Alycia Pirmohamed - Shorelines
Memory, migration and the selves we become
Attendance options:
We are absolutely delighted to welcome Alycia Pirmohamed back to the bookshop for a celebration of her latest book, Shorelines: Memory, migration and the selves we become. Thrumming with poetic vitality and questions about the legacies of migration, Shorelines is Pirmohamed's Nan Shepherd Prize-winning non-fiction debut.
This very special Edinburgh launch will take place two weeks before the book is published, so attendees will have the unique chance to hear about it and get their hands on a copy before anyone else!
Join us in the shop for a discussion, where you'll have the chance to ask Alycia a question, and get your book signed and personalised.
About Shorelines:
As a young Muslim woman Alycia Pirmohamed grew up with her body as racialised and her faith as seemingly dangerous Her affinity to the natural world - the mountains, elk and pines of her childhood - conflicted with feelings that she was unwelcome in these landscapes. By contrast, the stories of her parents' homeland - the monsoon winds, red clay roads and abundant korosho trees - felt painfully distant.
Across interrelated pieces that move from Midwestern Canada to East Africa, the Pacific Northwest to the British Isles, the award-winning poet traces the legacies of migration and memory on her life, examining the idea of homeland and the mythmaking it demands. She creatively resists the expectations of nature writing and memoir, at times choosing to withhold as much as she reveals.
Shorelines moves from lavender skies to lighthouses, from surefooted ideas to liminal spaces. It asks what it means to carry hidden histories across borders and generations - and how losing family can mean losing the place they are from too. Above all, it explores how place and identity intertwine, and how our choices, our actions and the ways we build community shape us into who we become.
Please note: Tickets for our events are non-refundable. Professional photography and videography may take place during this event. Thank you for your understanding.
Participants:
Alycia Pirmohamed Author
Alycia Pirmohamed is the author of the poetry collection Another Way to Split Water, and a part of the nature writing project, Field Notes Collective. Her nonfiction debut A Beautiful and Vital Place won the 2023 Nan Shepherd Prize and is forthcoming with Canongate in 2026. Alycia currently teaches on the Creative Writing master’s at the University of Cambridge.
The venue
The Portobello Bookshop
46 Portobello High Street
Edinburgh
EH15 1DA
Telephone: 0131 629 6756
Website: www.theportobellobookshop.com
Wheelchair Access
We have a ramp at the front of the shop which has a ratio of 1:10 and loading capacity of 300kg, and so should be able to be used by most wheelchair users or those with mobility vehicles. The front doors are fully automated. Our shop interior is designed to allow access throughout for wheelchair users and prams, though please note there is only 700mm wide clearance to access the staff toilet.
Sound
We use a PA system to enhance the audio at our live events. We also have a hearing loop system installed, if you’d like to use our loop system during an event please let us know and we’ll make sure we have it set up and connected to the live audio feed during the event. If you wish to attend an event and require BSL interpretation, please give us a few weeks notice and we’ll do our best to arrange an interpreter.