Poets take up their posts for borough's culture year

TWO poets in residence have been appointed in Rochdale as part of the town’s year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture.

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Sasha Mostafa, 18, and 25-year-old Alende Amisi have been appointed by the mayor Coun Janet Emsley and will be supported by Sammy Weaver, Rochdale’s first poet laureate who was unveiled last month.

With the UK performance poetry scene thriving and literary festivals now a staple of the British cultural calendar, the commissions form part of a project led by the borough’s libraries and Rochdale Development Agency encouraging residents to re-discover the joy of the written and spoken word, unlocking their own creativity through workshops with schools and community groups, poetry events and exhibitions.

While Sammy captures the spirit of Rochdale in words, raising awareness and helping to encourage people to engage with poetry, Sasha and Alende will be by her side, creating poems that capture the uniqueness of the borough, celebrating local people and places.

They'll be drawing on Rochdale’s rich co-operative history as a source of inspiration, creating new work that will also capture young people’s ambitions for the future.

Sasha, who was born and lives in Rochdale is sitting her A Levels at Manchester High School for Girls. She’s been writing poetry in her spare time and won The Tower Poetry Competition last year a prestigious UK prize for young poets.