Poet Farah Ghafoor Credit: Photo supplied by Farah Ghafoor
Farah Ghafoor is the author of Shadow Price (House of Anansi, 2025). Selections from her debut book won the E.J. Pratt Medal and Prize in Poetry, and were finalists for the CBC Poetry Prize and the Far Horizons Award.
Her work appears in art exhibitions, magazines, anthologies, and post-secondary course curriculums.
Born in New York to Pakistani parents, Farah grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick and Windsor, Ontario, graduating from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Management and Accounting. Farah resides in Tkaranto (Toronto) where she writes about the intersection of climate change, colonialism, and capitalism.
Shadow Price book cover Credit: Farah Ghafoor website
Farah and I start by discussing the title of her debut book of poems, Shadow Price. Farah explains what a shadow price is and why capitalism demands that everything have a price placed upon it — like the whale in her poem, The Whale.
Farah shares why she decided to tackle the climate crisis and the loss of Mother Earth's biodiversity through introspective poems. Our discussion then interrogates capitalism’s narratives before Farah reads, The Whistleblower, and shares her inspiration for the poem and why whistleblowers need real protections.
Iranian-Canadian poet Hollay Ghadery (left) with Pakistani-Canadian poet Farah Ghafoor (right) at Hamilton Gritlit in April 2025 Credit: Photo provided by Hollay Ghadery
Shadow Price pushes readers to contemplate their own power and purpose in a world that is under attack from capitalist greed while encouraging folks to find hope in a sustainable future despite living in the midst of the climate crisis.
Farah explains why poetry is the medium that’s able to reflect the impacts of capitalism, colonialism, and extractivism before discussing the importance of poetry and giving listeners something to look forward to — her next projects.
*Farah Ghafoor will be hosting a poetry workshop at the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre — 51 Stuart St., Hamilton, on Thursday, August 28 from 6 to 9 pm. Words at Work: Labour Poetry with Farah Ghafoor offers a mix of close readings and creative prompts allowing participants the chance to write and share their own work. Register for the free event here!
Find Farah on:
Her website
Hollay Ghadery website
Rupi Kaur website
Thanks to everyone who read today’s article and listened to my podcast. With your financial support, a little Nicoll can make a lot of change.
You can also find my work in herizons, rabble.ca and on my Wix site. Follow me on Instagram, X @doreennicoll61, Bluesky @nicollneedschange and Facebook.
Music: Real Estate by UNIVERSFIELD is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License. freemusicarchive.org.
*Be sure to download the Substack app to get the most from your podcast experience.
