A debut poetry collection is exploring memory, mental health and family through fragmented verse.
University of Brighton graduate Anila Arshad-Mehmood published her debut poetry pamphlet, Everything I Learned from Your Hands, with Flight of the Dragonfly, an independent press co-founded by fellow Brighton graduate Barbara Kirbyshaw.
The collection explores memory, mental health, family, love and nostalgia, using the fragmented nature of poetry to uncover meaning in what is both spoken and unspoken.
Anila Arshad-Mehmood said: "I didn't like poetry at first, but when I read my work aloud in an open mic session during my MA, it felt alive in a way prose never did.
"That moment changed everything for me.
"Poetry allows me to explore emotions and memories in fragments, in rhythm and in silence.
"It’s a space where what’s unspoken can carry as much weight as what’s said.
"Writing these poems has been a way of seeing the world more clearly, and of connecting to others in ways I hadn’t imagined."
Her journey into poetry began during her MA in Creative Writing at Brighton, which also set the stage for her connection with Flight of the Dragonfly.
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The small press began in 2019 as a spoken word event organised through the university’s publishing module, before growing into a wider collective and eventually an e-journal and small press.
Barbara Kirbyshaw, who now runs the press, said: "It's not understating things to say that Flight of the Dragonfly has changed my life.
"I've met so many wonderful and very talented writers as a direct result.
"I met Anila when we were both studying the Poetry module of the Masters back in 2019.
"She has such a strong poetic voice, on identity, family and survival.
"I'm delighted to be publishing her first pamphlet."
Flight of the Dragonfly remains closely connected to the university and works with MA students through the Process of Publishing module.
This year, students will edit and produce a new anthology of poetry and flash fiction for the press.
Everything I Learned from Your Hands is now available through Flight of the Dragonfly.
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