Anjum Malik is an established scriptwriter, poet, performer, and senior lecturer in creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University who has written several much-acclaimed original plays for BBC, ITV and theatre. Her first languages were Urdu, American English and Panjabi; born of Pakistani parents in Saudi Arabia; she was multilingual and international before she could walk.

Anjum Malik says: “To be a City Poet for Manchester with Manchester City Of Literature partnered with UNESCO is a huge honour, exciting, to be doing it in our fantastic city of Manchester. Celebrating Multilingualism through poetry working across communities and being at the heart of the literary scene in the coming year is absolutely amazing and ever so representative of the incredible creative work going on in our city.”

Anjum was a Manchester City Poet between 2021-2024, and in that time created the following works:

Artist in Residence at Bolton Central Library
During Festival of Libraries 2021 Anjum was a Writer in Residence working with local writing group the Bolton Library Wordsmiths

Cooking With Words
To celebrate International Mother Language Day 2022 with local restaurant Zouk Tea Bar & Grill, Anjum collaborated with the chefs to incorporate their recipes to cook up new multilingual poetry that responds to experiences of South Asian culture.

‘This Here’ poetry film
Commissioned to celebrate World Poetry Day 2022

‘In Prisms of Knowledge’ by Ali Al Jamri
Urdu Translation

‘The Streets Remember’ by Jova Bagioli Reyes
Urdu Translation

The RoundView
Urdu Translation

‘The Roads that Lead to Edinburgh’ Group Poem and Translation
Commissioned to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO Cities of Literature Network and Edinburgh City of Literature

‘We Are Butterflies Forever In Flight’ poetry film
Premiered at the Manchester Indian Film Festival, October 2024

Slamovision 2024
Performance

Writer, poet and performer Anjum Malik says: “Food brings us together like nothing else. It is truly multilingual. Our differences are forgotten as we sit together, and this is what ‘Cooking with Words’ is all about. Eating together, celebrating all that we have in common through the pleasure of food as human beings with poems we can relate to like eating with loved ones in the present and in the past. it’s about bringing together our senses of taste, hearing, seeing, taste, the aromas and feeling the pleasure of it all.”