Hannah Lavery

Hannah Lavery is a Scottish poet, playwright and performer. Best known for her work exploring issues of race, identity and belonging, she is a significant figure in contemporary Scottish literature. Lavery's notable books include the poetry collection Blood Salt Spring (2022), which was shortlisted for the Saltire Scottish National Poetry Book Award, and her pamphlet Finding Seaglass (2019). In 2021, she was appointed Edinburgh Makar, a prestigious role as the city's official poet, for a three-year term.

Hannah Lavery was born and raised in Scotland. Her work often explores themes of national identity and the complexities of growing up as a mixed-race woman in a predominantly white society. Her poetry is deeply rooted in personal experience about loss and belonging, as seen in Finding Seaglass.

"I wrote this poem for my son after he experienced his second racial abuse at the age of eight. It's about love and motherhood, trying to protect him in a world that judges him by the colour of his skin," Lavery explained in her poem The Specials.

In 2019, Lavery's autobiographical play The Drift toured Scotland with the National Theatre of Scotland. An exploration of family, identity and race, the play received critical acclaim and will be adapted for BBC Radio Four. Another of her powerful plays, Lament for Sheku Bayoh, which will premiere at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2020, explores the death of Bayoh, a young black man who died in police custody in Scotland.

Lavery's poetry collection, Blood Salt Spring, is a profound meditation on race and nationhood, written during the isolation of the pandemic. Described by the Poetry Society as "a must-read collection", it explores the deep wounds of racism while searching for hope and healing. "How do you find your voice and humanity in a moment that constantly asks you to choose sides?" Lavery asks in the collection.

As an Associate Artist at the National Theatre of Scotland, Lavery has contributed widely to the cultural conversation in Scotland. She has also won several awards, including the Peggy Ramsay/Film4 Award (2022) and the Adopt a Playwright Award (2020).

Photo credit: www.hannahlavery.com