Poets in Lockdown
Date and time: Saturday, June 13, 5 to 6:30 pm British Summer Time (UTC+1)
Register here.
Event will cover topics ranging from family, war, being an Arab woman poet, & how life has been affected during this period of isolation.
Sponsored by Arab Women Artists Now (AWAN).
AWAN Xtra is our way of keeping in touch with our community during these difficult times. Featuring Arab Women artists from the UK and beyond, join us as we bridge the social distance with arts, performances and special events.
We’ll be hosting and interviewing some of our favorite inspiring and creative minds over the coming months. Keep an eye on www.awan.org.uk for more program announcements featuring talks, performances, workshops and master classes.
Our first event is Poets in Lockdown and will feature live performances from four female poets. The artists will cover a range of topics ranging from family, war, being an Arab woman poet, and how life has been affected during this period of isolation.
This performance will be followed by a Q&A session.
Please note that all performances will be in English.
Lineup:
- Amina Atiq is a Yemeni–Scouse writer, performance artist and activist. Atiq’s work explores the conflict and beauty of her dual identity, taking us on a journey to her heartland, Yemen, and her homeland, Liverpool. She is currently producing and writing her first one-woman show, exploring a 1970s Yemeni- British household to untangle what it means to belong.
- Nur Turkmani is a Lebanese-Syrian researcher based in Beirut, working on economic development, gender, and secularism in the Middle East. She is an editor at large at Rusted Radishes: Beirut’s Art and Literary Journal, and her poetry and writing have been published in Juxtaprose magazine, The International Poetry Review, Sukoon, the New Arab, London Poetry, Eclectica, and others.
- Sima Qunsol is a Jordanian writer. She currently works as a costume assistant in the film industry and is trying to learn how to use a sewing machine. She serves as an editor at large for Rusted Radishes: Beirut Literary and Art Journal. Her work can be found in the anthologies And We Chose Everything and Arab Women Voice New Realities.
- Maha Ahmed received her MFA in Poetry from the University of Oregon and her BA in International Studies from DePaul University. She is Egyptian by birth but has lived most of her life between Qatar and the US. Her work often explores daughterhood, identity-related grief, and privileged displacement.
- Yomn Al-Kaisi (moderator and curator) is an Iraqi-Palestinian Londoner. She currently works as a researcher for an NGO focused on civilian rights in the Middle East and North Africa. In the past, she has performed poems exploring grief, love, and identity at various venues including Arab Women Artists Now, the Mela Festival and others. She has an MSc in Middle East Politics from SOAS, University of London.
We continue our work, which is needed as ever, together with you!
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