An international anti-racism poetry movement co-founded by Manjit Sahota has endorsed the debut poetry collection by Saida Chowdhury called "Broken Minds".

Poets Against Racism is a collective group of performers who challenge, discuss and confront racism through their own unique forms of art.  Poets Against Racism encourage people from all over the world to fight racism, bigotry and Islamphobia expressively through the powerful artform that is poetry.

Saida Chowdhury, who was born in Bangladesh, grew up in London, got  married and moved to Birmingham and is the mother of two teenage boys, is preparing to publish her first poetry collection called "Broken Minds".  She has been quietly crafting her work for over 20 years.  Only recently has she found the courage to share her deeply personal and evocative poetry with the world.  Her writing, spanning themes of racial discrimination in the post 9/11 era, love, grief, loss and mental health, is both raw and profound.

Sureena Brackenridge MP, who has written the foreword to the book, says:

"This collection is a testament to her resilience - a journey from brokeness to healing and ultimately to empowerment.  Saida`s work is not just about personal catharsis; it is a beacon for others navigating their own struggles.  She is deeply committed to the idea of women empowering women and is using her voice to break down barriers, particularly around the stigma of mental health within the Asian community".

The mission for Poets Against Racism is for performers all over the world to perform locally under the banner of Poets Against Racism so that they can spread the message of absolutely zero tolerance for racism and bigotry.  

"We wish to spread love, peace and positivity between everybody regardless of race, colour, creed, gender or sexual orientation through the enjoyment of live performance" said Manjit Sahota.  

The definition of poetry is widened from singing, rapping, spoken word, writing, comedy and any other creative ways that entails expression with words.  

Reviewing "Broken Minds" Manjit Sahota said:

"Broken Minds is a unique and fascinating collection of poems, a very interesting concept of creating a positive out of something that was once broken.

Saida can write poems that seem both personal and universal at the same time, it’s her story but it will connect with so many

Saida is a powerful, uncompromising poet with a mission to tell her story.
This is a great collection, painful, honest, brutal but hits the mark.

The poems leave you with a feeling that through struggle, fightback and resistance, we can grow stronger.

A powerful voice in the poetry world."

Saida Chowdhury is currently in the process of building a website and charting her marketing campaign for the launch of her book.

"I am very grateful to Manjit Sahota and Poets Against Racism" said Saida. "For twenty years I just journalled away in my exercise books never sharing my poetry with anybody.  Only 10 weeks ago  in Wolverhampton,  at a spoken word event,  I was invited to share some of my poetry and it resonated with so many people.  I just want to empower people with my words.  If I can help just one person through the power of poetry then it will all have been worth it".