Keats House Poets present... Moniza Alvi

Keats House Poet Laila Sumpton hosts an afternoon of open-mic poetry with a feature slot from highly acclaimed poet Moniza Alvi. Join us in one of London's most cherished poetry venues for an afternoon of new voices and the powerful and lyrical narratives of Moniza. Open-mic sign up from 1.45pm.

Moniza Alvi was born in Pakistan and grew up in Hertfordshire. Her most recent poetry book, 'At the Time of Partition' (Bloodaxe, 2013) focused on the partition of India and Pakistan and her family history and was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize. A new collection, 'Blackbird, Bye Bye' is in preparation. She lives in Norfolk where she tutors for the Poetry School.

Laila Sumpton’s poetry uses imagery and lyricism to tell stories about identity and human rights. She studied English literature at the University of St Andrews and Human Rights at the University of London. She co-edited 'In Protest- 150 poems for human rights', a unique anthology of global poetry collated by the Keats House Poets and the University of London's Human Rights Consortium. Laila performs her poetry and organises events and workshops at universities, festivals, heritage sites and various NGOs, using poetry and the arts to campaign for human rights and bring people together. She is putting together her first pamphlet and has been documenting the memories of war survivors in Bosnia, as well as working on poems that explore refugee and indigenous rights.

Supported by the Keats Foundation.