Pakistan-born British poet, artist, and video film maker
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Imtiaz Dharker
Dharker at the British Library 12 April 2011
Chancellor of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne
In office 1 January 2020
Preceded by
Liam Donaldson
Personal details
Born
(1954-01-31) 31 January 1954 (age 70) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Nationality
British
Spouses
Anil Dharker (divorced)
Simon Powell (died 2009)
Children
Ayesha
Occupation
Poet, artist
Known for
Poems such as 'the trick', 'speech balloon' as well as many other poems and books
Imtiaz Dharker (born 31 January 1954) is a Pakistan-born British poet, artist, and video film maker. She won the Queen's Gold Medal for her English poetry[1][2] and was appointed Chancellor of Newcastle University from January 2020.[3]
In 2019, she was considered for the position of Poet Laureate following the tenure of Dame Carol Ann Duffy, but withdrew herself from contention in order, as she stated, to maintain focus on her writing. “I had to weigh the privacy I need to write poems against the demands of a public role. The poems won," said Dharker.[4] For many Dharker is seen as one of Britain's most inspirational contemporary poets.[5] She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2011.[6] In the same year, she received the Cholmondeley Award from the Society of Authors.[7] In 2016, she received an Honorary Doctorate from SOAS University of London.
With Poetry Live, she reads to over 25,000 students a year, travelling across the country with poets including Duffy, Simon Armitage, John Agard, Gillian Clarke, Daljit Nagra, Grace Nichols, Owen Sheers, Jackie Kay and Maura Dooley.[8] Dharker divides her time between London, Wales, and Mumbai. She says she describes herself as a "Scottish Muslim Calvinist" adopted by India and married into Wales.[9]
Dharker is a prescribed poet on the British AQA GCSE English syllabus. Her poems Blessing, This Room and The right word were included in the AQA Anthology Different Cultures, Cluster 1 and 2 respectively. Her poem Tissue appears in the 2017 AQA poetry anthology for GCSE English Literature.[10] Her poems Living Space and In Wales, wanting to be Italian also appear in the Eduqas WJEC poetry anthology for GCSE English Literature.[11]
Dharker was a member of the judging panel for the 2008 Manchester Poetry Prize, with Gillian Clarke and Dame Carol Ann Duffy. In 2011, she judged the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award with the poet Glyn Maxwell.[12] In 2012 she was nominated a Parnassus Poet at the Festival of the World, hosted by the Southbank Centre as part of the Cultural Olympiad 2012, the largest poetry festival ever staged in the UK, bringing together poets from all the competing Olympic nations.[citation needed]
^"Imtiaz Dharker awarded Queen's gold medal for poetry". The Guardian.com. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
^Bladd, Joanne (March 2015). "My Dubai Imtiaz Dharker - Views". Vision Magazine – Fresh Perspectives from Dubai. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015.
^"Renowned poet Imtiaz Dharker named new Chancellor". Newcastle University. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
^Flood, Alison (3 May 2019). "Hunt for next poet laureate still on as Imtiaz Dharker says no to job". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
^AQA (2002). AQA Anthology 2005 onwards. Oxford University Press.
^"Current RSL Fellows". The Royal Society of Literature. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
^"The Cholmondeley Awards for Poets". The Society of Authors. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
^"Poetry Live! - GCSE Events".
^Bose, Brinda (December 2007). "The (ubiquitous) f-word: musings on feminisms and censorships in South Asia". Contemporary Women's Writing. 1 (1–2): 14–23. doi:10.1093/cww/vpm012.
^"Tissue by Imtiaz Dharker". BBC Bitesize. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
^"Pearson Qualifications" (PDF).
^Helen Bowell. "Interview with Imtiaz Dharker, Poet and Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award Judge". The Poetry Society. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
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Chatham with Patience Agbabi; at Cambridge University Library with ImtiazDharker; at Clydebank with Kathleen Jamie and Tawona Sitholé; and at Taigh Chearsabhagh...
environmentalist movement Extinction Rebellion. The poets included Fiona Benson, ImtiazDharker, Matthew Hollis, Michael Longley, Daljit Nagra, Alice Oswald, and Denise...
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Retrieved December 26, 2015. "Hunt for next poet laureate still on as ImtiazDharker says no to job". The Guardian. May 3, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019. "Simon...
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team that also includes John Agard, Simon Armitage, Carol Ann Duffy, ImtiazDharker, Moniza Alvi, Grace Nichols, Daljit Nagra and Choman Hardi.[citation...
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