“I Speak for the Devil”

Imtiaz Dharker, the Scottish Muslim poet has controversial titles for her books. “I Speak for the Devil” is her third collection of poetry (2001). It explores the place of women in society, both in the East and the West. In 2006, Imtiaz published another collection, “The Terrorist at my Table” It explores a provocative scene from different angles  -  an anonymous man is alternately  seen as a terrorist, freedom fighter, guerrilla warrior and martyr, before being cast as “a boy who looks like your son”.

Dharker is a poet, artist and documentary film-maker, who jets between London and Mumbai . This regular rubbing against different cultures inspires her work. She interrogates the state of matters and  forces rethinking on issues such as gender, politics, conflict and cultural displacement.Although her poetry has been described as ‘powerful’, some aver that this is too meek a word  for Dharker’s work.

She willtalk to audiences and also lead doing a poetry workshop at the Storymoja Hay Festival, which runs from 13^th to 16^th September 2012 at the Nairobi National Museum. For more information, please visit www.storymojahayfestival.com