Warsan Shire
| Warsan Shire ورسان شرى |
|
|---|---|
| File:Warsan Shire - Teaching My Mother (cover).jpg | |
| Born | Warsan Shire 1 August 1988 (age 27) Kenya |
| Occupation | Poet, writer |
| Nationality | British |
| Ethnicity | Somali |
| Notable works | Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth (2011) |
| Notable awards | Brunel University African Poetry Prize, Young Poet Laureate for London |
| Website | |
| WarsanShire.com | |
Warsan Shire (Somali: Warsan Shire, Arabic: ورسان شرى, born August 1, 1988) is a London–based-Kenyan-born Somali writer, poet, editor and teacher.[1] She has received the Brunel University's African Poetry Prize, chosen from a shortlist of six candidates out of a total 655 entries.[2]
Life
Shire was born on August 1st, 1988 in Kenya to Somali parents. She emigrated to the United Kingdom at the age of one.[3] Shire has a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing. As of 2015, she primarily resides in London.[3]
In 2011, Shire released Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth, a poetry pamphlet published by flipped eye. Her full collection is to be released in 2016, also through flipped eye.[3]
Shire has read her poetry in various artistic venues throughout the world, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, North America, South Africa and Kenya.[4] Her poems have been republished in various literary publications, such as the Poetry Review, Magma and Wasafiri.[4] Additionally, Shire's verse has been featured in the Salt Book of Younger Poets (Salt, 2011) and Ten: The New Wave (Bloodaxe, 2014) collections. They have also been translated into a number of languages, including Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish and Estonian.[3]
As of 2016, Shire is working on her first full poetry collection, having put out a limited release pamphlet called Her Blue Body in 2015.[5] She serves as the poetry editor at SPOOK magazine and she teaches poetry workshops both globally and online for cathartic and aesthetic purposes.[3]
Shire's poetry featured prominently in Beyoncé's 2016 feature length film Lemonade.[6]
Personal Life
Shire has 4 siblings: Saaid Shire, Samawado Farah, Suban Farah, and Salma Farah[citation needed]. She first discovered that she loved writing when she was a child[citation needed]. As a teenager she joined a youth club which gave her the passion to become a poet[citation needed].
Awards
Shire has received various awards for her art. In April 2013, she was presented with Brunel University's inaugural African Poetry Prize,[2] an award earmarked for poets who have yet to publish a full-length poetry collection.[4] She was chosen from a shortlist of six candidates out of a total 655 entries.[2]
In October 2013, Shire was also selected from a shortlist of six young bards as the first Young Poet Laureate for London. The honour is part of the London Legacy Development Corporation's Spoke programme, which focuses on promoting arts and culture in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the surrounding area.[7]
In 2014, Shire was also chosen as Queensland, Australia's poet in residence. She therein liaised with the Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts over a six-week period.[3]
Works
- Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth (flipped eye, 2011), ISBN 1905233299
- Her Blue Body (flap pamphlet series, flipped eye, 2015)
- Lemonade: A Visual Album by Beyoncé (2016)
References
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External links
- Use dmy dates from November 2015
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles containing Somali-language text
- Articles containing Arabic-language text
- Articles with unsourced statements from May 2016
- Official website not in Wikidata
- 1988 births
- Living people
- Ethnic Somali people
- British people of Somali descent
- Somalian emigrants to the United Kingdom
- Somalian poets
- British women poets
- Somalian women writers
- 21st-century women writers
- 21st-century British poets
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