Moniza Alvi

FRSL The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the ...

(born 2 February 1954) is a British-Pakistani writer and poet. She has won several well-known prizes for her verse. She was elected as a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

in 2023.

Life and education

Moniza Alvi was born in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, to a Pakistani father and a British mother. Her father moved to

Hatfield, Hertfordshire Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It had a population of 29,616 in 2001, 39,201 at the 2011 census, and 41,265 at the 2021 census. The settlement is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House ...

, in England when Alvi was few months old. She did not revisit Pakistan until after the publication of one of her first books of poems – ''The Country at My Shoulder''. She worked for several years as a high-school teacher but is currently a freelance writer and tutor, living in

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

Poetry

''Peacock Luggage'', a book of poems by Moniza Alvi and Peter Daniels, was published after the two poets jointly won the Poetry Business Prize in 1991, in Alvi's case for "Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan". That poem and "An Unknown Girl" have featured on England's

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

exam syllabus for young teenagers. Since then, Moniza Alvi has written over half a dozen poetry collections. He debut poetry collection, ''The Country at My Shoulder'' (1993), which was shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize 1993, led to her being selected for the

Poetry Society The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society ...

New Generation Poets The New Generation Poets is a group of 1994 British poets whose work was featured in a month-long nationwide festival, many of the writers going on to considerable popular success. The 20 poets were chosen by a panel of judges comprising Melvyn Brag ...

promotion in 1994. She also published a series of short stories, ''How the Stone Found its Voice'' (2005), inspired by

Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

's ''

Just So Stories ''Just So Stories for Little Children'' is a 1902 collection of origin stories by the British author Rudyard Kipling. Considered a classic of children's literature, the book is among Kipling's best known works. Kipling began working on the ...

''. In 2002, she received a

Cholmondeley Award The Cholmondeley Awards ( ) are annual awards for poetry given by the Society of Authors in the United Kingdom. Awards honour distinguished poets, from a fund endowed by the Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley in 1966. Since 1991 the award has bee ...

for her poetry. In 2003 a selection of her poetry was published in a bilingual Dutch and English edition. A selection from her earlier books, ''Split World: Poems 1990–2005'', was published alongside ''Europa'' in 2008. Both ''Europa'' and her new collection ''At the Time of Partition'', published in 2013, were then shortlisted for the T. S. Eliot Prize in their respective years. On 16 January 2014, Alvi participated in the

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

series ''The Essay – Letters to a Young Poet''. Taking

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

's classic text, ''

Letters to a Young Poet ''Letters to a Young Poet'' (original title, in German: ''Briefe an einen jungen Dichter'') is a collection of ten letters written by the Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) to Franz Xaver Kappus (1883–1966), a 19-year- ...

'' as their inspiration, leading poets wrote a letter to a protégé."Moniza Alvi: The Essay, Letters to a Young Poet Episode 4 of 5"
BBC Radio 3, 2014.

Selected works

Poetry

*''Peacock Luggage'' (1991) *''The Country at My Shoulder'' (

Oxford Poetry ''Oxford Poetry'' is a literary magazine based in Oxford, England. It is currently edited by Luke Allan. The magazine is published by Partus Press. Founded in 1910 by Basil Blackwell, its editors have included Dorothy L. Sayers, Aldous Huxle ...

, 1993) *''A Bowl Of Warm Air'' (1996) *''Carrying my Wife'' (

Bloodaxe Books Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry. History Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumbe ...

, 2000) *''Souls'' (Bloodaxe, 2002) *''How the Stone Found Its Voice'' (Bloodaxe, 2005) – which was inspired by Kipling's ''

'' *''Split World: Poems 1990–2005'' (Bloodaxe, 2008) *''Europa'' ( Bloodaxe, 2008) *''At the Time of Partition'' ( Bloodaxe, 2013) *''Homesick For The Earth'' ( Bloodaxe, 2011) *''Blackbird, Bye Bye'' ( Bloodaxe, 2018) *''Fairoz'' ( Bloodaxe, 2022)

Recordings

*''The Poetry Quartets 6'' with George Szirtes, Michael Donaghy and Anne Stevenson (Bloodaxe /

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

, 2001)

References

External links

*
Sawnet Profile
*
Listen to Moniza Alvi reading her poetry
- a British Library recording, 27 October 2008.
BBC poetry reading 6 January 2009
(Audio, 3 mins) {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvi, Moniza 1954 births Living people Alumni of the University of York British women poets British writers of Pakistani descent Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Pakistani emigrants to the United Kingdom Pakistani people of English descent Pakistani women writers People from Hatfield, Hertfordshire Poets from Lahore Women writers from Punjab, Pakistan Writers from Hertfordshire Writers from Lahore Writers of Pakistani descent

Life and education

Poetry

Selected works

Poetry

Recordings

Further reading

References

External links