Spoken truth to Power amplifies South Asian Spoken word artists across borders. Through original poetry, performance, and discussion with special guests, we explore cultural themes through a South Asian lens. At a time of increasing division and polarisation, we build creative bridges between the diaspora of South Asian artists, and challenge many of our differences through the power of art. Stay tuned for episodes that deal with identity, collective mental health, intergenerational trauma, hope and the diaspora. #spokentruthpod

CREDITS:

Creator: Daljeet Jutla

Host: @daljeetjutla @culturestudio1 www.culturestudio.co.uk

Art work: Amrit Singh, @MrASingh https://www.rebelcreatives.co/ 

Sound Design and Music by Elliot Bulley and Audio Post Production by Chaos Creative http://www.chaoscreative.co.uk/

Specialist Producer: Serena Barker Singh @serenabarksing

Find @spokentruthpod on twitter, instagram, facebook and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts at podfollow.com/spokentruthpod.  

This season was funded by Arts Council England.

CW/TW: This episode contains discussion of sexual assault and violence against women. This episode contains discussion of racial discrimination. 

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In the UK we were reminded to tap into the Wartime spirit and British resolve to help us cope with the disruption and loss that the pandemic brought. In her monologue – "War, Virus and Collective Mental Health" – Daljeet contemplates the metaphors of war and coronavirus that dominated headlines in British newspapers and highlights the complications for her as a British South Asian woman to follow the “keep calm and carry on” advice. Daljeet also explores the impact that the Partition of India (a significant historical event that followed World War II) had on women through her poem "Soil". 

Credits:

Creator: Daljeet Jutla @culturestudio1, www.culturestudio.co.uk Host: Daljeet Jutla (@daljeetjutla)
Artwork: Amrit Singh, @MrASingh https://www.rebelcreatives.co/

Sound Design and Music by Elliot Bulley, @Elliotbulley and Audio Post-Production by Chaos Creative http://www.chaoscreative.co.uk/ 

Follow @spokentruthpod for episodes that deal with identity, diaspora, collective mental health and hope; Facebook: @spokentruthpowerpodcast; subscribe at https://podfollow.com/spokentruthpod 

Resources: Samaritans, free and confidential helpline Phone on 116 123 24 hours a day www.samaritans.org. Hopscotch Women's Centre - support services for Asian and other BAME women www.hopscotchawc.org.uk Phone 0207 388 8198. The Black, African and Asian therapy network (BAATN) directory of therapists from ethnic minority backgrounds www.batn.org.uk  

This season was funded by Arts Council England

CW/TW: This episode contains discussion of intergenerational mental health, and trauma experienced by women.

What happens when you invite two South Asian artists who have never met before to write a poem, across borders, about the theme of intergenerational mental health? They both write about the way their grandmothers have shaped their identity. 

Shagufta Iqbal is an award-winning writer, workshop facilitator and TEDx speaker, and was longlisted for the Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship. Her poetry collection ‘Jam Is For Girls, Girls Get Jam’ (one of Burning Eye Books bestselling collections) has been recommended by Nikesh Shukla as ‘a social political masterclass’. Shagufta performs her original poem "Flooding". 

Megha Rao is a performance poet and surrealist artist from Kerala, India. Megha’s work has been featured on platforms such as Penguin Random House India, Firstpost, The Open Road Review, New Asian Writing, The Alipore Post, Spoken Fest, Why Indian Men Rape and Thought Catalog, and trended at #1 on Spotify podcasts in India. Megha performs her original poem "Homegrown Blade".

Performances by the poets are followed by a conversation hosted by Daljeet, about their grandmothers, land, borders and Identity.

Credits:
Creator: Daljeet Jutla @culturestudio1, www.culturestudio.co.uk
Host: Daljeet Jutla (@daljeetjutla)
Guests: Shagufta Iqbal (@Shaguftakiqbalpoet) and Megha Rao (@megharao) 
Artwork: Amrit Singh, @MrASingh https://www.rebelcreatives.co/
Sound Design and Music by Elliot Bulley @Elliotbulley, and Audio Post-Production by Chaos Creative http://www.chaoscreative.co.uk/
Specialist Producer: Serena Barker Singh @serenabarksing

Follow @spokentruthpod for episodes that deal with identity, diaspora, collective mental health and hope; Facebook: @spokentruthpowerpodcast; subscribe at https://podfollow.com/spokentruthpod 

Resources: Samaritans, free and confidential helpline Phone on 116 123 24 hours a day www.samaritans.org. Hopscotch Women's Centre - support services for Asian and other BAME women www.hopscotchawc.org.uk Phone 0207 388 8198. The Black, African and Asian therapy network (BAATN) directory of therapists from ethnic minority backgrounds www.batn.org.uk

This season was funded by Arts Council England