‘Imtiaz Dharker’s poetry shines a light in the dark.’ Jackie Kay

One of the UK’s most inspirational contemporary poets, Imtiaz Dharker joins us to perform poems from her fascinating new collection Shadow Reader. The poems acknowledge wilful erasures, exclusions and places of sanctuary, noticing the everyday and its shadows while forming an irreverent, playful celebration of life. Supporting Imtiaz is the brilliant Romalyn Ante with her stunning second collection AGIMAT. Moving between the Philippines and England, the myth of the many-breasted goddess Mebuyan and the reality of the present day NHS, the poems ask – how do we keep safe what we hold most dear?

Imtiaz Dharker is a poet, artist and film maker. She has published seven collections of poetry including Over the Moon, which was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry 2014. She was also awarded The Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry for 2014. Romalyn Ante is a Filipino-British poet, essayist, and editor. Her debut collection Antiemetic for Homesickness was shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. She was awarded the Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship in 2021-2022. Presented in partnership with Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University.