The Poetry Translation Centre is thrilled to announce the book tours of our Arabic-language poets. This will be a summer packed full of poetry events with Mona Kareem for her book I Will Not Fold These Maps (translated by Sara Elkamel) and Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi for A Friend’s Kitchen (translated by Bryar Bajalan and Shook), both separately and together.
TOUR DATES
2 July: Shubbak Festival: A Friend’s Kitchen – An Intimate Stroll with the poet and friends
with Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi, Bryar Bajalan, and Shook
The PTC and Shubbak Festival present an intimate stroll with Sudanese poet Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi as he recites poetry from Queensway underground to the site of what was until recently the Saqi Bookshop, a landmark of Arabic literature.
3 July: PTC Workshop: Translating Arabic poetry by Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi
with Bryar Bajalan, Shook, and Helen Bowell
PTC in-person poetry translation workshop led by poet Helen Bowell in translating lyric poems of exile and connection by Sudanese poet Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi with his translators Bryar Bajalan and Shook.
4 July: Shubbak Festival: I Will Not Fold These Maps
with Mona Kareem, Sara Elkamel, and Nashwa Nasreldin
This will be a powerful event of bilingual readings by Kareem and her translator, Sara Elkamel, discussion of timely, ever-present and universal themes, and celebrating the wonder of language and the possibilities of poetry to convey the most difficult experiences, hosted by editor and translator, Nashwa Nasreldin.
6 July: Poetry London Summer Issue Launch
with Mona Kareem
London’s premier contemporary poetry magazine, Poetry London, launches its Summer 2023 issue at Foyles with readings from Mona Kareem, Jay Bernard and more.
7 July: Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi with Africa Writes, Exeter
with Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi, Bryar Bajalan, and Shook
Join us in Exeter to hear Al-Raddi and his translators Bryar Bajalan and Shook reading from this newly published poetry collection as part of Africa Writes Festival, followed by a conversation about collaboration, writing processes and A Friend’s Kitchen’s powerful engagement with exile and displacement.
9 July: A Celebration of Poetry and Translation at Ledbury Poetry Festival
with Mona, Sara, Saddiq, Bryar, and Shook
Join the poets and their translators for a morning of moving bilingual readings and in-depth exploration of their work as part of Ledbury Poetry Festival.
10 July: Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi and Friends at the Mosaic Rooms
with Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi, Bryar Bajalan, Shook, and Stephen Watts
Al-Raddi will be joined by poets Bryar Bajalan and Shook, who will speak about the experience of translating his work alongside the readings. Special guests will include the afterword contributor to A Friend’s Kitchen, Stephen Watts, one of the most influential and respected poets who has championed translation in the UK for the last forty years.
15 July: I Will Not Fold These Maps – Liverpool Arab Arts Festival
with Mona Kareem and Nashwa Nasreldin
This will be a powerful event of bilingual readings in Arabic and English, and discussion of timely, ever-present and universal themes, celebrating the wonder of language and the possibilities of poetry to convey the most difficult experiences, as Kareem is joined in conversation with her editor, Nashwa Nasreldin.
23 July: My Art, My Activism at Poetry International
with Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi and Bryar Bajalan
Join host Aaron Kent – poet and editor of Broken Sleep Books – and poets Khairani Barokka, Lidija Dimkovska and Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi as they discuss the process of being a writer with a strong commitment to fostering a better world.
