Fatma in the Upper Fourth has been crowned Birmingham’s Young Poet Laureate 2020-22. She was among hundreds of talented youngsters who applied for the honour which, along with the adult Laureateship, is awarded every two years by the Birmingham Library and Writing West Midlands. She succeeds Aliyah in Upper Sixth who carried the title 2018 – 2020.
Over the next two years she will appear on radio and TV, meet politicians and royalty and write on a range of subjects, including culture, sport and romance. The role also involves producing poems for special events and running workshops for children.
“When I heard I’d been selected as Young Laureate, I was so excited as I did not expect it at all, especially since this was the first competition I had entered. The initial application process required me to write two short poems, one of which had to be about Birmingham. Soon after that, I was shortlisted and had an interview in which I had to perform another one of my poems which can be read here.”
