About
I am a poet, performer and cultural producer working across two central strands. The first is long-form and performance poetry addressing violence against women and girls (VAWG), drawn from lived experience of abduction and sexual violence. The second is Sindhi heritage: Language, Partition, Displacement / Loss of homeland. I explore this through poetry, performance and community work. Both my families left Hyderabad, Sindh, around Partition. Alongside my writing I produce participatory South Asian literary and heritage events under Sindh Arts UK, and I am studying for an MA at the Poetry School.
Writing & publications
My work has appeared in anthologies and journals including Third Space (Renard Press, 2024) and Remembrance (Renard Press, 2025), both collections of South Asian poets; Muse India (Issue 126, “Contemporary Sindhi Literature,” 2026); iamb ~ wave 22 (2025); Hyderabad & Beyond (N A Baloch Institute of Heritage Research, 2025); Poems from the Washing Lines (Rawanee Creatives & Qisetna, 2025); the Moon Things catalogue (Jyoti Bharwani Paint Spaces Gallery, 2025); Between the Lines (City Lit, 2022); Form Lab (The Poetry School, 2023) and Live Canon 2025 Competition Anthology.
Recognition
My poem “on the bald hill” has been nominated for the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem (2026) and the Pushcart Prize (2026). Longlisted: the National Poetry Competition (2023); Long Poem Magazine (2023); the Bridport Prize, placing in the top 9% (2023); Bad Betty (2022); and the Emma Press pamphlet longlist (2024). Shortlisted: the Malorie Blackman Scholarship (2022–23) and The Rialto Centenary Edition (2023).
Performance
I perform my work widely, often in long-form pieces addressing VAWG and Partition. Selected performances include Coventry Cathedral (featured poet for the anniversary of Partition); the World Sindhi Congress’s 36th Annual Conference (2024); a Sindhi Mushairo (2025); the Sindhi Association of North America’s first international conference (2026); the Club for Acts and Actors, Covent Garden, performing “The Rape” from Kissed Do Not Tell; Brighton Dome (International Women’s Day 2024); a UN 16 Days of Activism survivors’ event in Soho (2023); a UN VAWG charity event performing inside a boxing ring in a church to raise awareness(2025); and Renard Press’s fifth birthday at St Mary’s, Islington (2025).
Work in production
My poem “The Rape,” from Kissed Do Not Tell, is being set to music by Portuguese composer Nuno da Rocha during his London residency, supported by an Ibermúsicas grant and hosted by Fabricio Mattos of Worldwide Guitar Connections. I continue to develop collaborations with musicians to bring my poetry into performance with live music.
Current project
I am delivering Voices of Wandsworth: South Asian Poetry, Heritage & Community Gathering, a participatory event using poetry, oral history and live audience data to reflect and connect the diverse identities of Wandsworth residents, as part of South Asian Heritage Month 2026. It is supported by Wandsworth Council’s London Borough of Culture Legacy Heritage Grants programme and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with partners including the Third Space network and Renard Press.
Links
Poetry profile (iamb): https://www.iamb.uk/wave/22-rishika-williams
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rishikathepoet/