Imtiaz Dharker BBC Radio interviews & reviews for Shadow Reader
'Weaving between her distinctive illustrations and powerful poems, Dharker expresses the most profound concern for humanity.' – Jo Clement, PBS Selector, Poetry Book Society Summer Bulletin 2024, on Shadow Reader
Imtiaz Dharker's seventh book of poetry from Bloodaxe, Shadow Reader, was published in May 2024. It is a Poetry Book Society Special Commendation for Spring 2024. As with all of her poetry books, it is illustrated with her own black and white drawings, which form an integral part of the book. Shadow Reader follows her 2018 collection Luck is the Hook.
Poet, artist and filmmaker Imtiaz Dharker was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry for Over the Moon, her fifth book of poetry from Bloodaxe. She has also received a Cholmondeley Award from the Society of Authors and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Over the Moon was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry 2014. Her poems are on the British GCSE and A Level English syllabus, and she reads with other poets at Poetry Live! events all over the country to more than 35,000 students a year. In 2020 she was appointed Chancellor of Newcastle University. Imtiaz was born in Pakistan, grew up in Glasgow, and lived in India for many years. She has been based in London since 2003.
Imtiaz Dharker is a regular contributor to BBC Radio. Many of the programmes she has presented or been interviewed on have been chosen for BBC Radio 4's Pick of the Week.
Poet and artist Imtiaz Dharker’s interview on Desert Island Discs from July 2015 was rebroadcast on 13 October 2024 as part of BBC Radio 4 Extra’s Poet Castaways series.
Imtiaz’s conversation with host Kirsty Young led to her writing some new poems about growing up in Glasgow, and these were published in her subsequent collection Luck is the Hook (2018). Her latest collection, her seventh poetry book from Bloodaxe Books, is Shadow Reader.
POEM OF THE WEEK FEATURE IN THE TELEGRAPH
The Daily Telegraph, Saturday 27 July 2024
Imtiaz Dharker's poem ‘Swiping left on Larkin’ from her new collection Shadow Reader is featured as Tristram Fane Saunders' Poem of the Week in the Review section of The Telegraph on 27 July. The poem is accompanied by Tristram's commentary.
'Despite the mischievous title, “Swiping Left on Larkin” is a sincere love letter to the quietly despairing tone of Larkin’s poetry (“all roads lead to a leaving” could almost be one of his own aphorisms). More than half the lines end on an unstressed syllable, giving the poem a falling cadence – it’s one long sigh.' – Tristram Fane Saunders, The Telegraph, Poem of the Week
In print. Available online via The Telegraph Culture newsletter of 25 July 2024 here.
BBC WORLD SERVICE INTERVIEW ON THE ARTS HOUR
The Arts Hour, BBC World Service, Saturday 13 July 2024, 20:06 hrs Europe/UK (repeated Sunday 14 July, 15:06 hrs & Tuesday 16 July, 10:06 hrs)
A fourteen-minute interview with poet and artist Imtiaz Dharker was broadcast on the BBC World Service’s The Arts Hour with Nikki Bedi on 13 July. Imtiaz was previously interviewed by Nikki Bedi on BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Live on 15 June (a BBC Radio 4 Pick of the Week choice).
Imtiaz was in conversation with host Nikki Bedi on The Arts Hour about her ‘sublime new collection’ Shadow Reader. Imtiaz chose to read her poem ‘Where you belong’. Earlier in the programme, she was asked to read her poem ‘She Contemplates Her Death’, also from Shadow Reader. Imtiaz spoke about how her poems about the Shadow Reader who predicted the year of her death when she was in her twenties run as a thread or spine through the book. They talked about Imtiaz’s drawings, which feature in all of her poetry books, and in particular discussed the drawing opposite her poem ‘Loom’ from her new collection.
‘The collection of poems, like all your collections, I think, addresses so much about the human condition.’ – Nikki Bedi, on Shadow Reader
Nikki also mentioned Imtiaz’s 2014 collection Over the Moon, with its ‘incredibly moving poems that examine loss and grief’.
Imtiaz and Nikki were joined in the studio by cultural critic Murtada Elfadl to discuss four highlights chosen from BBC arts and cultural coverage broadcast over previous weeks. The clips were dotted through the programme, each followed by conversations about the extracts.
‘Nikki Bedi is joined by poet and artist Imtiaz Dharker and cultural critic Murtada Elfadl. They consider Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s role in the Disney + series The Bear. New Zealand film director Lee Tamahori discusses what a great actor brings to a production. Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic’s appearance at the Glastonbury music festival. Actors Kit Harrington and Olivia Washington on audience discomfort in the theatre. And music from South African singer Moonchild Sanelly.’
At 10:17 Imtiaz was asked to read her poem ‘She Contemplates Her Death’ from Shadow Reader. The main interview with Imtiaz ran from 35:05. She chose to read her poem ‘Where you belong’ rom Shadow Reader at 39:36.
The programme is now available via BBC Sounds.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct5qjm
IMTIAZ DHARKER POEM CHOSEN FOR PICK OF THE WEEK
Pick of the Week, BBC Radio 4, Sunday 23 June 2024, 6.15pm
A clip from Saturday Live was chosen by Julie Hesmondhalgh for BBC Radio 4's Pick of the Week on 23 June 2024. Julie introduced 'the wonderful poet Imtiaz Dharker' at 10:02, and chose Imtiaz's reading of her poem 'Back' from Shadow Reader, a poem in which she 'explores her love of Glasgow and her disdain for those who seek to be reductive of her and her identity based on appearances only.'
The programme has been archived on BBC Sounds. Imtiaz is introduced at 10:02.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0020h9t
INTERVIEW ON BBC RADIO 4’s SATURDAY LIVE - A BBC RADIO 4 PICK OF THE WEEK CHOICE
Saturday Live, BBC Radio 4, Saturday 15 June 2024, 9-10am
Poet and artist Imtiaz Dharker was a wonderful guest on BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Live on 15 June, co-hosted by Nikki Bedi and Jon Kay. Imtiaz was in conversation with Nikki Bedi and read her brilliant poem 'Back' - one of her poems from the book featuring Glasgow, where she grew up - from her new poetry collection Shadow Reader. Her fellow guests were the journalist and presenter Ashley John-Baptiste and landscape and garden designer Miria Harris. Also featured were the Inheritance Tracks of writer and presenter Danny Robins.
‘I think she’s one of the world’s greatest contemporary poets.’ – Nikki Bedi, introducing Imtiaz Dharker on BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Live
‘This collection of poems, like all your collections and the drawings within [them], addresses so much about the human condition.’ – Nikki Bedi, on Shadow Reader
The programme has been archived on BBC Sounds. Imtiaz features in the introduction (from 2:17) and at 19:33. Her main interview is from 43:09.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0j4fj03
Imtiaz Dharker shared her ‘Interitance Tracks’ on Saturday Live on 19 May 2018. This feature is still available to listen to on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p067mq1f
BBC RADIO 3 INTERVIEW WITH IMTIAZ DHARKER
Private Passions: Imtiaz Dharker, BBC Radio 3, Sunday 26 May 2024, 12pm-1.30pm
Poet, artist and filmmaker Imtiaz Dharker was Michael Berkeley’s guest on BBC Radio 3’s Private Passions on 26 May. Over the course of this 90-minute programme she spoke about her life, poetry, drawings, and her choice of musical pieces, which Michael described as ‘a rich tapestry of music’.
Michael Berkeley referred to Imtiaz’s poem ‘Campsie Fells’ from her 2006 collection The Terrorist at My Table. He also spoke about her collection Over the Moon, for which she was awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry, 2014. At 36:26 Imtiaz talked about the drawings which feature in all her poetry books, explaining how the poems and the drawings flow into and amplify each other.
Imtiaz read her poem ‘Night Walk with Blackbird’ from Shadow Reader, her seventh book of poetry from Bloodaxe, and later spoke about the true story of the prophesy she received from a Shadow Reader when she was a young woman. Her poems about his unwelcome prophesy are scattered through the collection.
‘Michael Berkeley's guest is the poet Imtiaz Dharker, who was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 2014.’
Imtiaz reads her poem ‘Night Walk with Blackbird’ at 42:19. She spoke about the background to Shadow Reader at 1:08:57. The programme will be available on BBC Sounds in this full 90-minute version until 1.30pm on 25 June 2024, after which it will be replaced with a version with shorter musical clips.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001zgfj
Imtiaz was Kirsty Young's guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs on 17 July 2015. This was rebroadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra on 13 October 2024.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b061pgrv
PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH IMTIAZ DHARKER
We’d Like A Word podcast, episode 21: Khushwant Singh Lit Fest: Indian, Pakistani & Bangladeshi authors, online 5 June 2024
Imtiaz Dharker was interviewed for an episode of the We’d Like A Word podcast recorded at the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival at which she was giving a reading from her new collection Shadow Reader. She was speaking to co-host Jonathan Kennedy.
‘In this special We'd Like A Word India episode at the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival, co-hosts Paul Waters & Jonathan Kennedy (standing in for Stevyn Colgan) hear ideas from top authors of fiction, non-fiction, memoir & poetry & other experts.’ Guests included ‘poet Imtiaz Dharker on her latest collection, Shadow Reader’
Imtiaz spoke about her background and about her poetry, in particular her aim to find the music in a poem, and to let rhyme to ‘drip through the middle of a poem’. She spoke about her new collection and read her poem ‘For the Minicab Driver Who Looked as if He Needed Feeding’ from Shadow Reader.
Imtiaz features from 58:56. Listen via Spotify here.
ONLINE REVIEW COVERAGE
Buzz Magazine, New Poetry for June, online 26 June 2024
Imtiaz Dharker’s new collection Shadow Reader was given a wonderful review in Mab Jone’s June poetry feature in Buzz Magazine Wales. Mab Jones was reviewing ‘six of the best new entries from the British poetry landscape of June 2024’.
‘…terrific, transcendent poems, which go from grit to heart, sorrow to song, and all between. It’s a stunner of a collection…’ – Mab Jones, Buzz Magazine, on Shadow Reader
In print in the June issue of Buzz Magazine. Also available online.
https://www.buzzmag.co.uk/new-poetry-june-2024-clare-e-potter-nigel-jarrett/
Short & Sweet, online 1 July 2024
Poet Katrina Naomi chose Imtiaz Dharker’s new collection Shadow Reader as her Recommended Read for July 2024 in her Short & Sweet newsletter.
‘Imtiaz Dharker's Shadow Reader is a joy. I admire poetry which draws on the political. Imtiaz's poems do this so well […] Her work always comes from a fresh angle […] Poetry of empathy, love & revelation.’ – Katrina Naomi, Short & Sweet (Recommended Read for July 2024)
https://mailchi.mp/97cc1e3f8b79/katrinas-newsletter-short-sweet-16201728
REVIEW COVERAGE IN THE SUNDAY TIMES
Imtiaz Dharker's new collection Shadow Reader was very well reviewed at the top of Graeme Richardson's summer poetry round-up in The Sunday Times of 23 June 2024.
'If you’re not a regular reader of poetry, Imtiaz Dharker gives you a place to start. Shadow Reader, her seventh collection from Bloodaxe, is not only easily accessible, but also hauntingly relevant in this time of war and displacement [...] With clever but not intrusive rhyme and rhythm these are poems to read aloud. And while there’s no hiding from the world’s reality — battlefield flies “wind and weave at the centre of this carnival” — ultimately Dharker’s poetry is a gesture of hope. “When you open the book, it opens you.”' – Graeme Richardson, The Sunday Times (Summer poetry round-up)
In print on 23 June 2024. Available online on The Times's website here:
POEM OF THE WEEK FEATURE IN THE SCOTSMAN
The Scotsman, Saturday 6 July 2024
Imtiaz Dharker’s Glasgow poem ‘Back’ from Shadow Reader was featured as Poem of the Week in The Scotsman Magazine on 6 July. The poem was accompanied by a short introduction.
‘This week's poem is by globally acclaimed poet, artist and filmmaker Imtiaz Dharker, who grew up in a Lahori household in Glasgow, was adopted by India and married into Wales. This is from her new collection Shadow Reader, which nods to exclusions and erasures, as well as being a playful celebration of life in all its glory; full of joyous language and rich imagery.’ – The Scotsman, Poem of the Week, on ‘Back’ from Shadow Reader
In print only.
Imtiaz Dharker read this brilliant poem on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live on 15 June - scoll up for details. Her reading of 'Back' was chosen for BBC Radio 4's Pick of the Week on 23 June. Imtiaz is introduced by Julie Hesmondhalgh at 10:02: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0020h9t
ONLINE LAUNCH EVENT, 21 MAY 2024
Imtiaz Dharker, Amanda Dalton and Katie Donovan launched their new collections online with Bloodaxe on 21 May 2024, joining from their homes in London, Hebden Bridge and Dublin. The poets read from their new books Shadow Reader, Fantastic Voyage and May Swim, and discussed them with each other and with the host, editor Neil Astley. Excellent readings by all three poets, followed by a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion about writing in response to loss, and also about how their work in other areas – art, drama and therapy - feeds into their poetry.
Imtiaz Dharker: Shadow Reader
Imtiaz Dharker reads and introduces a selection of poems from Shadow Reader. All her poetry collections are illustrated with her drawings, which form an integral part of the books; she is one of very few poet-artists to work in this way. This video includes some of the drawings from Shadow Reader showing their visual connections with particular poems from the book. Neil Astley filmed her reading from her new collection at her home in London in January ahead of the book’s publication in May 2024.
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PREVIOUS BROADCASTS FEATURING POEMS NOW INCLUDED IN SHADOW READER
Larkin Revisited: Talking in Bed, BBC Radio 4, Wednesday 10 August 2022, 1.45pm
Imtiaz Dharker joined Poet Laureate Simon Armitage to talk about and read from Philip Larkin’s poem ‘Talking in Bed’ for the third episode of this BBC Radio 4 series Larkin Revisited. Simon Armitage introduced her by saying: ‘Imtiaz Dharker is also a poet with a talent for clarity, and the author of intimate, sensual poems.’
‘Across ten programmes and ten Philip Larkin poems, Simon Armitage, the Poet Laureate, finds out what happens when he revisits and unpicks Larkin's work in his centenary year.’
Imtiaz features from 02:09. Listen via BBC Sounds here.
Imtiaz Dharker’s new poem ‘Swiping left on Larkin’ was featured in The Guardian of 9 August 2022, marking 100 years since the birth of the great English poet. Imtiaz is an honorary vice president of the Philip Larkin Society. In her introductory piece to her poem, Imtiaz wrote about Larkin more generally. She highlighted his poem ‘Talking in Bed’, which she also discusses with Poet Laureate Simon Armitage in the above Radio 4 series Larkin Revisited.
‘Swiping left on Larkin’ was subsequently published in Imtiaz's seventh book of poetry from Bloodaxe, Shadow Reader (2024).
Read the poem feature on The Guardian website here.
NEW POEM BY IMTIAZ DHARKER COMMISIONED BY RADIO 3 FOR THEIR 2019 CAROL COMPETITION
Breakfast, BBC Radio 3, Monday 2 September 2019, 6.30-9am, 20 December and 25 December 2019
Imtiaz Dharker was specially commissioned for the BBC Radio 3 Breakfast's Carol Competition 2019. Amateur composers around the country were challenged to set the text of this poem to music. Presenter Petroc Trelawny launched the competition on the 2 September edition of Breakfast. He introduced the poem, which was then read by Imtiaz Dharker.
The six shortlisted musical settings of Imtiaz Dharker’s poem were all played on Breakfast, performed by the BBC Singers, and the winner was chosen by Radio 3 listeners. The highest ever number of votes was recorded this year, and the winner was announced on Breakfast on 20 December. The winning carol was played again on the Christmas Day edition of Breakfast.
The winning setting was by Chris Black, an NHS doctor from Wetherby, also a Newcastle University alumnus. A happy coincidence - Imtiaz Dharker had recently been named the next Chancellor of Newcastle University and took up her post in January 2020. Chris Black was interviewed by Petroc Trelawny, and spoke very warmly about Imtiaz's poem.
Listen to the winning carol and the five other finalists here, where you can also read the poem, and hear Imtiaz read her poem 'Go to the Child’.
'Go to the Child' was subsequently published in Imtiaz's seventh book of poetry from Bloodaxe, Shadow Reader (2024).
IMTIAZ DHARKER PRESENTS BBC WORLD SERVICE'S THE DOCUMENTARY - A BBC RADIO 4 PICK OF THE WEEK
The Documentary: Sweeping the World, BBC World Service, Tuesday 5 February 2019
Imtiaz Dharker wrote and presented this half-hour documentary feature for BBC World Service. She wrote a new poem for this, and it was intercut into the programme.
‘Imtiaz Dharker presents a reflective evocation of the broom, in words, sound and music.’
A clip from Imtiaz’s poem and one of the interviews she conducted was chosen for BBC Radio 4’s Pick of the Week on Sunday 10 February 2019.
Listen here.
Imtiaz's new poem 'Sweeping' is now published in her seventh book of poetry from Bloodaxe, Shadow Reader (2024).
[22 May 2024]
