UpdateBot at 11:31, 24 April 2022

2022-04-24T11:31:00Z

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{{short description|Indian-British writer and poet}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox person
| name = Kuli Kohli
| birth_date = 1970
| birth_place = [[Uttar Pradesh]], India
| nationality = Indian-British
| citizenship = British
| education =
| alma_mater =
| occupation = writer, poet and novelist
| known_for = ''Patchwork'' (2016)
| spouse =
| children = 3
| relatives =
| website = {{url|http://www.kulikohli.co.uk}}
}}
'''Kuli Kohli''' (born 1970) is an Indian-British disabled writer, poet, social activist and council worker of Punjabi descent. She is known for her literary works and has conducted several live performances. She was born with [[cerebral palsy]], and confronts difficulties with handwriting, speaking, walking and hearing in her performances.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Author will explore Punjabi women's experiences after the Partition of India at event in Oswestry|url=https://www.bordercountiesadvertizer.co.uk/news/17528619.author-kuli-kohli-set-visit-oswestry-homefront-heroines-talk/|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Border Counties Advertizer|language=en}}</ref>

== Biography ==
Kuli (short for Kuldip) Kohli was born in 1970 in a rural remote village in the state of [[Uttar Pradesh]], Northern India. She was born as the eldest child in her family and her birth was regarded as a curse in the typical Indian society which prefer a boy rather than a girl. It was also revealed that she was born with cerebral palsy and the neighbours suggested her parents to throw the child in the river. Kuli was almost thrown into the river until her father intervened physically to save her life.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Growcott|first=Matthew|title=Punjabi poet saved from being thrown into the river as a child talks culture, disability and Ironbridge's Festival of Imagination|url=https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/telford/ironbridge/2019/08/19/i-was-like-a-lifeless-ragdoll-as-a-baby-punjabi-poet-saved-from-being-thrown-into-the-river-as-a-child-talks-culture-disability-and-ironbridges-festival-of-imagination/|access-date=2020-11-02|website=www.shropshirestar.com|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|date=2020-08-29|title='They wanted to drown me at birth - now I'm a poet'|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-53749629|access-date=2020-11-02}}</ref>

She along with her family migrated to the UK in 1973 when she was just two and a half years old.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Offa's Press, promoting contemporary poetry and poets {{!}} Kuli Kohli|url=https://offaspress.co.uk/poets/kuli-kohli/|access-date=2020-11-02|website=offaspress.co.uk}}</ref> She joined the Penn Hall Special School at the age of 3. She faced humiliation at her secondary school as she was referred by her schoolmates as handicapped. She also struggled to communicate with her friends at school and was also advised by her teachers to learn to handwrite. However Kohli left her school at the age of 16 after failing to obtain the required grades in most of her [[GCSE]] examinations.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tate|first=Leslie|date=2020-09-21|title=POETRY, WRITING GROUPS AND CEREBRAL PALSY|url=https://leslietate.com/2020/09/11037/|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Leslie Tate|language=en-GB}}</ref>

== Career ==
She was enrolled in a youth training scheme after dropping out of school. After her marriage, she became a council worker in [[Wolverhampton]]. She pursued her career as a poet in around 2013 after being influenced by Simon Fletcher who was a literate development officer at Wolverhampton library. Simon mentored her for her poetry works and Kuli Kohli wrote a poetry titled ''Patchwork'' which was published in 2016 by Offa's Press.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Patchwork|url=https://www.goodreads.com/work/best_book/74326345-patchwork|access-date=2020-11-02|website=www.goodreads.com}}</ref> She released a collection of her poetry titled ''The Rag Doll'' in 2013 and was published in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Poetry: Kuli Kohli: Rag Doll - disability arts online|url=http://www.disabilityartsonline.org.uk/kuli-kohli-rag-doll|access-date=2020-11-02|website=www.disabilityartsonline.org.uk}}</ref> She revealed that she was inspired to write a poem titled ''The Rag Doll'' as she was used to have a big [[rag doll]] during her childhood.

She established the Punjabi Women's Writing Group in the Black Country to empower Punjabi women in [[Wolverhampton]], UK. She assists Blackenhall Writers' Group, and writes blog posts as a regular contributor for Disability Arts Online.<ref name=":0" />

In 2017, she gave her first live performance in stage about her work ''I have a dream'' which was a 15-minute set of poetry.<ref name=":1" /> In March 2020, she wrote a poem titled ''Black Country Wonder Woman'' for the Sandwell Stories/Stories I solation project after a request from Multi story commission. She wrote her debut novel ''Dangerous Games'' based on living with the celebral palsy in an Asian family. Her life story featured on [[BBC]] News homepage on 29 August 2020 titled ''They wanted to drown me at birth - now I'm a poet''.<ref name=":1" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kohli, Kuli}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century British women writers]]
[[Category:Indian women poets]]
[[Category:Indian women writers]]
[[Category:Indian women novelists]]
[[Category:British women poets]]
[[Category:British women novelists]]
[[Category:Indian expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian writers]]
[[Category:People from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:People from Wolverhampton]]
[[Category:1970 births]]

Kuli Kohli - Revision history

UpdateBot at 11:31, 24 April 2022