Collection: Mir Mahfuz Ali

Mir Mahfuz Ali was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1958 and moved to the UK in the 1970s. He has worked as a model, a tandoori chef and as a dancer and actor. He is renowned for his extraordinary voice: a rich, throaty whisper brought about by a bullet in the throat fired by a Bangladeshi policeman trying to silence the singing of anthems during a public anti-war demonstration. He has given readings and performances at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as well on BBC Newsnight Review, Radio 4, and the World Service. His poetry has appeared in London Magazine, Poetry London, and Poetry Review. His influences include Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) and Jibananda Das (1899-1954).