Warsan Shire

Warsan Shire (FRSL) is a Somali-British writer and poet. Her debut, bestselling pamphlet, Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth, was published in 2011. She won the inaugural Brunel University African Poetry Prize in 2013. In 2014, she was appointed as the first Young Poet Laureate for London. Shire was also selected as a Poet in Residence for Queensland, Australia where she collaborated with the Aboriginal Centre for Performing Arts. In 2015, she released Her Blue Body, a limited edition pamphlet. Shire wrote the film adaptation and poetry for Lemonade, a visual album by Beyoncé. Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head (2022) is her first full collection, currently shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection.