# Taher Adel

> Taher Adel is an award-winning British-Bahraini poet, novelist, and spoken word artist.

He holds an MA in Creative Writing and Poetry from the University of East Anglia and a BEng in Biomedical Engineering from City University London. He currently serves as a judge for the Stephen Spender Poetry Prize and was appointed Poet in Residence for Wells-next-the-Sea in 2019 and Creative Practitioner for the University of Bedfordshire in 2024.

His literary works include ‘I Don’t Know What Language I Dream In’ (Burning Eye Books, September 2023), ‘The Names’ (translated into Arabic by Rewayat Reads), ‘The Chosen Names’, and ‘The Divine Names’ (both published by Sun Behind The Cloud). His debut novel (title and publication date TBC) received the Taner Baybars Award for original fiction in the field of science fiction, fantasy, and magical realism, awarded by the Society of Authors and the Authors’ Foundation. His short story “So long as the olive tree lives” was longlisted for the Azhar Writing Prize.

Website: https://taheradel.com/

## Books

- [I Don’t Know What Language I Dream In](https://amzn.eu/d/07IQdjTY): Poetry. Burning Eye Books, paperback, September 2023. Also from [The Poetry Book Society](https://www.poetrybooks.co.uk/collections/pamphlet/products/i-dont-know-what-language-i-dream-in-by-taher-adel-pre-order). “A fine debut — get it.” (Roger Robinson, winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize 2019)
- [The Chosen Names](https://amzn.eu/d/0ghiywb9): Poetry. Sun Behind The Cloud, hardcover; cover art by Ruby Jaffery. A poetic exploration of sixteen unassailable personalities from the Household of Mohammed (saw), from the Prophet himself to the awaited Saviour. Also from the [IHRC Bookshop](https://shop.ihrc.org/products/the-chosen-names-taher-adel).
- [The Divine Names](https://sunbehindthecloud.com/product/the-divine-names/): Poetry and art, with artwork by Aadil Abedi. Sun Behind The Cloud, hardcover coffee-table book on the Divine Names of God. Also from the [IHRC Bookshop](https://shop.ihrc.org/products/the-divine-names-taher-adel-and-aadil-abedi).
- [Lost & Found](https://amzn.eu/d/0cpLqkal): Poetry. AuthorHouse UK, 182 pages, ISBN 978-1-5462-9154-1; cover by Julie De Abreu. Selections of the author’s work from his first dabblings in poetry to the present day, much of it on the relationship between the Almighty and his creations.
- [The Names (الأسماء)](https://www.jarir.com/ae-en/arabic-books-609338.html): Poetry in Arabic, translated by Safia Al Shehi. Rewayat Reads, hardcover, 2023, 93 pages, ISBN 9789948046714. An exclusive collection of poems translated into Arabic, exploring the relationship of words in the Arabic language.

## Selected words

- [11 Names of the Moon](https://www.instagram.com/p/CI5y66YD8EB/): on Instagram
- [14 Reasons Why](https://www.instagram.com/p/CCwLDfYj1Y-/): on Instagram
- [10 Heartbreaks of Hussain](https://www.instagram.com/p/CSen0QNjJis/): on Instagram
- [I Don’t Know What Language I Dream In](https://substack.com/@taheradel/note/c-246457223): on Substack

## Talk

- [The Poetry of Life — TEDxMoseley](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtz-4obTc9U): Taher Adel’s TEDx talk (2022, 6 minutes)

## Featured in

Ambit, SMOKE Magazine, The New European, Gulf Daily News, Glassworks Magazine, TEDx, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, BBC Radio 4, Poetry London Magazine, Poetry Salzburg Review.

## Appointments, awards and education

- Judge, Stephen Spender Poetry Prize (present)
- Creative Practitioner, University of Bedfordshire (2024)
- Poet in Residence, Wells-next-the-Sea (2019)
- Taner Baybars Award, Society of Authors and the Authors’ Foundation, for his debut novel
- Longlisted, Azhar Writing Prize, for “So long as the olive tree lives”
- MA Creative Writing and Poetry, University of East Anglia
- BEng Biomedical Engineering, City University London

## Representation and contact

- Represented by Jessica Craig, [Craig Literary](https://www.craigliterary.com)
- Enquiries (bookings, workshops, press, commissions, rights): the “Get in touch” form at https://taheradel.com/#biography

## Elsewhere

- [Instagram: @wordsbytaher](https://www.instagram.com/wordsbytaher)
- [X: @wordsbytaher](https://x.com/wordsbytaher)
- [Facebook: poetrybytaher](https://www.facebook.com/poetrybytaher)
- [Substack: @taheradel](https://substack.com/@taheradel)