Shazia Hafiz Ramji

ShaziaHafiz Ramjipublished her debut book,Port of Being, in 2018. The poetry collection is a smart and often sinister look into the many ways we are surveilled online, on the street, by the government or otherwise. The book was shortlisted for the2019 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. The Vancouver-based poet and writer has contributed to publications like Quill & Quire, Canadian Literature and The Puritan.

CBC Books named Ramji a writer to watch in 2019.

• Why Shazia Hafiz Ramji writes poetry about modern-day surveillance and addiction
• 19 Canadian writers to watch in 2019

Books by Shazia Hafiz Ramji

WhyShazia Hafiz Ramjiwrote Port of Being

"About a year later,I lost my job and I was really depressed. I've experienced depression before and I'm a recovering addict, so I knew that whathelped me in the past was listening whether that was to people or music and walking the city. But this time, I was too depressed to go out of the house and make field recordings things like going out in the forest and capturing sounds of birds and nature like I used to.

Writing this was cathartic for sure, but it was also a revelationto acknowledge the things that I've been through.- Shazia Hafiz Ramji

"I was working through what had happened to me through the poetry and coming at it from a slant. It was a bit scary to have my emotions out there especially when it came to the poems about addiction andstalking. I hadn't really told anyone and my parents did not know how serious my addiction truly was.

"Writing this was cathartic for sure, but it was also a revelationto acknowledge the things that I've been through. Before this book, I was honestly trying to subdue them and not to confront them. I gradually move toa more direct confrontation toward the end of the book."

Read more in Shazia Hafiz Ramji's interview with CBC Books.

Interviews with Shazia Hafiz Ramji