Hasan Namir
Hasan Namir
Biography
Iraqi-Canadian author Hasan Namir graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BA in English and received the Ying Chen Creative Writing Student Award. He is the author of God in Pink (2015), which won the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Fiction and was chosen as one of the Top 100 Books of 2015 by The Globe and Mail. His work has also been featured on Huffington Post, Shaw TV, Airbnb, in the film God in Pink: A Documentary, Breakfast Television Toronto, CTV Morning Live Saskatoon. He was recently named a writer to watch by CBC books. He is also the author of poetry book War/Torn (2019, Book*Hug Press), children's book The Name I Call Myself (2020, Arsenal Pulp Press) and Umbilical Cord (Book*Hug Press). Hasan lives in Vancouver with his husband and their child.
Poetics Statement
“As writers, we are always inspired by the life experiences that we go through; the traumas, the fears, and the excitement of it all. As a follow up poetry book to War/Torn, I have started working on a new collection of poems that focus solely on my experiences as a dad: my love story with Tarn, the surrogacy process, my relationship with the baby and my husband as we continue our journey as one family.
The collection, entitled Umbilical Cord, is somewhat a sequel follow-up to War/Torn. I’m steering away from religion and the struggle of reconciliation with identity. Rather, this poetry book will be focused on a love story that blossomed, triumphing over adversities and impossibilities. With the most selfless gift from our surrogate mom, we are so blessed and lucky that we are going to be dads Inshallah-Waheguru (Inshallah-Waheguru means God-Willing in Islam and Sikhism).
The poems will be written to chronicle the beginning of the surrogacy process, our desire to be dads, our journey through fatherhood and parenthood, the ups and downs, and lots of about Malek.
The first section will be focused on my love story with Tarn. In War/Torn, I had included some poems that were about my love for Tarn, but I felt like there could have been more. When I think of War/Torn, I think of all the struggles that I’ve experienced. When I think of my life with Tarn, I forget about these struggles. I knew that in the new poetry book, that will be my focus the love story of a man and a man and a baby.
The second section will be poems during when our surrogate mom is pregnant, our excitement, our fears, our ups and downs, and the experiences we cherish.
The third section, I will be writing once I’m on parental leave as I will be taking care of Malek with my husband. I want it to focus on Malek, our journey together as family. I want to evoke all the feels.
As a daddy writer to be, I urge every parent to be able to write about their experiences and share it with the world. Your experiences will be unique and will offer a personal glimpse into your parenthood journey. As a daddy writer to be, I pray that God protects our child from any harm. Little do they know how much their daddies are excited to meet them.
This is the story of a man + man + a baby.”
Sample of Poet's Work
34 Weeks & 2 Days
It’s been two days
You and I trying to rest
on the waiting-room bed
It’s been two hours
Oxytocin flowing within her blood
“Get out!”
We understood her emotions
We kept our distance
Few hours passed
Her silence
and light screams
“She’s in active labour now.”
At 4:00 a.m., it was the loudest scream
We walked into the room
Cervix dilated
Slowly, Malek’s head
He arrived at 4:09 a.m.
A surreal feeling
Half-awake-half-asleep
Seemingly lifeless flesh
Surrounded by nurses
Together, as the intended parents,
We cut the umbilical cord
The flesh had a soul
Industrial Scissors
It took years to heal
I tried to walk down the forest
Full of prickles, impossible
to move forward
The choice was in my hands
I had to pave the way.
I glanced behind and saw Tarn
Industrial scissors in hand
Together we cut through the prickles
Our way became clear
I threw the pills in the garbage
I never looked back
I found myself
“34 Weeks & 2 Days”, “If I Hadn’t Met You”, “Industrial Scissors” from Umbilical Cord © 2021 by Hasan Namir. Used with permission of Book*hug Press.
If I Hadn’t Met You
Tarn, my Tarnooshi,
Among the hundreds of nicknames I have for you
If I hadn’t met you, what would’ve happened?
Before meeting you, I was on the verge
I was going to marry a woman
start a family with her
Live a double life, secret unspoken lies
You would’ve lived in Philadelphia
Become a lawyer
We wouldn’t have met
You would’ve ended up
with whoever
And I would’ve lived
another lie, another life
If I hadn’t met you,
I would’ve been lost.