Today in our poetry news round up we look at Tupac Shakur’s poetry up for auction, the anniversary of the death of Miguel Hernandez and the spoken word poet who has been nominated for an award.

Unpublished Childhood Poetry of Tupac Shakur Put up For Auction

When Tupac Shakur was just 11 years old, he penned a booklet filled with haikus for Jamal Joseph, his Black Panther godfather who was in prison. Now this booklet will be going up for auction with Sotheby’s. The poems in the booklet deal with the topics of masculinity, Black liberation, and a number of themes that he also explores in the work that he wrote as an adult. The booklet is signed “Tupac Shakur, Future Freedom Fighter.”

One of the most influential rappers to have ever lived, Tupac Shakur died at the age of 25 in 1996. He was the victim of a drive-by shooting.

The auction can be found under the title “The Art and Influence of Hip Hop”. It includes items from a number of other well known hip hop artists and a number of love letters that Shakur sent to his high school sweetheart. A guide price of $300,000 has been placed on the booklet.

80^th Anniversary of the Death of Famous Spanish Poet Commemorated

The 28^{th of} March 2022 marked the 80^th anniversary of the death of the poet Miguel Hernandez who was an acclaimed Spanish Civil War poet.

The poet was born in 1910 in Orihuela. He later became one of the most famous names on the Spanish poetry scene and formed a very important part of the Generation of ’36 was also known as the “Poet of Freedom”.

He was arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison, during which time he became ill with tuberculosis. He died on 28^th March 1942; he was just 31 years of age.

His conviction was annulled in 2007 by the Historical Memory Law – this is a law that was put in place to recognise victims of both sides of the Spanish Civil War. The Miguel Hernandez University in Elche has also accoladed him and this year celebrates its 25^th anniversary.

To commemorate the occasion the Miguel Hernandez Museum, which is in the poet’s birth town, Orihuela, will be putting on a number of workshops for children as well as some guided visits for schools and also a tribute concert.

Pablo Neruda the Noble Prize winning poet from Chile once quoted” Remembering Miguel Hernandez is a duty of Spain, a duty of love”.

Bradford Poet Nominated for National Diversity Award

Sharena Lee Satti, who is a spoken word poet from Bradford, has spent a lot of time working to promote the idea of inclusion through poetry. Now she has been nominated for the National Diversity Awards in the category of Role Model.

In 2020, her book “SHE” was published, and at the moment she is working on a second book which has been partially funded by the National Arts Council and is due to be published in 2023.

Sharena is one of the co-founders of the non-profit organisation, Spoke, which is helping to raise the profile of both the spoken word and poetry.