Poetry can move the soul – but can it change minds? Hussain Manawer thinks so. The east London-based poet and campaigner uses the spoken word to campaign on issues from mental health to climate change. "I try to write poetry for the betterment of human life," says Manawer, 26.
A former shop worker, Manawer started posting comedy videos to YouTube in 2014. He developed a following, but it felt hollow. "It didn't excite me," he says. "I came to a point in my life where I thought, 'You know what? I want to make things more meaningful.'"Through his poetry ("Mentally we have become detached from ourselves and society / Tell me it's OK not to be OK, but don't tell me quietly") he began to use the platform to talk about social issues. "I really need people to understand it, to feel it - all within three minutes." It worked: to date, Manawer's performances have clocked up more than a million views, and he has landed commissions from London's Night Tube and education giant Pearson. He's opened for Ellie Goulding, and appeared with Hollywood stars such as Kevin Hart.
But awareness, he says, is just the start. "It's solutions-based. It's 'Now, what can we do?'" As such, Manawer has collaborated with King's College London to develop a lesson plan for young people about dealing with depression, anxiety and schizophrenia, and is organising a mental-health summit in London in 2017. "I'm trying to be more creative with my solutions," he says. He cites plans for a pop-up barbershop (tentative title: Hairapy) where customers can speak to a therapist after their cut, helping to overcome the stigma of referrals.
But the final frontier? Space. In 2018, Manawer will travel into orbit as a private astronaut – a prize for winning a global competition run by the talent agency Kruger Crowne and the nonprofit One Young World. He's dedicating the space trip to further his campaigning. "If I can provide support and create a care network for people," he says, "using YouTube, using poetry - that excites me."
Manawer performed at last year's WIRED Next Generation. Relive the event below.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
