Poetry as Intimacy in the Age of Swipe Culture: Award-Winning Literary Artist Maryam Ghouth Presents I Ask My Being

New chapbook reframes Valentine’s Day through presence, self-inquiry, and reflective poetry

UNITED KINGDOM, February 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As Valentine’s Day continues to mirror the speed and transactional nature of modern digital culture, award-winning British literary artist Maryam Imogen Ghouth introduces I Ask My Being: Reflective Poems on Staying True, a chapbook that invites readers to rediscover intimacy through self-awareness and presence. At a time when swiping and instant exchange shape contemporary relationships, the work challenges audiences to look inward and reconsider what it means to be seen and loved authentically.

Valentine’s Day, increasingly shaped by rapid digital interaction, often reduces connection to symbolic gestures rather than lived experience. I Ask My Being responds to this cultural shift by exploring the quieter question beneath the spectacle: Can you love me as I am? Through fifteen reflective poems, Ghouth examines identity, contradiction, and vulnerability, encouraging readers to confront the inner self beyond performance.
“In a swipe-driven culture that often confuses connection with immediacy, I Ask My Being invites readers to slow down and rediscover intimacy as an act of presence—first with oneself, and then with another,” said Maryam Imogen Ghouth.

The chapbook originated in 2019, a pivotal moment when Ghouth embraced her creative calling after years of resistance. Written from the perspective of a thoughtful sceptic wary of simplistic self-help narratives, the collection reflects on befriending time in a culture of immediacy, welcoming mistakes as catalysts for growth, and allowing doubt and contradiction to coexist within the creative process.
“Living by one’s values demands the surrender of old habits and identities, along with the courage to confront less agreeable qualities and risk rejection in pursuit of a more meaningful path,” Ghouth added.

Today, Ghouth’s work spans written, audio, and visual poetry, earning more than twenty international awards across literature and poetry film. Her writing has appeared in journals and anthologies including The Poet, Sky Island, and the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award Anthology, while collaborations with luxury brands such as Mercedes G-Class and Jumeirah Group have brought poetry into contemporary cultural campaigns. Her poetry films—including Not Alone—have screened at museums, arthouses, and 39 international festivals, from the Art Museum of Nanjing University to Cinema Akil, DIFC Art Week, and the Sydney Short Film Biennale.

Beyond the chapbook, Ghouth is currently completing a dystopian novella exploring animal cruelty, a series of pensées on depersonalisation, and two satirical novelettes. Upcoming projects include humorous poetry inspired by Wendy Cope, nature-driven explorations of human behaviour, walking meditations on cosmic science, and Envy, a multidisciplinary gallery-based body of work spanning photography, film, installation, and painting.
Whether encountered within relationships, during the search for love, or through chosen solitude, I Ask My Being reframes Valentine’s Day as an invitation to presence rather than cliché—suggesting that intimacy begins with attention to the self before it can meaningfully extend toward another.

This Valentine’s Day, gift something that cannot be rushed; gift poetry by Maryam Imogen Ghouth: https://amzn.eu/d/5MTzLGb

About Maryam Imogen Ghouth

Maryam Imogen Ghouth is an award-winning British literary artist working across poetry, film, and multidisciplinary art. A recipient of more than twenty international awards, her work explores identity, presence, and the human condition through written, audio, and visual forms. Her poetry and films have been featured in global festivals, cultural institutions, and brand-led social initiatives, positioning her as a distinctive contemporary voice bridging literature and visual storytelling.


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