Hafsah Aneela Bashir

Hafsah Aneela Bashir

Hafsah Aneela Bashir is a Manchester-based poet, playwright, performer and mother originally from East London. Founder and co-director of Outside The Frame Arts, she is passionate about championing voices outside the mainstream, challenging the gatekeepers of knowledge and increasing Black and Brown representation within the arts.

Winner of the Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship 2019, she is an Associate Artist with The Poetry Exchange, Associate Artist with Oldham Coliseum Theatre and Supported Artist at The Royal Exchange Theatre. Her play Cuts Of The Cloth was commissioned for PUSH Festival 2019. Her debut poetry collection The Celox And The Clot is published by Burning Eye Books. She has worked creatively with Manchester International Festival, Ballet Black Ldn, HOME Theatre Mcr, Manchester Literature Festival, the Imperial War Museum and ANU Productions Irl.

Recent works include the development of a SICK! Festival commission, Four Dholis And A Divorce exploring mental health set within the South Asian community and writing a libretto for The Bridge Between Breaths, a FormidAbility and Tete-a -Tete Opera Festival commission exploring Britain’s role in the Translantic Slave Trade through the story of Pero Jones. She is currently collaborating with artist Luke Jerram and the National Festival Of Making curating poetry for Of Earth And Sky, a large scale installation embedding poetry into the landscape of Blackburn and Darwen.

She is founder of the Poetry Health Service, a digital service providing free poetry panaceas by the people for the people. Launched in July 2020 during lockdown, the PHS is a creative service offering both contemporary and classical poetry as a tool for connection and healing with over 80 contributing poets.

Twitter @Hafsah_A_Bashir


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