and festivals in Cambridge as well as with the University.
Deputy Senior Tutor Georgina Horrell commented ‘We are honoured and thrilled that Momtaza will be working with the College and our members, to create inspirational, creative opportunities and adventures.’
The Jacqueline Bardsley Poet-in-Residence at Homerton College is generously funded by Dr Norman Bardsley, in memory of his wife, Jacqueline, who attended Homerton from 1960-62. Mrs Bardsley was a lifelong writer and lover of poetry and was actively involved in several poetry societies near her home in California. Mariah Whelan was the inaugural poet at Homerton from 2021-3. The Poet-in-Residence is intended to enable Homerton to foster a culture of poetry among its students and alumni.
