A Poet in Exile
 

CHOMAN HARDI is the first poet in residence at the Moniack Mhor Writer’s Centre. JOHN BURNS profiles the poet and her role within the new developments taking place at the centre
 

ALL WRITERS are shaped by their experiences. Choman Hardi’s experiences as a refugee and the trauma of the Kurdish people to whom she belongs have left an indelible mark on her writing. Choman was born in southern Kurdistan, now part of Iraq, but her family was forced to flee to Iran when she was still a small child. Her family returned to Iraq when Choman was five only to be forced to flee once more in 1988 when chemical weapons were used against the Kurds.
 

Those of us who were born in the UK are fortunate in that few of us can have experienced such trauma in our lives. Choman began writing as a child and has fond memories of her father, Ahmed Hardi, a well-known Kurdish poet. “My poetry started with my father,” she recalls, “his regular recital of poetry at moments of anger, sadness and laughter has had the greatest effect on me.” Choman’s family came to England in 1993 and subsequently she studied philosophy and psychology at Queen’s college Oxford and gained an MA in philosophy from University College London.
 

She has published three collections of poetry in Kurdish commencing with Return with no memory (Denmark 1996). Bloodaxe published her first collection of poetry in English in October of 2003.
 

Choman has great experience in facilitating creative writing workshops having run groups for the British Council in the UK, Belgium, the Czech Republic, India and Switzerland. Much of her work has been with refugees and often with women. Many people come to writing through personal trauma. The ability to express one’s feelings in poetry and prose can be cathartic, and is often an important part of a healing process. Choman is aware of this in her own life and in helping others whose lives have been disrupted. Far from being hardened by her experiences she displays a great sensitivity towards the pain of others.
 

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