‘I wrote my first poem, for performance, after the Oldham riots in 2001. I was in Manchester being a student, completing my bachelor’s degree in chemistry, and in May I came home from a club one night, late, off my head, and turned on Newsnight to see a man in a suit explaining how there was a serious issue with young Asian men in the north. That was a real huge shock to me. In my somewhat inebriated state, I remember thinking: “There is nobody on that panel speaking for Asian youth, so these men could get away with saying anything.”

Later that summer, I returned to Manchester to start my PhD, 9/11 happened and the whole world, including my whole world, changed. Suddenly everyone wanted to know about Islam. Friends started to question my religion and where I was brought up. Before that, I was just a student like everyone else. I started writing poetry, performing poetry, looking back, as a means of trying to stay sane within myself, with all the lies around me…’

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For tickets and further information about Avaes’ upcoming show Hurling Rubble with Red Ladder click here.