Hanan Issa is 34 and from Cardiff. She is a writer, poet and artist, as well as the co-founder of the Where I’m Coming From open mic collective, whose debut pamphlet My Body Can House Two Hearts was published by Burning Eye Books. Her work has been performed and published on platforms such as BBC Wales, ITV Wales, Huffington Post, StAnza Festival, Poetry Wales, Wales Arts International and the British Council. Alongside her short narrative film The Golden Apple, she is currently working on an essay anthology Welsh: plural, published by Repeater Books, as well as a children’s short story contribution to Unbound’s The Mab, a retelling of the classic Mabinogi stories.
Twitter: @hananiscreative
Instagram: @hananiscreative
How do you envisage the programme will help you in terms of your development?
“I hope this programme helps me realise where my weak points are and helps me to improve and grow as an artist and writer.”
What are you most looking forward to as part of the programme? What are you hoping to achieve by taking part?
“Meeting other writers and hearing about their work.”
As a writer, where would you like to be in 5 years?
“Often work has to be made palatable for the white gaze in order to be seen as commercially successful. I want to be able to influence the industry to be more honestly inclusive and nuanced in how we perceive storytelling.”