Spun From Air and Sunlight is a 56 year old Biology lecturer from the midlands, he rediscovered poetry as a way to express his feelings after the death of his wife in 2023 and passionately believes that behind the sadness this world is filled with, and driven by, the power of joy. When he discovered RoundView he was blown away to realise that it was the missing piece of the puzzle that lets humans understand how they fit into the wonderful network that is life on Earth.
John McAuliffe’s poetry collections with The Gallery Press include The Way In (2015), winner of the Michael Hartnett Award; ]The Kabul Olympics (2020), Selected Poems (20220 and National Theatre (2026). John is Professor of Poetry at the University of Manchester, where he founded the Centre for New Writing with novelist Ian McGuire and is also Associate Publisher at Carcanet Press. In Jan 2026 he was appointed as Associate Vice-President (Cultural Portfolio) at the University. John has led the creative development of poetry as pedagogy for the RoundView, crafting poems into teaching tools and mentoring the team to develop their ability to blend words and meaning.
Ali Al-Jamri is a Bahraini writer and poet based in the UK. He was one of three inaugural Manchester Multilingual City Poets, 2022-2024 In this role he was commissioned to translate RoundView poems into Arabic, working with a team of multi-lingual poets and researchers at the University of Manchester. He is a member of Young Identity and mentored by Commonword, BBC Words First 2020 semi-finalist, and new Writing North Arabic Translation mentee, 2021. He is currently working on an Arts Council England-funded project: The Legend of the Loom: The Weavers’ Debate.
He has translated RoundView poems into Arabic. He has worked with the team on developing our understanding of poetry as pedagogy and how multi-lingual poetry helps us to learn.
Jamie has contributed to the development of RoundView approach, learning tools and poetry since 2019, starting with archival research to inform the Unintended Consequences exhibition at Quarry Bank, National Trust. As a Research Associate in Planning Property and Environmental Management at The University of Manchester, he was seconded to UNESCO Manchester City of Literature, testing and developing the RoundView in libraires and civic spaces. His past research focused on the medical and environmental history of Quarry Bank Mill.
Rody has translated RoundView poems into Scottish Gaelic, and has worked with the team on developing our understanding of poetry as pedagogy and how multi-lingual poetry helps us to learn.
Mariana has translated RoundView poems into Spanish, and has worked with the team on developing our understanding of poetry as pedagogy and how multi-lingual poetry helps us to learn.
Tawona has translated RoundView poems into Shona, and has worked with the team on developing our understanding of poetry as pedagogy and how multi-lingual poetry helps us to learn.
Jing’s research is focused on intercultural experiences and learning. Her PhD is titled: Understanding Chinese International Students’ Interculturality through Their Narrativised Sojourn Experiences in the UK.
She has translated RoundView poems into Urdu, and has worked with the team on developing our understanding of poetry as pedagogy and how multi-lingual poetry helps us to learn.
Iris is currently in secondary school. He is especially interested in the arts and drama. He has contributed to the development of the RoundView from an early age, testing and giving feedback on each iteration of the puzzles. During the COVID lockdown he helped prototype the first three-dimensional learning tools for the RoundView, drawing pictures and helping write the original poem: Building Block of Life.
Junyi is a PhD researcher. She worked with the team on a Flexible Learning Pilot, exploring scaling up RoundView learning across the University of Manchester, and has contributed to both the learning design, developing and testing workshop processes, and analysis of feedback.
Ishnoor is a Sustainability Champion and Volunteering Programme Support Assistant for the Student Union at the University of Manchester. She is coordinating RoundView student volunteers, liaising with libraries, museums and students to create opportunities for learning across Greater Manchester.
Anjum Malik is an established scriptwriter, poet, performer, and senior lecturer in creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University who has written several much-acclaimed original plays for BBC, ITV and theatre. Her first languages were Urdu, American English and Panjabi; born of Pakistani parents in Saudi Arabia; she was multilingual and international before she could walk.
She has translated RoundView poems into Urdu, and has worked with the team on developing our understanding of poetry as pedagogy and how multi-lingual poetry helps us to learn.
Bertony Louis is a Haitian poet whose work bridges cultures, languages, and continents. He is the author of Recovering the Horizons (L’Appeau Strophe, 2022) and the widely anthologized poems “Cradle of My Vitality” and “Smile Gone Up in Smoke” (Harvard Review, 2025). Winner of thirteen international poetry awards — including the Castello di Duino Poesia Special Jury Prize and the École de la Loire First Prize — his poetry has been recognized across Europe, North America, and the Caribbean.
He has translated RoundView poems into French, and has worked with the team on developing our understanding of poetry as pedagogy and how multi-lingual poetry helps us to learn.