Lida Amiri
Lida Amiri is a poet based in Liverpool who performed a selection of her poetry in various creative spaces. With her multilingual work, she explores political and personal matters. During the day-time, she is a scholar aiming to defy Afghan stereotypes in a post-9/11 world.
"I was a refugee before I was born. As a new-born infant, I was seeking asylum, while spending my first years in limbo. In other words, my parents moved in and out a total of 7 refugee housing projects before I turned 1 year old. Originally, my parents fled the war in Afghanistan and arrived in Germany, where I was born".
Weird, are you?
Forcing a smile, avoiding cultural clashes
Looking around the room 1001 times, when entering for the first time
!از برای خدا
You cannot blend in
Don’t - even try to - fit in
Simmering like Mâdarjân’s qorma
The temperature is at a low setting,
But I can feel it slowly burning my wings
Waiting until it is boiling
Like chay
Possible any minute of the day
to unleash a scream like an Afghan kettle
Is this anxiety that makes me heart race?
But they don’t believe in it.
Mental health struggles exist
Only for the privileged
Or, am I?