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Hanan Issa

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Hanan Issa
National Poet of Wales
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 2022
Preceded byIfor ap Glyn
Personal details
Born1986 or 1987 (age 37–38)
NationalityWelsh
EducationCardiff University
OccupationPoet, filmmaker, scriptwriter, visual artist
Websitehananissa.com

Hanan Issa (born 1986/1987) is a Welsh–Iraqi poet, film-maker, scriptwriter and artist. She is the current National Poet of Wales, and the first Muslim to hold this title.[1][2]

Early lifeand education

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Issa grew up in Cardiff, Wales, the eldest of six children.[3] 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 tradtions of both sides of her family.[4] She started to write poems from the age of six and later studied English Literature at Cardiff University.[5]

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.[6]

Poetry

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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.[7]

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 as part of the Hijabi Monologues project.[8] In 2020, Issa was the recipient of a Ffilm Cymru/BBC Wales commission, which resulted in her writing and directing the short film The Golden Apple (2022).[9][10][11] She worked on the Channel 4 comedy series We Are Lady Parts, working alongside the show's creator Nida Manzoor.[12]

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.[13] with Issa noting that "connections between one loyalty and another flow as easily for me as one body of water running into another."[14] Issa also co-edited (with Durre Shahwar and Özgür Uyanık) the essay anthology Just So You Know: Essays of Experience, published by Parthian Books in 2020.[15]

National Poet of Wales

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In July 2022, Issa was appointed as the National Poet of Wales, succeeding Ifor ap Glyn.[16][17] The announcement was made on 6 July on BBC Radio 4's Front Row, with presenter Samira Ahmed interviewing Issa following the announcement.[18] 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.[19] Hanan performed at the Hay Festival's After Hours event at Cabaret in the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff in 2024, discussing the importance of acknowledging heritage and cultures.[20][21]

Publications

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Poetry

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As editor

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References

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  1. ^ "Hanan Issa". Literature Wales. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Wales appoints Hanan Issa as its first Muslim national poet". the Guardian. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  3. ^ Prideaux, Sophie (8 July 2022). "Hanan Issa becomes first Muslim named as National Poet of Wales". The National. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Hanan Issa". www.brinkerhoffpoetry.org. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  5. ^ Yaqoob, Tahira. "An unexpected journey: the fantastic tale of Wales's first Muslim national poet Hanan Issa". The National. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  6. ^ Yaqoob, Tahira. "An unexpected journey: the fantastic tale of Wales's first Muslim national poet Hanan Issa". The National. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Winning Debut Pamphlets Launch This October!". Burning Eye Books. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Stories announced for Hijabi Monologues London". www.bushtheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Hanan Issa announced as the new National Poet of Wales | AberdareOnline". www.aberdareonline.co.uk. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  10. ^ "BBC Wales - Ffolio, The Golden Apple". BBC. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  11. ^ "Hanan Issa". Literature Wales. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  12. ^ "Hanan Issa named National Poet of Wales". The Bookseller. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Roughly the size of Wales: four reflections on Welsh identity in the 21st century". the Guardian. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  14. ^ "Review: Welsh (Plural) - Essays on the Future of Wales". Nation.Cymru. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Just So You Know | Durre Shahwar and Özgür Uyanık". Wales Arts Review. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  16. ^ Review, Wales Arts (7 July 2022). "Hanan Issa announced as National Poet of Wales". Wales Arts Review. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  17. ^ The National News (9 August 2024). Meet the National Poet of Wales Hanan Issa. Retrieved 9 April 2025 – via YouTube.
  18. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, New national poet of Wales, Lucian Freud show, The Royal Cornwall Museum, The Blue Woman opera". BBC. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  19. ^ "Hanan Issa is the first Muslim chosen as national poet of Wales". Arab News. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  20. ^ Hay Festival (30 March 2024). “The tongue of the unseen or unknown” | Hanan Issa @ Hay Festival After Hours. Retrieved 9 April 2025 – via YouTube.
  21. ^ "Hay Festival After Hours: Cardiff". Hay Festival. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
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