Get to know our First Steps Poetry cohort of 2026
Read below to discover a little more about the First Steps Poetry cohort of 2026 and what inspires their creative work.
Annaliese
My name is Annaliese Davis, going by the name Metaphysical Being: I’m a 21 year old multidimensional creative from Birmingham.
I’m a singer, songwriter, model, poet and musician playing a number of instruments (piano, acoustic, electric & bass guitar, ukulele and the flute).
Returning to poetry November of 2025, my pen moves to capture human moments and translate the inner workings of the self. Performing at various open mic nights, headlining creative events and appearing in publications such as Whoreganic Anthology by Verseve Poetry – I am learning to take the stage as well as meditate on a secret page. Cultural commentary, spiritual themes and a whole lotta love.
I’d be honoured to have you tune in.❤️ @metaphys1calbe1ng on Instagram, Tiktok and Substack.
Barkhad (BG)
My name is Barkhad. I go by BG. I am a Birmingham-based Somali poet and student who feels as if he has already proven his worth. At 18 years old, I burst onto the scene at an event hosted by Ayan Aden, Ryan Dre Sinclair, and Somalinimo UK in October 2025, displaying the depth, precision, and emotion behind my poetry. Since then, I have performed at Culture House in London, Poetry Jam, and several other spoken-word events, steadily building a name for myself through raw storytelling and powerful delivery. My work was also featured in an exhibition at Culture House, where one of my poems was displayed. This constructed a moment that reflected both my artistic growth and the impact of my words.
Since then, I have continued paving my own path towards greatness, using emotional poetry as both a voice and a legacy. With every performance, I leave another stamp in the story of my life, turning words into verses that resonate far beyond the stage. I go by @_bgpoetryarchive_ on Instagram and @bgarchives on SubStack. I would appreciate it if you tap into my poetry.
Stay up, Stay safe, and Stay blessed.
Camila
Camila Hernández is a Venezuelan-born poet based in the Midlands. Her work, featured in The Looking Glass, The Madrigal Press, and The Thicket (Fawn Press), navigates the meeting point of self and nature, weaving modern and postcolonial perspectives into landscapes of colour and contour.
Federico
Federico Garcia is a Birmingham-based writer and poet currently studying English Literature at the University of Birmingham. His work explores themes of memory, identity, masculinity, intimacy and cultural belonging, often drawing from personal experience and the complexities of contemporary life. Influenced by both page and performance poetry, he is interested in the emotional and rhythmic possibilities of language, and in how poetry can preserve fleeting moments of vulnerability, tension and connection.
Alongside his creative work, Federico has a strong interest in literary criticism, editorial practice and modernist literature, particularly questions surrounding voice, fragmentation and narrative form. Before university, he worked as a senior editor for a student-led magazine publication, helping to curate and develop young writers’ work. His writing continues to evolve through performance, collaboration and participation in community-led creative spaces, where he is passionate about using poetry as a way to foster dialogue, reflection and human connection.
Hafsah
Hafsah is an actor and spoken word artist from Birmingham. She continues to be inspired by creatives who are able to challenge perspective in writing and embody character in performance.
Hafsah aims to provoke thought, seek truth and spark connection through storytelling and hopes to create a lasting impact through creative means.
Kian
I’m Kian. I’m a second year Applied Theatre student at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. My passion lies with theatre (specifically physical theatre), but I have loved poetry for so long, but never taken myself or my craft seriously. I had recently watched a play that combined movement and poetry; watching this made me want to hone my craft in poetry so that I can become a more skilled theatre maker and performer. So here I am …
Lydia
Lydia Perfitt is a performance artist and creative practitioner, whose work explores female experiences and political/societal reflections of community. She is a Co Director and Co Founder of Lady Flower Theatre, a feminist-focused group whose comedic and satirical performances has featured at the likes of Boomtown Music Festival 2024/25 and Queer Arts Festival, MK 2025.
As a trained actor and devisor, she utilises poetry as a catalyst to create material, and endeavours to push the boundaries of narrative performance into visceral and abstract pieces of performance art, blurring the lines between traditional and contemporary theatre.
Megan
Megan Mifsud is an England Slam Championships finalist poet from Birmingham who specialises in storytelling through poetry and spoken word theatre. She talks of grief, culture, identity and womanhood.
Megan was the poetry society president while she studied Creative Writing and Drama at Bath Spa University. Her work has appeared in the Chimes Community Anthology and across stages in the Southwest of England from St George’s Bristol to Arnolfini.
Shreya
Shreya is a bilingual writer born and bred in India, based in Birmingham. A third-year B.A. English Literature & Creative Writing student, her work focuses on translating the human experience into written word, operating under the belief that more often than not, the unbearable is made bearable through literature. Focusing mainly on the English language, her creative work blends language, interested in how the multiplicity of culture and language can be used to shape narratives of existence, identity and belonging.
Currently interested in poetry and creative nonfiction, she aims to find an intersection between her work on the page and the stage.
Sikander (Eulogee)
Eulogee is a spoken word poet and filmmaker born in Amsterdam, Netherlands and raised in Handsworth, Birmingham.
He is the ORT gallery resident poet (2026) and most recently had his work exhibited at Culture House in London.
He has performed and headlined across the Midlands and the South of England and was shortlisted for the Roundhouse Poetry Slam heats (2025).
His journey into writing starts from self-discovery and observation. Beginning to look at his environment under a microscope, trying to understand each and every organism in this petri dish we call home and make something of the chaos.
Eulogee’s work is often underpinned by themes of fatherhood, faith, and coming of age.
He also independently runs paliss.studios, producing and directing work for artists, poets, brand and festivals including The Black British Book Festival.
Eulogee aims to start facilitating workshops/creative spaces for young people and adults in 2026 focusing on community.
Sophie
Sophie Finnegan is a 17 year-old poet and aspiring novelist, born and based in Birmingham. She won a national short story writing competition in 2023 for the Young Writer’s annual showcase, when she was 15 years old. Sophie writes frequently amongst the historical fiction genre, combining her love for history and passion for writing.
Her poems centre around relatable life experiences and the complexities of humanity.