Mohammad Ali Maleki

Mohammad Ali Maleki is an Iranian poet and avid gardener who has been living in detention on Manus Island for five years. His poetry, written in Farsi, is translated into English by fellow detainee Mansour Shoshtari. Mohammad uses his mobile phone to send his poems to friends in Australia who help to edit, share, and publish them. In 2016 Mohammad’s poem “The Strong Sunflower” was the impetus for, and first work published on, Verity La’s  Discoursing Diaspora project. Since then, his writing has been published by many online literary journals, and he has written a chapbook, Truth in the Cage (Verity La and Rochford Street Press, 2018). His poem “Brother” was  made into a poetic film by documentary filmmaker Siân Darling. Despite living in extreme conditions, Mohammad continues to create poetry, saying “You can find my whole life in my poems, like a letter to God.”