From council employee to Wales’ fifth National Poet, Eve Davies hears all about Hanan Issa’s inspiring journey, from finding comfort and security in poetry and continuing with her now leading the Welsh literary landscape.
Growing up as a Welsh-Iraqi writer, Hanan Issa found solace and belonging in poetry. Surveying the fragile boundaries of history, culture, relationships and language, the title of her recent collection, My Body Can House Two Hearts, references her growing up with a split sense of identity as she balances her dual heritage.
Ever since she began writing, she says, “it has always been about poetry” – this was the first form she took to, and the place she’s been delighted to stay. Poetry, for Issa, is a writing style which provided a space for her to make sense of what happens in the world: “a space of safety and clarity”.
Taking the plunge towards full time freelance writing four years ago, Issa worked part-time for Cardiff Council before that. With a good support system around her – including other writers who advised her on how to get commissions, write invoices, self-assessment forms, and all that fun stuff – her freelance career took off on its own, which shows in her achievements to date. Published work includes the aforementioned My Body…, Welsh (Plural): Essays On The Future Of Wales and a monologue, With Her Back Straight, performed at the Bush Theatre as part of the Hijabi Monologues project.
She was also part of the writers’ room for Channel 4’s groundbreaking series We Are Lady Parts, alongside its creator Nida Manzoor. Furthermore, Issa is co-founder of the Where I’m Coming From mic series and was the recipient of a 2020 Ffilm Cymru/BBC Wales commission for her short film The Golden Apple, as well as scooping Literature Wales’ Representing Wales Award in 2021… and breathe.
Now taking on the three-year post of National Poet, Issa is responsible for representing the literary landscape of Wales and the wealth of things happening within it. Speaking about the role, Hanan defines it as less formalised than a laureateship. At the start of the post, she had an in-depth discussion with Literature Wales to refine what is important to her, and what projects and topics she would like to see covered alongside the goals of the organisation.
As such, her first official commission as National Poet will explore the current energy crisis – a topic pressing in pretty much everyone’s lives at present – as well as her own family’s experiences with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Using her new platform, Issa hopes to signpost places where people can get the support they need for both.
And yet, she’s not stopping there. Her main aim is to encourage more engagement with poetry by showing how laced it is with modern life and social issues, and to change the assumption that the medium is inherently ‘highbrow’, or even inaccessible. “Anyone who is familiar with the Welsh language poetry scene knows that that is very much not the case. Welsh language poetry is entrenched in working class culture and tradition. I suppose I am interested in trying to create more curiosity in and engagement with the Welsh language and English language poetry scenes.
“Growing up in the 90s,” Issa continues, “my literary education covered a very narrow list of poets,” and by encouraging education authorities to focus on work relatable to young people in Wales today, Hanan hopes to update school curriculums, making them more relevant and diverse.
Having been in touch with teachers, Hanan considers the Welsh education system to be on the right track to make this change. As authorities are gaining more freedom over syllabuses, more effort is being made to find poetry in touch with our current social and cultural landscape. All in a day’s work for National Poet Of Wales, Hanan Issa.
Info: hananissa.com
words EVE DAVIES
