Hanan Issa
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Hanan Issa (born 1986/1987) is a Welsh– Iraqi poet, film-maker, scriptwriter and artist. She is the current
National Poet of Wales The post of National Poet of Wales () was established in May 2005 by Academi, the Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency and Society for Writers, now known as Literature Wales. The current holder of the position is Hanan Issa, who was appoi ...
, and the first Muslim to hold this title.


Early life and education

Issa grew up in
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
, Wales, the eldest of six children. Her mother Karen is white Welsh and her father Ala is Muslim Iraqi. She grew up listening to her Welsh grandparents recited poetry and absorbing folklore and storytelling from the cultural traditions of both sides of her family. She started to write poems from the age of six and later studied English Literature at
Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...
. In 2016, the then Prime Minister David Cameron made deeply uninformed comments about Muslim women, which made her angry. Issa shared a poem she had written to express this anger with a friend, who encouraged her to share the poem on Facebook. She received such a positive response that it gave her the confidence to take her poetry into the public domain.


Poetry

Her first solo publication was '' My Body Can House Two Hearts'', a pamphlet of poetry published by Burning Eye Books in 2019. The pamphlet was one of three to win Burning Eye's debut pamphlet competition. During her writing career, Issa has also worked a film-maker and scriptwriter. In 2017, her winning monologue 'With Her Back Straight' was performed at the
Bush Theatre The Bush Theatre is located in the Passmore Edwards Public Library, Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 as a showcase for the work of new writers. Artistic Directors * Brian McDermott ...
as part of the ''Hijabi Monologues'' project. In 2020, Issa was the recipient of a Ffilm Cymru/
BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...
commission, which resulted in her writing and directing the short film ''The Golden Apple'' (2022). She worked on the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
comedy series ''
We Are Lady Parts ''We Are Lady Parts'' is a British television sitcom created, written, and directed by Nida Manzoor. The series follows a British punk rock band named Lady Parts, which consists entirely of Muslim women. After airing as a 14-minute pilot on 21 ...
'', working alongside the show's creator
Nida Manzoor Nida Manzoor is a British writer and director. She is best known for creating the Channel 4/Peacock comedy show '' We Are Lady Parts'', for which she won the 2021 Rose d'Or Emerging Talent Award and the 2022 BAFTA for TV Comedy Screenwriting. ...
. Alongside Darren Chetty, Grug Muse and Iestyn Tyne, Issa acted as a contributing editor to the essay anthology '' Welsh (Plural): Essays on the Future of Wales'', published by Repeater Books in 2022. with Issa noting that "connections between one loyalty and another flow as easily for me as one body of water running into another." Issa also co-edited (with Durre Shahwar and Özgür Uyanık) the essay anthology ''Just So You Know: Essays of Experience'', published by
Parthian Books Parthian Books is an independent publisher based in Cardigan, Ceredigion, Cardigan, Wales. Editorially-led, it publishes a range of contemporary fiction, poetry, drama, art books, Translation, literature in translation, and non-fiction. Since its ...
in 2020.


National Poet of Wales

In July 2022, Issa was appointed as the National Poet of Wales, succeeding
Ifor ap Glyn Ifor ap Glyn (born 1961) is a Welsh television presenter and Welsh-language poet.BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
's '' Front Row'', with presenter
Samira Ahmed Samira Ahmed (born 15 June 1968) is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster at the BBC, where she presents '' Front Row'' on Radio 4 and '' Newswatch'' on the BBC News channel and BBC One during '' BBC Breakfast'', and regularly present ...
interviewing Issa following the announcement. Following an extensive selection process, Issa was appointed for a period of three years, with her tenure set to run until 2025. She became the first Muslim poet to hold the title. Hanan performed at the
Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival (), is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was d ...
's After Hours event at Cabaret in the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff in 2024, discussing the importance of acknowledging heritage and cultures.


Publications


Poetry

* '' My Body Can House Two Hearts'' (2019)


As editor

* '' Just So You Know: Essays of Experience'' (2020) * '' Welsh (Plural): Essays on the Future of Wales'' (2022)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Issa, Hanan 1980s births Living people Welsh poets Writers from Cardiff Welsh people of Asian descent