Everything I learnt from your hands
Anila brings heritage and home, family and alienation to her first pamphlet collection.
These poems speak with the strong distinct voice of a Pakistani woman too often othered, too often left on the outside but bolstered by heritage, deep family roots and the strength of of other women.
‘In this ticking and distinctive debut Arshad-Mehmood harnesses repetition and showcases sonic power. These are poems of argument, agreement and ancestry, sisters, sisterhood and silences.’ Hetty Cliss
Anila Arshad-Mehmood
Anila (she/her) is a Pakistani writer who has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Brighton. Her debut pamphlet collection, Everything I learnt from your hands was published in January 2026.
Her work has featured online at IAMB poetry and REWRITE Reads and she has been a featured poet with Flight of the Dragonfly. Anila writes about identity, diaspora, family, mental health and nostalgia. Anila is based in southeast England but loves to travel and will happily visit anywhere new. Her favourite interests are cultural insights, theatre, new books (with the smell of old books), great coffee, cats, and trying something that scares her, like skydiving. She dislikes punctuation.
Author portrait © Anila Arshad-Mehmood