First-ever poet laureate appointed to showcase city

Akshay Sharma said it was an incredible honour to be given the role

Leicester's first-ever poet laureate has been appointed to promote the city and champion poetry.

Akshay Sharma, known professionally as Mr Shay, was selected by an independent panel of judges and will serve a two-year term until September 2027.

Leicester Poetry Committee, which was behind the initiative, announced the news on Ben Jackson's show on BBC Radio Leicester on Monday, adding Mr Shay will be "an ambassador for the arts".

The 32-year-old said it was an incredible honour and hoped to provide everyone access to poetry, especially young people who struggled with literacy, writing and reading.

'Poetry is for all'

Mr Shay, from the Belgrave area in the city, who has been a professional poet and musician for more than 10 years, offers creative workshops in the community, including schools.

He has previously created poetry and spoken word for An Indian Summer, Cosmopolitan Arts Festival, Shambala Festival and most recently a spoken word short film for the reopening of Leicester's Jewry Wall Museum.

He said: "Having this title as the first poet laureate of Leicester is huge and it comes with such big responsibility. I'm so grateful.

"My emphasis as poet laureate is to encourage and to make poetry the thing you can do.

"It's not foreign or weird. Poetry is for all and for me about creating access for everyone.

"Especially young people who, like me as a young person, struggled with literacy, writing and reading."

Mr Shay said he had also written a poem about Leicester's Golden Mile and later about the Foxes winning the Premier League in 2016.

"I feel like I've been doing the role, marking moments in Leicester and engaging with different communities," he said.

"It is about representing landmarks and what makes our city great."

The new role was created by a consortium of Leicester's leading poetry and spoken word organisations.

Ty'rone Haughton, of Leicester Poetry Committee, said having a poet laureate was an amazing platform for Leicester, and Mr Shay was shortlisted from four poets.

"Poets historically have always been able to timestamp where we are in history and where we are in contemporary moments, and our new poet laureate will be able to do that for the people of Leicester," he said.

"The judges said Akshay stood out for his ability to engage with all ages and backgrounds.

"He's a representative of Leicester and is able to grab audiences with his creative approach and talent."

Mo Panesar, a member of the committee, said Leicester had a "great literary history".

"There's so much going on within the poetry scene, and we just want to shine a light on that and provide a platform to nurture local voices," she added.

The committee added an official ceremonial event will take place next month.