How Leeds poet Khadijah Ibrahiim hopes to inspire the city's next generation of writers

Although she had held an interest in literature while growing up in Chapeltown and Harehills, it never occurred to her that it could become her job one day. It was only when Khadijah began studying classical Arabic, Sufi literature and even the Quran during her studies for a BA in Arabic and Middle Eastern at the University of Leeds that she began taking poetry more seriously. “I was really interested by Sufism, the way they were writing and looking at the world as well and my interest grew from there,” she said.

Her first gig came unexpectedly – at the time, Khadijah didn’t even call herself a poet. She said: “They liked the way I looked and my voice and I thought this was a big chance. You have to understand, I wanted to be a director; I’m used to directing. I got so nervous that I didn’t think I could go up and read these poems, so I got my friend to go read my poems on stage.”

On the third occasion, her friend finally persuaded Khadijah to get on stage to read her own poetry. She said: “That opened up the door, I never expected that I would journey into poetry like this. I thought my career would be in theatre, which is still an ambition, but it made me re-evaluate the importance of my voice. Now, I reimagine poetry as performance theatre and I write poems that are scripts that are to be performed.”

Her Another Crossing collection, released in 2014, is written in English but holds the rhythm of Jamaican Patois and reggae music. It focuses on what it means to be an African Caribbean woman who lives in a British landscape that is built in colonialism. "As a black woman, there are many challenges you face and many things that hold you down and every day is a battle,” Khadijah said. “You have to be the change. Not asking if they see you but saying I am here, so you have to see me.”

The dreams she holds of working in the theatre are taking shape too and she was the assistant director for a recent production of Nine Night at Leeds Playhouse. She said: “I thought ‘I have arrived’. Twenty-odd years later and I am the assistant director. Finally, someone believes I am a director. I have paid for my MA.”

In 2001, Khadijah had graduated with an MA in theatre studies but found it difficult to get a role in the field. Now 55, she said: “I come from an era where it wasn’t accessible to get into the arts and there was a lot of racism and prejudice. It was difficult for black and brown people to assert themselves into careers they wanted. I wasn’t getting the opportunities I wanted, but I didn’t want to give up. I decided that I would set up my own business.”

Khadijah began developing programmes around black history and poetry. One of her most impressive creations is Leeds Young Authors, a programme for 13 to 19-year-olds, which after two decades has achieved much success thanks to her work as artistic director.

The programme was opened in Chapeltown by design. She said: “There’s this negative overcast of Chapeltown being a dangerous place to be, but to me Chapeltown was something else. It was family, it was rich, it was diverse, it was multicultural. Everyone was ‘aunty’ and ‘uncle’, we were from different backgrounds but we were all friends. This was never presented about Chapeltown. I kept this programme there so people would have to come there and I hoped to rewrite Chapeltown in a different way.”

Khadijah’s contribution to the arts and communities have been recognised through awards, with one BBC interviewer describing her as “Yorkshire’s most prolific” poet – a title that as stuck for good reason.

Driven by sharing her passion for poetry and giving others the chance to make their own voices heard, she has worked with both young people and domestic abuse survivors over the years. Another key project has been producing the Leeds Youth Poetry Slam festival, which began in schools across the city and now operates nationally.

Khadijah has also been invited to speak and perform all around the world, including the US and the Caribbean, and has been involved in a developing a programme like Leeds Young Authors out in South Africa. She said: “I take our voices to those countries, I also bring back those voices into Leeds.”