How do I introduce myself and sound “normal” at the same time? To be honest - I don't have a clue, but I'm sure I'm messing it all up already. Okay, let's try again…

I go by the name of Surfing Sofas, which can be confusing and sometimes leads people to think I’m a group or an organisation - but nope, it’s just me. I'm a poet and my work has mainly been focused around homelessness. I recently started experimenting with surrealist style collage art, and have been exploring ways to pair this with my poetry.

I'm very happy and honoured to announce that I'll be joining the Centre for Homelessness Impact as their Poet in Residence, and I look forward to seeing what we will develop over the coming months! During this artist residency, I plan to create a spoken word album that will address aspects of homelessness in a way that will hopefully provoke thoughts and new ideas.

As a poet with lived experience of multiple forms of homelessness, my work is often situated in the space between hard facts and human connections. I have found poetry to have a way of communicating the experiences of homelessness in a way that paints vivid pictures of the challenges faced by people affected by it. 

I believe creativity and evidence can work hand-in-hand to highlight and communicate things that can be worked upon to bring about the systemic changes needed to tackle the homelessness crisis. I'll be using what I learn from working with the Centre to shape the poems that I write for the album, and I look forward to sharing what we create with you all.

Let’s keep up the good work, and do our best to ensure that people’s experiences of homelessness are rare, brief and non-recurring.

• Surfing Sofas

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[image credit: Asha Sitarz]