UH Arts + Culture and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion are delighted to invite you to celebrate Women’s History Month with a wonderful poetry and writing workshop delivered by poets Suman Gujral, Manjot Dhaliwal and Rishi Dastidar.

Following the successful South Asian Poetry Festival, Third Space, we are pleased to invite three esteemed poets to share their poetry writing journeys with you and help inspire your own passion for writing and storytelling.

In this 2-hour workshop you will get the chance to hear inspiring poetry readings and get top tips on how to progress with your own writing.

No previous experience is necessary, and all materials will be provided. You are welcome to bring your own poems or writing which offer you inspiration. Please note, this event is for ages 16+ only. Booking is essential to secure your place as this event has limited capacity.

We look forward to welcoming you to this special event!

Award-winning artist and poet Suman Gujral with short grey hair and wearing a white patterned dress, reading from a brown clipboard in front of a picture of trees.

Image credit: Whitworth Art Gallery

Suman Gujral is an award-winning artist and poet who holds an MA in Fine Art from the University of Hertfordshire (2018). In 2024, she founded Third Space, a platform for South Asian poets and stories from the South Asian Diaspora, with funding from the Arts Council. Third Space produced its first anthology of 50 poems, which was acquired by the National Library and nominated for the People's Book Prize.

Gujral’s work is held in the University of Hertfordshire and Whitworth Art Gallery collections, and she has read at several UK institutions, including the Horniman and Whitworth. Currently, Suman is working on a Third Space Hub and preparing to exhibit her work at the Partition Museum in India and UCL East. Third Space is also planning a second anthology, Remembrance, focused on South Asian poets responding to stories about the 1947 Partition and its aftermath.

Portrait of writer Manjot Dhaliwal with long black hair and wearing a pink top.

Manjot Dhaliwal is a writer, educator and PhD researcher. She has over ten years of experience as a primary school teacher and now works as a Lecturer at the University of Brighton. Dhaliwal has facilitated poetry workshops with libraries, art galleries, literature festivals, writing organisations, charities and outreach groups. Her research explores South Asian women’s poetry, identities and family histories.

Portrait of poet Rishi Dastidar with short black hair, wearing dark framed glasses and a bright blue top with colourful illustrations on the front.Image credit: Naomi Woddis

Rishi Dastidar is a poet whose work has been featured in the Financial Times, New Scientist, and the BBC, among others. His debut poetry collection, Ticker-tape, was published by Nine Arches Press, and a poem from it was included in The Forward Book of Poetry 2018. Rishi is a member of Malika's Poetry Kitchen and serves as the chair of the London-based writing organization Spread The Word. He also contributed to the meme poetry challenge on Young Poets Network.

Parking + Accessibility

Please park in Student Car Park E (approx. 10-15 min walk) or The Forum Multi-storey (15-20 min walk). Accessible parking is available here, but please note that these car parks are not within 200m of the venue.

Parking is FREE for the first 2 hours, and £2 thereafter. Complete a free one-time sign up to Hozah before your visit, or up to 23:59 on the day to pay. More info can be found here: Parking at UH

There is step-free access to the Learning Resources Centre entrance and the workshop will be taking place on the ground floor. Accessible toilets are available. Visit AccessAble for more info.

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