Natalie Diaz

Natalie Diaz was commissioned by Manchester Literature Festival to write a new series of poetic sensualities exploring the words ‘origin’, ‘migration’, ‘freedom’ and ‘love.’ A deeply lyrical poet, she created linguistic maps of these words in English and Mojave, diving deep into their roots and the ways in which they echo in physical connection. She performed the poems for the first time at an online event hosted by fellow poet Mary Jean Chan. You can download a PDF of Natlie’s new commission.

'Natalie Diaz is a poet who calls out to us in so many ways, who reaches out to embrace her lover, her people, and her country.' Her most recent collection Postcolonial Love Poem explores body and land as sites of desire and longing, but also pain and erasure. It was shortlisted for the National Book Award and the Forward Prize in Poetry. Born and raised in the Fort Mojave Indian Village in Needles, California, on the banks of the Colorado river, Natalie is Mojave and an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Tribe. She has received fellowships from The MacArthur Foundation, the Lannan Literary Foundation, Native Arts Council Foundation, and was recently appointed to the Academy of American Poets. She is the Director at the Centre for Imagination in the Borderlands at Arizona State University.

This commission was supported by an award from the DCMS Culture Recovery Fund.