Episode 9 - Imtiaz Dharker

This Week in Poetry Episode 9: Imtiaz Dharker and Life Between BordersIn episode nine of This Week in Poetry, I introduce Imtiaz Dharker—born in Pakistan, raised in Scotland, and living between London and Mumbai—whose mixed heritage and itinerant life shape poetry that explores displacement, conflict, gender politics, and ideas of home, freedom, and faith. I present selections including “They’ll Say, She Must Be from Another Country,” which challenges nationalism and belonging through the speaker’s outsider status and a “country” found in the cracks between borders; “The Right Word,” which questions labels like terrorist, freedom fighter, militant, and martyr before revealing a child at the door and inviting him in; and poems depicting water as “Blessing” amid scarcity, and a schoolgirl surviving violence to claim the right to be ordinary and insist a bullet cannot kill a book. I close by inviting listeners to share, subscribe, and send feedback.00:00 Welcome and Overview00:17 Meet Imtiaz Dharker01:46 Poem Another Country04:35 Poem The Right Word06:39 Poem Blessing07:57 Poem A Century Later09:27 Closing and Subscribe This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit poetryprofessor.substack.com