Lara Valquez Biography

Rita Pal, writing as Lara Valquez, is a UK-based poet and former NHS psychiatrist whose work draws deeply from lived experience — especially the silence, isolation, and racism she faced in her youth. Poetry began as her means of survival during a turbulent teenage life. Over time, it became a vehicle for truth-telling, defiance, and transformation.

Her early poems, many first published here, were raw sketches of pain, identity, and resistance. Now, years later, she returns to those pieces with a clearer voice and a sharper pen — not to forget the past, but to reimagine it with power.

Her poetry has been recognised with multiple awards, including:

Second Prize, North American Poetry Competition (1997)

Runner-Up, National Poetry Library Contest (1998)

Second Prize, Faber & Faber National Poetry Day Contest (1999)

First Prize, Faber & Faber National Poetry Day - Sutton Coldfield (2000)

Fourth Place, Jazzclaw Poetry Competition (2002)

Themes of injustice, memory, and emotional resilience continue to shape her voice. With each rewritten poem, she invites the reader to witness her journey — from silence to reclamation.

This space is being gradually updated with reimagined versions of her earlier work.