Momtaza Mehri


Momtaza Mehri is a Somali-British poet and essayist.

Early life

Momtaza Mehri grew up in the Middle East. She is currently based in Kilburn, North-West London, where, aside from her progressing poetry career, she is both a volunteer and a trainee biochemical scientist. She began writing poetry for publication in 2014.

Writing

Mehri's career began to gain media attention in 2016–2017 when she was featured in DAZED, BuzzFeed, BBC Radio 4, Poetry Society of America; Mask Magazine, SAND Journal, and Frontier Poetry. This was swiftly followed by her winning the Outspoken Page Poetry Prize and third prize in the National Poetry Competition. Mehri also edits Diaspora Drama and was named the Young People’s Laureate of London in 2018.