Alycia Pirmohamed
Thesis title: Figurative Homelands: Second-generation Immigrant Experiences in Contemporary Poetry
PhD Creative Writing
Year of study: 3
Contact details
PhD supervisor:
Background
I grew up in Canada and now work as a poet and academic in Scotland. I have published two pamphlets, 'Faces that Fled the Wind' (BOAAT Poetry, 2019) and 'Hinge' (Oxford Brookes ignitionpress, 2020), and I am the co-founder and director of the Scottish BAME Writers Network. My research focuses on South Asian diaspora, with a particular interest in contemporary poetry by Muslim writers. As a professional artist, my own poetry lives at the intersections of feminist poetics, ecocriticism, and conversations of diaspora. My critical and creative work - and everything adjacent - navigates historical and cultural narratives, often within the context of memory and renarrativization.
Qualifications
MFA Creative Writing, University of Oregon
BEd English Language Arts, University of Calgary
BSc Biological Sciences, University of Alberta
Undergraduate teaching
English Literature 1
Research summary
- Contemporary Poetry
- Postcolonial Theory
- South Asian Diaspora
- Critical Race Theory
- Islamic Liteartures
- Ecocriticism
Knowledge exchange
Alycia co-founded the Scottish BAME Writers Network, an advocacy group that hosts workshops, professional development events, and panels on race and poetry. She is currently the director of this organisation (2018 - present).
In 2019, Alycia was a resident at the Vermont Studio Center, where she worked on her second manuscript, Hinge (Oxford Brookes, ignitionpress, 2020).
In 2018, Alycia was a resident at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity as part of the Emerging Writers Intensive under the guidance of Elizabeth Philips.
Current project grants
Creative Scotland, Open Project Fund
Calgary Arts Development, Individual Artist Programme
Past project grants
Royal Society of Literature, Literature Matters Award (2019)
Calgary Arts Development, Individual Artist Programme (2019)