I am a researcher, writer and poet living in Turku, Finland. I am an immigrant to Finland, having moved to the country from the UK two years ago after finishing my doctorate in Geography in the Environment. After moving to Finland, I was happy to discover that there are many opportunities here for artists and creatives – more-so than in any other country I’d previously lived in. I won a Finland Swedish poetry slam in Turku and since then have been hired for multiple gigs in the city, as well as Tampere, presenting my poems. Several of my poems were also published in the Swedish Language Motborgarbladet. These positive experiences have encouraged me to pursue poetry more seriously with the aim of turning it into a full-time career. In line with these goals, I have taken a job at Kirjantalo Bokens Hus in Turku, where I work as an events manager (including for poetry open mics), equipment manager and audio manager. I am also on the board of Runoviikko and the publishing house KITA.
My poetry explores themes of dislocation, queerness, neurodivergence, mental health and politics. As a result of my heavy involvement in the Turku live-poetry scene, I have developed a poetry style that is fully adapted to the live medium, using a spoken word/singing technique, complex rhythms, clapping and physical movements. Prior to getting involved in poetry, I was an unaccompanied singer in the UK for many years and draw on that experience in my work.