Rishi Dastidar to Write Foreword

Exciting news. Battersea-based poet Rishi Dastidar will be writing the foreword for the first Battersea Anthology and speaking at the launch party.

Image credit: Naomi Woddis

A little bit about our esteemed guest: Rishi Dastidar's poetry has been published by Financial Times, New Scientist and the BBC, amongst many others. His debut collection Ticker-tape is published by Nine Arches Press, and a poem from it was included in The Forward Book of Poetry 2018. A member of Malika's Poetry Kitchen, he was also chair of the London writer development organisation Spread The Word. Rishi wrote and judged the meme poetry challenge on Young Poets Network.

When I met up with him at a local coffee shop, I was very moved by his passion to keep the support of underrepresented writers going. Indeed, the literary landscape has changed a lot these years, but it cannot just be a movement. It has to be the norm. Everyone with talent and an authentic voice should be heard. The opportunities should be equal.

I can’t wait to read his foreward for the first Battersea Anthology and listen to his amazing words at our launch party at the Battersea Bookshop in mid-November 2023. Learn about what we are looking for, and submit today!