Raza, Hima

Hima Raza was a South Asian poet and academic. Born in Lahore, Pakistan in 1975 to an extensive and cultured family, she displayed an early interest in Indian arts, taking up dance at a young age and also playing the tabla. Throughout her life she travelled widely, visiting family and friends in Canada, Scotland, India, and Australia amongst other destinations. Her love of poetry developed in her teens and she completed a joint-honours in English Literature and Psychology at Kinnaird College and later went to the University of South West Australia to study a Masters in English. In 2001 Hima completed a PHD in English Literature at the University of Sussex with the special subject of The Politics of Migrant Identity in Salman Rushdie’s Diasporic Narratives. As part of her academic career Raza taught modules in creative writing and published in journals.

During this time Hima Raza began to perform at poetry readings and discussions and published poems in magazines. Her first collection Memory Stains appeared in 2000 published by Minerva Press and was followed by Left Hand Speaking: A Collection of Poems in 2002. Typically her poetry is experimental, not following prescribed verse forms and experimenting with structure and layout. Subjects range from the personal, dwelling on relationships and family and friends, to larger themes such as examinations of race and femininity.

Hima Raza was killed in a road accident in 2003 at 27 years old.

From the guide to the Hima Raza, 1917-2003, (Special Collections, Brunel University Library)