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CURRENT PROJECTS AND EVENTS

FOR REFUGEE WEEK EXILED WRITERS INK IN COLLABORATION WITH THE MEDICAL FOUNDATION FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE PRESENT:

BORDER WORDS:

4 Book Group Evenings FOR Refugee Week at Borders Bookshop, 203 Oxford Street, London W1D 2LE, at 7 pm

* Buy the book at Borders Bookshop
* Read the book
* Discuss the book with the writer and other people
* Coffee and refreshments
* Free
* Help with buying the books for asylum seekers
* Come to one book group evening or as many as you wish
* Let us know you are coming

Monday 9th June: Hamid Ismailov - The Railway, translated by Robert Chandler, published Vintage, 2007
Hamid Ismailov is an Uzbek journalist and writer who was forced to flee Uzbekistan in 1992. His works are banned in Uzbekistan. He has published numerous books in Uzbek, Russian, French, German, Turkish and other languages.

Wednesday 11th June: Yang Lian - RIDING PISCES: POEMS FROM FIVE COLLECTIONS, pub Shearsman, June 2008
After the Tiananmen Square massacre, Yang Lian became a poet of exile in New Zealand and Australia. He is one of China's most prominent poets.

Monday 16th June: Haifa Zangana - Women on a Journey between Baghdad and London, translated by Judy Cumberbatch, published Texas University Press, 2006
Haifa Zangana is a novelist and journalist and former prisoner of Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime.

Thursday 19th June: Sulaiman Addonia - The Consequences of Love, Chatto and Windus, July 2008
This is his debut novel. Sulaiman Addonia is a writer and academic who lived in Sudan and Saudi Arabia before coming to the UK in 1990 as an Eritrean refugee.


EXILED WRITERS INK MENTORING AND TRANSLATION SCHEME - YEAR 2 APPLICATIONS

Exiled Writers INK mentoring scheme- Year 2

Are you a writer forced to live in exile?

Are you finding it hard to get recognition and published in the UK?

Exiled Writers INK is running a mentoring scheme to match writers in exile with well known writers in the UK. You will work together intensively over a year, leading to publications/ readings and new opportunities. You do not have to have been previously published, or have a perfect level of English but you do need to be writing at a high level and ready to accept guidance and constructive criticism from your mentor. If you are interested, please send 10 poems or 2 short stories and a CV to:

NatTeitler@aol.com or Exiled Writers Ink Mentoring Scheme, 94 Beaufort Street, London SW3 6BU. Work will not be returned.

Deadline is June 18, 2008

Exiled Writers INK translation scheme

Are you a writer forced to live in exile?
Are you finding it hard to get translated and published in the UK?

Exiled Writers INK is running a scheme to match writers in exile with expert translators in the UK. You will work together intensively over a year, leading to publications/ readings and new opportunities. If you are interested please send a CV in English and 7-10 poems and 2 short stories in your own language to:

NatTeitler@aol.com or Exiled Writers Ink Mentoring Scheme, 94 Beaufort Street, London SW3 6BU. Work will not be returned.

Deadline is June 18, 2008

FUNDED BY THE ARTS COUNCIL


Exiled Writers Ink invites you to
The Grand Night of Exiled Writers
Tuesday 29th April 2008, 6.00- 9.30 pm

12 exciting, emerging exiled writers and the launch of their chap books
All participants in
Exiled Writers Ink Mentoring and Translation Scheme (Year 1)
The evening will take place at:
Amnesty International Human Rights Action Centre
17-25 New Inn Yard
London EC2A 3EA
6.00-9.30 pm
Music from exiled artists
Refreshments
Publishers welcome
Cost: £3
Shereen Pandit ( South Africa), Abol Froushan ( Iran), Ali Abdolrezaei ( Iran), Sofia Buchuck ( Peru), Vesna Ruzicka-Sehovic ( Sarajevo), Hasan Bamyani ( Afghanistan), Hassan Bahri (Syria), Samira Al Mana ( Iraq), Mir Mahfuz Ali ( Bangladesh), Shirin Razavian ( Iran), Bashir Al Gamar ( Sudan), Mogib Hassan ( Yemen)

Translators: Paul Starkey, Robert Chandler, Fathieh Saudi, Abol Froushan and Carole Angier
Mentors: Jacob Ross, Moniza Alvi, Graham Fawcett, Martina Evans
Further information: natteitler@aol.com & jennifer@exiledwriters.fsnet.co.uk

FUNDED BY THE ARTS COUNCIL

Review of the Grand Night in Arabic:click here.


Wednesday 19th March 2008 at 7 pm
Oh! Art and Exiled Writers Ink invite you to
Somali and Exiled Voices Fusion: Event 6

Searching for the Past

Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, London, E2 6HG (nearest tube: Bethnal Green)

Free - Refreshments - Perform your Poetry - Bring an object from your past - PARTICIPATE!

This is an exiled lit cafe event with Somali and other Exiled writers and musicians, which takes place every 2 months and brings the work of Somali and other exiled writers to the wider community of East London.

FEATURED GUESTS

Ayar Ata was born in Saqqiz in the eastern part of Kurdistan in 1957. After living in many countries, in 1989 he moved to London where he studied at SOAS and Middlesex University. “Poetry is my passport to honest and sweet freedom of expression about my world.

Chinwe Azubuike is a strong female contemporary voice from Africa, born in Lagos-Nigeria whose origins are from Imo State. She constantly views herself as a spokeswoman for Nigeria's deprived underclass and recognises within herself a strong sense of social justice. This is reflected in her poetry, as her work highlights the complicated issues and beauty of the people of Africa, especially the plight of women and children. The bulk of her work focuses on female issues; of love, life and torture with specific references to ethnic family traditions within West Africa. She has given various readings at the Poetry Society and has been published in various publications. She is currently running a campaign for women, against the victimisation and deprivation of human rights of "the Widow" in Nigeria.

Said Jama - A well known Somali scholar, essayist and short story writer, SAID JAMA HUSSEIN Is extensively engaged in Somali literary, cultural and artistic activities that take place in the UK, Sweden, Kenya, and Djibouti. He was a contributing senior member of the Editorial Board of the highly acclaimed bi-lingual periodical magazine "Hal-Abuur" published in London. Currently he is the vice-president of Somali P.E.N Centre. A collection of his essays "SAXAN-sAXO" as well as collection of short stories "Shuf-beel" also in Somali are awaiting early publication. Most of his short stories and some of the essays appeared in the Somali papers published in London and were at the same time adapted and broadcast over the BBC, Somali Service.

Joohkle is a lute player and singer, who composed the winning song in the National Somali Prize in 1973. This acclaimed national prize resulted in him becoming famous throughout Somali territory. In 1983 he also won the prize for Best Singer with his own compositions and has subsequently been invited to sing on the radio in Somali. He came to live in England in 1994, works in modern Somali theatre productions and has produced two CDs. He was is one of the artist featured new Somali sound CD available at Oxford House.

Bogdan Tiganov from Brãila, Romania has been published in various magazines, including Exiled Ink!, Planet Magazine, Chanticleer, Carillon, Aesthetica, Splizz, Orbis, Krax and Pretext and he has also been interviewed for Time Out. He has had four books published including Romanian for Sale, Tarnish, and Fakery.

Further information: Ayan Mahamoud, Head of Somali Art and Culture at Oxford House ayan.mahamoud@oxfordhouse.org.uk and Jennifer Langer, Exiled Writers Ink jennifer@exiledwriters.fsnet.co.uk

Funded by Awards for All and the Arts Council

SOMALI-EXILED VOICES FUSION PROJECT

The Somali Arts Project and Exiled Writers Ink are offering free training for Somali and other exiled poets.
Free Training Day for exiled poets to learn to facilitate Poetry Workshops for a range of organisations.

Monday 11th February 2008, 10.00 am to 4 pm
Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, London E2 (Bethnal Green tube)

Led by Leah Thorn: performance poet and experienced training facilitator.
There is great demand for exiled writers to lead paid creative writing workshops for a range of groups.
This free workshop is an introduction to group facilitation skills.

Lunch and Refreshments
Travel expenses paid. Negotiable from outside London.

Register now.

Send: your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and a short biography to: jennifer@exiledwriters.fsnet.co.uk


Oh! Art and Exiled Writers Ink invite you to
Somali and Exiled Voices Fusion: Event 5
UnSilenced Voices:
exiled and second generation writers speak out on issues of there and here


Photo: Carlos Reyes-Manzo

Wednesday 30th January 2008 at 7 pm (Postponed from December 2007)
Oxford House Cafe, Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, London, E2 6HG (nearest tube: Bethnal Green)

Free

This is an exiled lit cafe event with Somali and other Exiled writers and musicians, which takes place every 2 months and brings the work of Somali and other exiled writers to the wider community of East London.

FEATURED GUESTS:

Zahrah Awaleh is British-Somali and was born in Scunthorpe, South Humberside, now located in North Lincolnshire, England. The town was a booming steel town when her father arrived and settled there in the 1950s. She read Arabic at the School of Oriental and African Studies and returned there to read a Masters in Islamic Studies after working in Hargeisa, Somaliland with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Her literary work includes a chapter “Daughter of Diaspora” in the newly published book, Silent Voices (Monsoon Press, 2007).

Abdi Bahdoon
also known as Book of Rhymes, is a young Somali poet, lyricist and actor whose work appears in Silent Voices. He has starred in a short film 'Mask Up' and in 'The Bill'. Born in war-torn Somalia, Abdi was subjected to appalling violence.

Shereen Pandit
prize-winning South African born short story writer. She was a law lecturer and political activist in South Africa before coming to Britain in 1986, where she completed a PhD and also taught law. Her first short story won a prize in a literary competition in 1996. She has since published stories in several literary magazines and anthologies in the UK and Ireland and has won several writing competitions for adult and children's writing. She is currently working on her first novel and a collection of short stories for and about women in South Africa.

Carlos Reyes-Manzo
poet and photographer, was born in Chile and lives in exile in the UK. His poetry book, Oranges in Times of Moon, was published in February 2006. In October 2006 he participated in Sidaja International Poetry Festival in Trieste, Italy. He has participated in numerous poetry readings. His poetry has been read on radio and television and published in books and newspapers. He is currently working on his second book of poetry.

WIN A PRIZE!

Further information: Ayan Mahamoud, Head of Somali Art and Culture at Oxford House ayan.mahamoud@oxfordhouse.org.uk and

Jennifer Langer, Exiled Writers Ink jennifer@exiledwriters.fsnet.co.uk

Funded by Awards for All

-----------------------

The Project will end with a training day: Oh Art! and Exiled Writers Ink are offering an important, free workshop for Somali and other exiled poets

Leading Poetry Workshops

Monday 11th February, 10.00 am to 4 pm at Oxford House, London E2

Led by Leah Thorn, performance poet and experienced facilitator
There is great demand for exiled writers to lead paid creative writing workshops for a range of groups.

Learn how to do it!
This free workshop is an introduction to group facilitation skills.
There will be the opportunity to try out exercises and games and reflect on what works and why.
We will look at issues like building safety in groups and making the experience inclusive to everyone.
No previous experience is necessary - just a willingness to try out new things, share your thinking- and have some fun!

Book now.

Send: your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and a short biography to: jennifer@exiledwriters.fsnet.co.uk


Exiled Writers Ink invites you to participate in:

4 FREE POETRY WRITING WORKSHOPS FOR REFUGEES AND EXILES

Tuesdays 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th October 2007, 11.00 am to 1.00 pm

Where do you come from, what is your identity?
If you are interested in writing poems about your life experiences and what it is like to be exiled in a new country, do come along and be encouraged to find a way into writing. All welcome.

Poetry Writing Workshops with poet and workshop facilitator:
Lynette Craig holds an MPhil in Writing; she mentors exiled writers and leads workshops for both beginners and more experienced writers. Her own writing reflects her interest in the dispossessed, the persecution and exile.

Finsbury Library, 245 St.John Street, ISLINGTON, London EC1V 4NB
Close to corner of St John Street and Skinner Street
Tube: Angel, Northern Line
Buses: 153
Wheelchair access. Disabled toilet.
PLEASE LET US KNOW YOU ARE COMING: jennifer@exiledwriters.fsnet.co.uk
Exiled Writers Ink is grateful to Islington Libraries for providing the workshop venue.

Islington Council


Oh! Art and Exiled Writers Ink invite you to
Somali and Exiled Voices Fusion: Event 4

Wednesday 24 October 2007, 7pm – 9:30, £5

Breaking the Silence; the Voices of Somali Women
with the great Maryan Mursal and writers: Zahrah Awaleh and Keena-Diid Caynaane

Maryan Mursal began singing as a teenager in Mogadishu in 1966. As one of the first female singers to make a sucuccses ful as member of Waaberi band. After the civil she and her young family walked - out of Mogadishu, across Kenya, through Ethiopia, recrossing Somalia again and eventually arriving in Djibouti where she was luckily given asylum by the Danish embassy. Maryan as unique she is one of the few Somali artist she has two Real world albums on her name.
Zahrah Awaleh is British-Somali; her work includes; a chapter “Daughter of Diaspora” of newly published book the “Silent Voices”
Keena-Diid Caynaane -was born in Mogadishu and came to Britain in 1993 as a refugee fleeing from Somalia. She works for an NGO and writes literature on the life of Somali immigrants. She recounts beautifully observed narratives of London life.



Part of “Somali Week Festival 07”: Saturday 20th to Sunday 28th October 2007
Oxford House in partnership with a range of organisations is pleased to present the Somali Week Festival as a part of Black History Month.
For more information about the Festival Programme, call Ayan Mahamoud, the Festival Coordinator on 020 7749 1140 or e-mail her on: ayan.mahamoud@oxfordhouse.org.uk
For bookings contact Magda Budzowska on mags.budzowska@oxfordhouse.org.uk or 020 7739 9001, extension 1108



About the June 2007 Con-Fest 'Writing Resistance: The Literature of Exile'
by Freddy Macha

http://freddymacha.blogspot.com
Monday, 13 August 2007

And Now...

London, Thursday, 21st, June 2007.

The hall is quiet.
The only sound is music. Music is food. Except?
Apart from the ongoing music we are being confronted with gloomy slides. Wailing women. Dead children. Dead camels and cows. Burnt houses. Withered men. Displacement. Corpses. Non-fictitious horror.
The morbid and inhuman face of Darfur.

You can hear him playing different instruments, saying nothing; the photographs speak loud and clear. This is the work of Ahmed Rahman a gifted musician from Sudan. See him in action, above, photo taken by Anne Marie Biscombe.
Rahman was part of a whole array of writers and artists invited to perform at the Human Rights Centre in East London on this special Thursday in June put together by Jennifer Langer of Exiled Writers Ink! An organisation of refugee writers. Her own family was expunged by the Nazis during the Second World War.

We heard powerful stories. It is arduous telling them all. Of a man who had been shot in the throat during a demonstration in Bangladesh. A passionate writer with a whispering voice, due to that fateful bullet wound.
Mir Mahfuz’s poem “Seeking Shelter” was recited to an attentive audience:
."...He is an alien
On this barbaric shore,
Gazing into land
He doesn’t belong to,
But he has nowhere to go
Beyond this coast.”

Of Alfred Cordal the poet from Chile who ushered our souls back to the work of one of my favourite poets, Pablo Neruda. Neruda who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1971. Cordal, in a similar spirit, re-affirmed that words define our identity, woes, joys and self expression. There was a dance from Iran by Ziba Karbassi, the lady in red. Gallant, flowery, flamboyant, long, like Ziba’s graceful limbs.
Plus surprises.
How often do you hear pleasant stuff from Afghanistan? All we ever get are images of sad, veiled women, arid terrains, angry blokes, guns and bombings. Hassan Bamyami, offered us a taste of this troubled country’s music. He wailed. Jamaican singer, Bob Marley once said he began singing when he was born, by crying. Mr. Bamyami from Afghanistan reminded us of a birth.
Then it was time for Ahmed Rahman.
The other day I saw a poster that was calling for donations:
“If this Darfur woman doesn’t go to the well to get water his children will die; if she goes to the well she will be raped.”
You hear of bad things.
Then you meet those who have been there.
Ahmed Rahman’s music and huge kaleidoscopic reflections on the gargantuan screen were appalling. I followed him backstage.
“I knew most of these people.” Ahmed whispered, “It is very difficult…”
He excused himself and stepped away. It is very disturbing seeing a grown up man crying.
Here I was, witnessing a Darfur close up…


Oh! Art and Exiled Writers Ink invite you to
Somali and Exiled Voices Fusion: Event 3

War and Peace

with Somali, Bosnian and Iranian writers and musicians

War and Peace
www.flickr.com

Wednesday 15th August 2007 at 7 pm
Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, London, E2 6HG (nearest tube: Bethnal Green)

This is a new exiled lit cafe event with Somali and other Exiled writers and musicians, which takes place every 2 months and brings the work of Somali and other exiled writers to the wider community of East London.

FEATURED GUESTS:

Darija Stojnic

Darija Stojnic is from Sarajevo, Bosnia, Former Yugoslavia where she lived until the outbreak of war in Sarajevo in 1992. She came to England as a refugee in 1993. She now works as a counsellor having completed a Diploma in Integrative Counselling with specialisation for refugees. Darija writes short stories some of them having been published in SaLon, The Big Issue and in the anthologies Crossing the Border and The Silver Throat of the Moon (published Five Leaves). She also works as a journalist writing a column for Bosniak Post which is published in Norway.

Aar Band

Aar’s music is ultimately influenced by social and political issues. Aar (meaning male lion in Somali) is a musician from Somalia now living in the UK. Aar’s debut album was called Maanta, ('today'). Aar sings about the plight of the Somali people, how civil war and corruption has affected them and their country and yet a sense of positivism pervades his music with strong messages of peace, unity and progression for a better world. His subtle use of traditional Somali rhythms mixed with modern rhymes and instruments has made Aar’s sound unique. Aar will perform with his Algerian colleague from the Aar band and Said Hussein will play the lute.

Mahdad Majdian

Mahdad Majdian is a poet from Iran whose work explores the themes of freedom, resistance and the delicacy of life. He has performed his work at a range of venues in London.

Further information: Ayan Mahamoud, Head of Somali Art and Culture at Oxford House ayan.mahamoud@oxfordhouse.org.uk and Jennifer Langer, Exiled Writers Ink jennifer@exiledwriters.fsnet.co.uk

Funded by Awards for All


Oh! Art and Exiled Writers Ink invite you to

Somali and Exiled Voices Fusion: Event 2

Across the African Divide

with Somali and Algerian writers and musicians


Photo: Stanley Langer

Wednesday 27th June 2007 at 7 pm,
Oxford House Cafe, Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, London, E2 6HG (nearest tube: Bethnal Green)

This is a new exiled lit cafe event with Somali and other Exiled writers and musicians, which will take place every 2 months and bring the work of Somali and other exiled writers to the wider community of East London.

FEATURED GUESTS:

Hudaydi - king of the oud and poet

Tahar Lamri - Algerian born poet exiled in Italy

Mohamed Bashe Hassan - author of two recently published books

Further information: Ayan Mahamoud, Head of Somali Art and Culture at Oxford House ayan.mahamoud@oxfordhouse.org.uk and Jennifer Langer, Exiled Writers Ink jennifer@exiledwriters.fsnet.co.uk


EXILED WRITERS INK IN ASSOCIATION WITH ENGLISH PEN INVITES YOU TO AN EXCITING CON-FEST (CONFERENCE-FESTIVAL)

WRITING RESISTANCE: THE LITERATURE OF EXILE
THE VOICE OF EXILED WRITERS


Image: Maryam Ashrafi

Thursday 21st June 2007
The Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA

COFFEE – 9.45 to 10.00

WELCOME

10.00 to 11.00 – OPENING SESSION
Exiled Writers in a Conflicted World
How do exiled writers negotiate and mediate conflicted internal and external spaces?
Readings and discussion by the writers:
Moris Farhi
Gillian Slovo
Saadi Yusef

11.00 - 12.15
The Eye of the Exile: Writing in the Exilic Space
Martin Orwin – Three Contemporary Perspectives of Exile in Somali Poetry
Omar Garcia – (Re)structuring communities: The Cuban Nation in Exile
Marta Niccolai – Representation of Post-Colonialism by African Exiled Writers in Italy
Predrag Finci – On Returning

LUNCH 12.30 to 1.30

1.30 – 2.45
Exilic Identity and Language
Chair: Fathieh Saudi
Ana de Medeiros -The Impossibility of Return: Voice, Language and Exile in Assia Djebar's work.
Yang Lian – The Poetics of Lonely Resistance
Jacob Akol – Burden of Nationality: Memoirs of an African Journalist, Writer and Aidworker

3.00 - 4.15
Women Without Shadows: Women's voices
Fadia Faqir - Shahrazad Strip-Searched
Aydin Mehmet Ali – Breaking Taboos
Rouhi Shafii – Censorship and Iranian Women Writing in Exile

TEA (4.15 to 4.45)

ALSO HAPPENING DURING THE DAY

Workshops

11.00 to 12.30
Across the Divide of Individual and Collective Memory
Listen to a little poetry by Ziba Karbassi and Jennifer Langer, women with Muslim and Jewish backgrounds. Share their Box of Memories and bring your own. Create a collaborative Memory poem with a person from a different culture, country, language or background.

3.00 to 4.15
Voices of Passion!
Ney player Muniser Unver and poet Evlynn Sharp offer the words of Rumi and Ibn 'Arabi with musical accompaniment.
Your imaginative response will be invited.
Be inspired by the beauty and universality of mystical poetry along with music of the Ney flute in this creative writing workshop.

THE CREATIVE SPACE (5 pm to 6.30)
Hosted by Richard McKane, poet and translator
Ziba Karbassi - Dance of Mourning and Poetry - Iran
Mir Mahfuz Ali - poet - Bangladesh
Hassan Bamyani - poetry and music - Afghanistan
Alfredo Cordal - performance poet - Chile
Others tba

BOOK TABLE

DRINKS

7 pm :
Evening event

Exiled Writers Ink in association with Amnesty International
Writing Pain and Resistance in Exile
Once in the UK, exiled writers are not free of the shackles of the conflict and oppression prevalent in their country but remain intimately connected with the struggles, expressing their anger and pain through their art. Frequently this art serves to empower the artist through the voice of resistance but is it effective in shifting consciousness in the country of origin?
Exiled writers from Palestine, Iraq, Zimbabwe and Uzbekistan will read from their work and then discuss the issues.
‘In Memory of Darfur’ is a new musical composition with multi-media by the Sudanese musician: Ahmed A. Rahman.
Writers:
See below for biographies
- Hamid Ismailov – Uzbekistan
- Ghada Karmi - Palestinian
- Fawzi Kerim – Iraq
- Hilton Mendelsohn – Zimbabwe
- Music and multi-media: Ahmed A. Rahman from Sudan

Expressions of Pain and Resistance in Exile

Hamid Ismailov
Ismailov's novel, The Railway, originally written before he left Uzbekistan, was translated into English by Robert Chandler and was published in 2006. A Russian edition was published in Moscow in 1997. His forthcoming novel, will be entitled Comrade Islam and is about a poet in Uzbekistan who ends up in the Taliban's ranks when the Americans bombarded Afghanistan. Born in 1954 in Kyrgyzstan, Ismailov is an Uzbek journalist and writer forced to flee Uzbekistan in 1992 when he came to the UK. He now works as head of Central Asia and Caucuses Service at the BBC World Service. His works are banned in Uzbekistan. He published numerous books in Uzbek, Russian, French, German, Turkish and other languages. Among them are collections of poetry: "Sad"(Garden)(1987), "Pustynya"(Desert) (1988), of visual poetry: "Post Faustum" (1990), "Kniga Otsutstvi " (1992), novels "Sobranie Utonchyonnyh" (1988), "Le Vagabond Flamboyant" (1993), "Hay-ibn-Yakzan" (2001), "Hostage to Celestial Turks" (2003), "Doroga k smerti bol'she chem smert'"(The Road to Death is bigger than Death) (2005) and others. He translated Russian and Western classics into Uzbek, and Uzbek and Persian classics into Russian and some Western languages.

Fawzi Karim
is a poet born in Baghdad in 1945. In 1968 he graduated from the University of Baghdad and published his first poetry book Haith Tebda' al-Ashia'a (Where Things Begin). He migrated to Beirut in 1969, where he published his second collection Arfa'au Ydi Ihtijajan (I Raise My Hand in Protest). He returned to Baghdad and published his third collection Junun min al-Hajar (Madness of Stone), and two books of non-fiction, one on exile and the other on the Iraqi author, Admon Sabri. In 1978, he migrated to London where he still lives. In exile, he published three more books of poetry. His Selected Poems was published in 1995 in Cairo. In 2000 his Complete Poetry was published in Damascus by Dar al-Mada. In addition to his regular writing for newspapers on classical music and on painting, he edits his own quarterly al-lahdha al-Shi'iria (Poetic Moment).

Ghada Karmi
Her memoir, is entitled In Search of Fatima: a Palestinian Story and her forthcoming book is Married to Another Man, Pluto, June 2007. She is a research fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, England. She was born in Jerusalem, but left with her family in 1948. She was brought up in Britain, and gained a doctorate in the history of Arabic medicine from London University.

Hilton Mendelsohn
was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in 1970 in a racially segregated country. He worked for the Zimbabwe Chronicle and his poetry and short stories were published in various periodicals. He moved to London in 1998, continuing to write and co-founding a group of exiled Zimbabwe writers 'Writing Wrongs'. By this time the social and political situation in Zimbabwe had deteriorated with an escalation of the violent oppression of the opposition and many of his former colleagues were forced to leave the country. He began work with the opposition party 'The Movement for Democratic Change' and human rights organisations, 'The Freedom for Zimbabwe Campaign', 'The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum' writing and publishing articles critical of the Mugabe regime. He also co-founded the charitable organisation Weizimbabwe. He continues to write poetry and is working on a play to be staged at the Blue Elephant Theatre in London with the Writing Wrongs Group.

Ahmed A. Rahman

Cost of CON-FEST includes Middle Eastern lunch and evening event
- £20
- £10: students and unwaged,
- unemployed asylum seekers: free
To register, send a cheque made payable to:
Exiled Writers Ink
31 Hallswelle Road, London NW11 0DH

The evening event is free but needs to be booked in advance through Jennifer@exiledwriters.fsnet.co.uk


REFUGEE WEEK: FREE EVENT
Tuesday 19th June 2007 at 7 pm
Exiled Writers Ink with Borders Bookshop Islington

Borders Bookshop in the N1 Shopping Centre, Parkfield Street, Islington N1 0PS
Tube: Angel

WRITING ACROSS BORDERS

Gillian Slovo
South African born Gillian Slovo is the author of ten novels as well as a family memoir, Every Secret Thing. Her novels include Red Dust, winner of the RFI Temoin du Monde prize which has also been made into a film, and Ice Road which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize. Her new novel, to be published in 2008, is about what it is to be a foreigner in Britain.

Exiled Poets:

Iranian born: Shadab Vajdi
She has had numerous collections published in Persian. Closed Circuit (translated into English from the poet`s Persian works by Lotfali Khonji), was published in London and Boston (Forest Books, 1989). Collections of her work have also been translated into German and Swedish.

Faziry Mafutala, born in the Democratic Republic of Congo
He has lived in the UK since 1996, having had to flee becasue he was under threat. This arose as a result of becoming involved in the political activities of the main opposition party whilst working at the Ministry of Education in DRC. His poetry is inspired by the story-telling tradition.

Chaired by: Carole Angier

The biographer of Jean Rhys and Primo Levi. She is working on a new book, and writing and translating refugees' and asylum seekers' stories.


A Mouthful of Africa
Exiled Writers Ink: part of Word from Africa

Thursday 7 June 2007 at 7 pm
Oxford House Theatre, Derbyshire Street, London E2 6HG
Nearest tube: Bethnal Green


painting by Ze Tubia

'A Mouthful of Africa' is a collaborative theatre production focusing on stories of African political, social and edible food. The African exiled writer/performers portray the ambivalent imagery of memories of home food and yearning in the place of exile. Their concerns of the personal interact with the political significance of food in areas disrupted by war and migration, with edible food being an integral part of the production!

There will be post-performance discussion and an opportunity to enjoy an African buffet.

The exiled writers and poets are:
Handsen Chikowore, Shona speaking poet from Zimbabwe,
Shereen Pandit, journalist and prize-winning fiction writer from South Africa,
Said Hussein, Somali story-teller and translator,
Tsehay Alemayehu from Ethiopia, who writes fiction in both Amharic and English.

Producer: Isabelle Romaine Director: Ernst Fischer

Cost: £10 to include food and £5 concessions.
PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE BY SENDING A CHEQUE MADE PAYABLE TO EXILED WRITERS INK at 31 Hallswelle Road, London NW11 0DH www.oxfordhouse.org.uk


The Spiro Ark together with Exiled Writers Ink
Sunday 13 May 2007, 7.00 for 7.30pm

In the Footsteps of the Word Gatherer

On a rare visit from France and performing in English and French:

Yvan Tetelbom: the Jewish performance poet born in Algeria with Polish roots and exiled in France.
Accompanied by Cristiane Bonnay: classical accordionist, born in Dakar, Senegal.

Introduced by: Jennifer Langer, founder of Exiled Writers Ink

At the Spiro Ark Centre – 25-26 Enford St, W1, £5

For Bookings: The Spiro Ark
25-26 Enford Street, London, W1H 1DW
Tel: 020 7723 9991, Fax: 020 7723 8191
Email: education@spiroark.org Web site: www.spiroark.org


Yvan Tetelbom – was born in 1947 in Port Gueydon, Algeria and has Polish, Algerian and Jewish roots. He is currently exiled in France. Before becoming a poet, he trained as an actor and singer, performing in France, Hungary, Israel and the Palestinian territories. His most recent anthology of poetry is entitled 'Prayers and Confessions'. His work has been widely broadcast on regional, national and international radio and television and he has performed his poetry at national and international literary festivals and events in a wide range of venues and countries.

His grandparents fled from Poland because of the pogroms at the beginning of the last century. They spoke Yiddish mixed with Kabyle (an Amasigh language) while he learnt French at school. He had a carefree upbringing in a Kabyle village by the Mediterranean in spite of the war in which the Algerians were engaged against France. Relations were good between the Jews and Kabyles and even during the War of Independence the Jews helped those revolting against the French occupation. However, because of Middle East tensions, bad feelings towards the Jews developed causing the Teltelboms to leave for France in 1962.

Cristiane Bonnay – was born in Dakar (Sénégal) and studied in Chambéry, at the Hannover Conservatory of Music and with Frederich Lips in Moscow. She has won numerous prizes including the President of the Republic prize and the World Accordion Cup in Auckland. She currently teaches at the Académie de Musique, Prince Rainier III and at the Menton Conservatoire. She also established the Association for the Promotion and Development of the Accordion.



Oh! art based at Oxford House, Bethnal Green and Exiled Writers Ink invite you to

Somali and Exiled Voices Fusion Launch

on Wednesday 25th April 2007 at 7 pm at Oxford House Cafe, Derbyshire Street, London, E2 6HG (nearest tube: Bethnal Green).

This is a new exiled lit cafe event with Somali and other Exiled writers and musicians, which will take place every 2 months and bring the work of Somali and other exiled writers to the wider community of East London.

Our featured guests are:
Ali Ahmed Rabi 'Seenyo’ poet, song writer, playwright and director
Ziba Karbassi, exciting young Iranian poet
Botaan, poet

They will be accompanied by Dararamle, one of the most famous lute players and vocalists in Somali society.

The evening will be chaired by Dr Martin Orwin, Somali specialist, of the School of Oriental and African and Studies (tbc).

Translation of some of the Somali work by Said Jama.

REFRESHMENTS

If you are a Somali or other Exiled writer, poet or musician and wish to take part on this open mic Café, please email:
Ayan Mahamoud, Head of Somali Art and Culture at Oxford House ayan.mahamoud@oxfordhouse.org.uk
or Jennifer Langer, Exiled Writers Ink director jennifer@exiledwriters.fsnet.co.uk



EXILED WRITERS INK MENTORING AND TRANSLATION SCHEME (Arts Council funded)

Exiled Writers INK mentoring scheme


Are you a writer forced to live in exile?
Are you finding it hard to get recognition and published in the UK?
Exiled Writers INK is running a mentoring scheme to match writers in exile with well known writers in the UK. You will work together intensively over a year, leading to publications, readings and new opportunities. You do not have to have been previously published, or have a perfect level of English but you do need to be writing at a high level and ready to accept guidance and constructive criticism from your mentor. If you are interested, please send 3-5 poems or 2 short stories and a CV to:

NatTeitler@aol.com

or Nathalie Teitler
Exiled Writers Ink mentoring scheme
240a Clapham Road
London SW9 OPZ
work will not be returned.

Exiled Writers INK translation scheme

Are you a writer forced to live in exile?
Are you finding it hard to get translated and published in the UK?
Exiled Writers INK is running a scheme to match writers in exile with expert translators in the UK. You will work together intensively over a year, leading to publications, readings and new opportunities. You need to have a strong track record of publications, or recognition in your own country. If you are interested please send a CV and 3-5 poems and 2 short stories in your own language to:

NatTeitler@aol.com

or Nathalie Teitler
Exiled Writers Ink Translation scheme
240a Clapham Road
London SW9 OPZ
work will not be returned.


Soho presents: the verity bargate award/exiled writers
Soho's hunt for the most original and exciting new play.

Every two years Soho Theatre launches a national competition to find the best new play by an emerging writer. The winner will thrill London audiences with their imaginative, daring and relevant work.

Workshops
We aim to welcome writers from a variety of backgrounds, cultures and levels of experience to take part in a series of workshops on the process behind creating a new piece of theatre for the VBA. Exiled Writers are exclusively invited to a masterclass entitled ‘Migrants to London’ on 9 May, 7-9pm.


Special workshop offer for Exiled Writers:
Complimentary tickets to workshop (usually £15). To book call 0870 429 6883 and quote 'Exiled Writers'.

For further information about this year’s award and other workshops email will@sohotheatre.com or click here.

The Prize

* £5000 (in respect of an exclusive option).
* a residency at Soho Theatre.
* the chance to have their play produced at Soho Theatre.

The deadline is 6 July 2007.

Writers may submit one unproduced, unpublished full-length play (not shorter than 70 minutes). There is no restriction to subject matter.

The award is open to any writer resident in the British Isles and Republic of Ireland.

Recent VBA winners have included Shan Khan for Office and Matt Charman for A Night at the Dogs.

For complete rules and guidelines on how to submit click here.

Passion is more important than polish, so why not give it a go?


One of a series of joint seminars:
Exiled Writers Ink with the School of Advanced Study, University of London

Wednesday 21st February 2007, 6.30 to 8.00 pm
Room 273, Stewart House, 32 Russell Square, London WC1

Free

"The Complexities of War and its Long Shadows"

with readings by exiled writers followed by discussion:

Ghias Aljundi
was born in Syria and has been living in London for the last 8 years. He writes poetry and short stories and had one play performed in London in 2001 called I Dream of a Window . Recently he published an Arabic short story collection called A Window to my Imprisoned Mother which mainly describes aspects of life in Syria. He has published his poetry in various magazines and on a website blog.

Predrag Finci
was born in Sarajevo in 1946 and is in exile in London. He studied Philosophy at the University of Sarajevo and at the Universities of Paris and Freiburg and subsequently lectured in the Department of Philosophy and Sociology at the University of Sarajevo where he gained his Professorship in Aesthetics. He published nine books in Bosnia and Croatia and many texts in English. He is a founder member of Bosnian PEN and works as a freelance writer and research fellow at UCL.

Chaired by Isabelle Romaine: MPhil, MA

Exiled Ink magazine will be available for sale at £3. One of its themes is 'War and its Long Shadows'.


Shiraz Press & Exiled Writers Ink

Celebrate the publication of the Iranian author Rouhi Shafii’s recent historical novel

“Pomegranate Hearts”

We invite you to join us for an evening of discussion, music from the Middle East and Greece, poetry reading and wine.
Date: 25 November 2006
Time: 7.30 PM
Venue:Central Library lecture theatre, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, Philimore Walk, London W8 7RX
Entrance fee: £5

Important! Please reserve your place in advance and pay at the door. Send email to:info@shirazpress.com

Pomegranate Hearts (a tale of love, loss & history)
Published by Shiraz Press
ISBN-095444814-6
Price: £9.99
The book will be available on the night.
To order in advance:www.amazon.co.uk or send cheques to Shiraz Press, 3 Oliver Business Park, London NW10 7JB


Exiled Writers Ink with the Museum of London
Tuesday, 14 November 2006

Belonging?

part of the Belonging Exhibition at the Museum of London

An evening discussion event, 7.00 pm
Alfredo Cordal - Ziba Karbassi - Saadi Yousef - Brian Chikwava

chaired by Jennifer Langer

will create a forum for an exploration of the notion of “belonging”.

In conjunction with Exiled Writers Ink, and with readings and discussion, this event will be a fascinating insight into what it means to belong or not to belong.

www.museumoflondon.org.uk/belonging


Across the Divide 2

Exiled Writers Ink in association with Islington Enterprise Agency
invite you to gain an insight into the 'Other', 'Get Creative' and improve your technique.

Poetry writing workshops
Welcome to: Muslims, Jews, Palestinians, Lebanese, Iranians, Israelis and all exiled writers from the Middle East

5 TWO HOUR SESSIONS WEEKLY ON WEDNESDAYS FROM

6th September 2006, 11AM – 1PM
Islington Enterprise Agency
64 Essex Road, London N1 8LR (Angel tube)

Travel and lunch expenses available for asylum seeker participants

The workshops will be run by Lynette Craig who holds a Masters Degree in Writing and whose poetry is published in magazines and most recently in a pamphlet collection entitled BURNING PALACES published by Flarestack.

If you wish to join these free workshops, you need to register with Exiled Writers Ink Jennifer@exiledwriters.fsnet.co.uk

Please send your name and contact details - 10 places only!


Exiled Writers Ink and
Second Generation Network with the School of Advanced Study, University of London
Wednesday, 22 November 2006
6.30 to 8.00 pm
Room 273, Stewart House, Senate House, Russell Square, London WC1

Second Generation Poets: Journey of the Emotions?

Berta Freistadt is the daughter of a Czech-Jewish father and an Irish-Scottish mother. It was her non-Jewish mother who related her father's refugee history to her since he was mostly silent on the subject. Much of her poetry has tried to make sense of this history, and the despair that silenced her father. Published in various anthologies, a collection of her poetry Flood Warning was published by Five Leaves in 2004. Her book of connected stories Mass Dreams of the Future will be out in the autumn.

Jennifer Langer, daughter of German Jewish refugees, writes poetry focusing on identity and on political and human rights issues. She is the founding director of Exiled Writers Ink and has edited the anthologies: The Bend in the Road: Refugees Writing, 1999, Crossing the Border: Voices of Refugee and Exiled Women Writers, 2002 and The Silver Throat of the Moon; Exiles Writing, 2005, pub. Five Leaves. She has completed an MA in Cultural Memory at the School of Advanced Study.

Leah Thorn is a Jewish spoken-word poet who has performed her work about Second Generation identity at a range of events including Across The Divide, an Exiled Writers Ink performance of Israeli, Palestinian and Diaspora Jewish writers and musicians at the Jewish Museum, Camden Town. Her writing has been anthologised in England and in the USA, in publications such as Bridges Jewish feminist journal, The Journal of Holocaust Education and The Jewish Quarterly.

Chair: David Clark is the child of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany in the 1930s. He grew up in Australia, Italy and Austria, before returning briefly to England, then studying in Canada, USA and East Africa. His PhD focused on Jewish museums. He contributes to various cultural magazines in London.


An Evening For Refugee Week

Exiled Writers Ink invites you to an evening of the senses for refugee week:

Forced To Leave
Poetry and music with eritrean restaurant dinner

Wednesday 14th June 2006 at 7.00 pm
Zigni House, 330 Essex Road, London N1 3PB
(At street level, nearest tube: Angel, buses: 38, 56, 73, 341, 476)

Mahmood Jamal launching his latest collection 'Sugar-Coated Pill’. His other books include Modern Urdu Poetry and Silence Inside a Gun's Mouth. He is a progressive poet, filmmaker and translator who writes in Urdu and English. He has been published in a wide range of anthologies, had his work broadcast on radio and TV, and been translated into several languages.

Ziba Karbassi (Iran) one of the rising stars of Iranian poetry, Ziba Karbassi left Iran in 1989. She has published five collections of poetry in exile: With a Broken Star in my Heart, Scorpion under the Pillow, The Sea will Drown, Jizz and Collage.

Alfredo Cordal (Chile) is a performance poet and playwright. He has written The Last Judgement, The Investiture of El Dorado, Smoking Mirror and A Passion in Buenos Aires. His poetry has appeared in a range of publications.

Senait Gebremichael (Eritrea): in hommage to the revered Eritrean poet: Reesom Haile

Amna Dumpor (Bosnia): left Mostar in 1992. Her collection of poetry is entitled Tears in the Heart

Berhane Gebrekidan: Eritrean musician

Michele Celeste: alternative songwriter and playwright

£12 per person - traditional Eritrean buffet, vegetarian and meat (halal) dishes - Eritrean coffee ceremony and coffee

Tickets must be booked in advance!

£12 per person: traditional Eritrean buffet, vegetarian and meat (halal) dishes.
Eritrean coffee ceremony and coffee - Free copy of 'Exiled Ink!' magazine.
Some free places for newly-arrived asylum seekers.
Please send cheque payable to Exiled Writers Ink to: Jennifer Langer, 31 Hallswelle Road, London NW11 0DH




Exiled Writers Ink with Roehampton University invite you to

The launch of issue 5 of the magazine ‘Exiled Ink!’

Thursday 27th April 2006 at 6.30 pm

Refreshments, performance and discussion

Portrait Room, Froebel College, Roehampton University, Roehampton Lane, SW15 85SL

MEMORY IN EXILE

The exile lives in a space between the familiarised host land and the homeland, realm of the imaginary. Memory in the life of the exile maintains a tenuous balance between homesickness and amnesia about the past. For exiled writers, personal and cultural memory becomes a creative means of exorcising the trauma of loss of homeland.

Samira Al-Mana, born in Basra, Iraq and is author of five novels, a play and collections of short stories. Umbilical Cord was recently translated into English. She was the deputy editor of Alightrab Al-Adabi, a magazine of exile.

Alfredo Cordal, born in Chile and is a performance poet and playwright. He has written and produced several plays in London including: The Last Judgement, The Investiture of El Dorado, Smoking of Mirror and A Passion in Buenos Aires. His poetry has appeared in a range of publications.

Soheila Ghodstinat, born in Tehran and since leaving Iran, has lived in seven countries. She is author of A Journey to Starland, her autobiography. She wrote for and performed in the Exiled Writers Ink European production ‘And the City Spoke’.

Nigar Hasan-Zadeh, born in Baku, Azerbaijan. Her award-winning collection of poetry is entitled On Wings Over the Horizon. Her collection Under Alien Clouds is being translated from the Russian by Richard McKane and Elaine Feinstein. Nigar’s work appears in An Anthology of Contemporary Russian Women Poets, Carcanet, 2005

Chaired by Isabelle Romaine of Exiled Writers Ink


Exiled Writers Ink and the Kurdish Cultural Centre and Kurdish Exiled Association invite you to the launch of

'The Fleeing Garden: Kurdish Exiled Voices'
edited by Choman Hardi


a booklet of literature developed with established and new Kurdish writers in a series of workshops in partnership with
Exiled Writers Ink and SOAS

Saturday 4th February 3.00 to 5.30 pm
Stanhope House, Stanhope Place, London W2 (nearest tube Marble Arch)

Musicians
Refreshments

Free event

The Kurdish Exiled Voices project is funded by the Arts Council
The Kurdish Exiled Association & Kurdish Cultural Centre are also thanked for their financial support.

The Fleeing Garden


Exiled Writers Ink with the Poetry School

Refugee and exiled poets:

Exiled Writers Ink is pleased to announce an exciting creative writing course to be run by the respected Poetry School, London
The facilitator is Moniza Alvi, prize-winning published poet.
Perform your work at Foyles, Charing Cross Road.

Where? At the Poetry Café Studio, Poetry Café 22 Betterton Street, London WC2 (nearest tube: Covent Garden)

When? For weekly sessions from 27th January to 7th April 2006, Every Friday from 7.30 to 9.30

What? We shall explore the ever-important theme of exile. Study examples of work from a wide range of poets such as W.H.Auden, Nazim Hikmet, Mahmoud Darwish, Derek Walcott, Grace Nichols, Jackie Kay and George Szirtes.
Writing activities will be suggested and constructive feedback will be given within a supportive atmosphere.
Improve your technical skills.
Information about the UK poetry publishing world.
Performance: Perform your work at Foyles on Sunday 9th April at 3 pm. Actors Anna Carteret and Stella Maris will help you improve your performance skills.

How much? Free

Who? Exiled poets who want to develop their work in English.

To register, please send your details to:
Exiled Writers Ink, 31 Hallswelle Road, London NW11 ODH or
e-mail to Jennifer@exiledwriters.fsnet.co.uk

Funded by the Arts Council


FOUR THEMED EVENTS: Live Literature – Discussion – Refreshments – Music

Stanhope House, 2-4 Stanhope Place, London W2 (Marble Arch station)
£5 and £3 EWI members

Wednesday 20th April at 7 pm
So Vast the Prison: Women Writing for Liberation
Ziba Karbassi (Iran) with Stephen Watts, Nazand Begikhani (Kurdistan), Nathalie Handal (Palestine) with oud player/singer: Sahira Hussain (Iraq)
Chaired by Richard McKane of Exiled Writers Ink

Wednesday 18th May at 7 pm
Hauntings: Trauma, Nostalgia or Neither?
Vida Kashizadeh (Iran), Adrianna Diaz Encisco (Mexico), Fadhil Assultani (Iraq) with guitarist/singer: S. Touko Meguen (Cameroon)
Chaired by Marion Baraitser of Loki Books

Wednesday 15th June at 7 pm - with PEN
Gagged Speech: When free expression leads to exile
Haifa Zangana (Iraq), Predrag Finci (Bosnia), Aamer Hussein (Pakistan), Jack Mapanje (Malawi)
Chaired by Lisa Appignanesi of PEN

Thursday 30th June at 7 pm
Neither Here nor There or a New Space?
Maggie Harris, Mimi Khalvati, Kapka Kassabova
Chaired by Nathalie Teitler of Refugee Action

Abdulmagid Mohammed Abdulmagid
©Abdulmagid Mohammed Abdulmagid

CREATIVE WRITING COURSE FOR KURDISH PEOPLE

with the AHRB Centre for Asian and African Literatures and Exiled Writers Ink
Funded by the Arts Council

Choman Hardi will be facilitating a creative writing course for Kurdish people in association with the Centre. The course will explore writing in English. It is designed to support Kurdish writers and those who aspire to write by showcasing their work in the British literature scene. At the end of the course an anthology of the work of the participants will be produced and launched. The course consists of eight sessions over eight weeks starting on the 7th February.

Time and Place: Mondays 6.30 - 9pm, Room G3, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG

Who can apply: If you are a Kurd aged 16-50 years, you are fluent in English and are interested in writing, please contact Choman Hardi (choman@choman.fsnet.co.uk, 078 55 80 10 82) to register for the course.

Please note that places are limited, so if you are interested book your place as soon as possible. Participants will be accepted on the ‘first come first served’ basis.


AND THE CITY SPOKE:
EUROPEAN EXILED VOICES PROJECT

Kindly funded by the European Cultural Foundation as well as: The British Council Warsaw, British Council Brussels, Polish Cultural Institute London, Italian Cultural Institute London and CIES, Ferrara, Italy.

This is a project which will involve refugee and exiled writers who have found exile in new European cities - Warsaw, Bologna, London and Brussels. An exciting, imaginative production around the theme of the writer/actors' physical, spiritual and emotional relationship to their new spaces, will be performed in The Space at the Hampstead Theatre, Swiss Cottage, London on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th October.

In addition, a seminar on the theme of European Exiled Voices will take place on the afternoon of Saturday 30th October. In April 2005, the writers will travel to Warsaw and to Ferrara to perform and to engage with local people and students in workshops.

The Venue:

The Space
Hampstead Theatre
Eton Avenue
London NW3
Station: Swiss Cottage
Tickets: £10, concs: £6 (asylum seekers & senior citizens) incl. Saturday panel
Box office Tel 0207 722 9301

Active in culture and the arts as well as the media, and with an impressive track record in education since 1954, the European Cultural Foundation is Europe’s only independent, non-national and pan-European cultural foundation. Running its own programmes and awarding grants keep it close to the grassroots cultural sector, and make it a credible advocate of strong cultural policies for Europe.
For further information: www.eurocult.org


Photo by Marta Niccolai
photo by Marta Niccolai

ECF

 

 


ACROSS THE DIVIDE PROJECT


The Across the Divide Roadshow

Kindly funded by Awards for All and The Kessler Foundation, The Across the Divide Roadshow consists of a range of events and workshops for Jewish, Muslim and Arab organisations and audiences as well as for those not intimately affected by the situation.

The Across the Divide Roadshow
photo by Miriam Frank

photo by Miriam Frank

The first event will take place at the Jewish Museum, Camden Town on 1st September at 7 pm and is entitled 'Gaining an Insight into the Other' with Ghada Karmi, Oz Shelach, Leah Thorn and Rabhi Al Madhoun with oud player and singer, Sahira Hussain. £5 & £4 EWI Members and Jewish Museum Friends. Booking in advance is essential: 020-7284 1997. We shall also be organising similar sessions with and for Muslim organisations.

A one-day creative discussion and writing workshop with lunch for Jews, Israelis, Muslims, Arabs and Palestinians set in the Jewish Museum, Camden Town and at the Somerset House Islamic Exhibition 'Heaven on Earth', will take place on Sunday 26th September facilitated by Leah Thorn and Ali. Registration in advance is essential: 020-7284 1997.

The launch of 2 innovative publications will take place on 11th November 2004 - the 'Across the Divide' booklet of literature and the Multi Exposure visual arts publication 'What Remains to be Seen'.

Exiled Writers Ink with the New North London Synagogue
Across the Divide Project
Fact and Fiction in Narrative
Palestinian writer: Samir El Youssef Novella contributor to ‘Gaza Blues’, published 2004 in conversation with novelist: Linda Grant - Winner of Orange Prize for Fiction, reading from ‘Suppose a City’ to be published in 2005.
Chaired by Matthew Reisz, Editor of the Jewish Quarterly.
Tuesday 5th October 2004 at 8 pm
New North London Synagogue
80 East End Road, London N2
Cost: £6
BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL
To book: send cheque payable to Exiled Writers Ink
Miriam Frank, 27 Duncan Terrace, London N1 8BS
Funded by: Awards For All and The Kessler Foundation

Across the Divide 3
Aiming to bring together Jews, Muslims, Palestinians, Israelis, Arabs and all other directly affected groups/individuals to develop ways of 'Writing Across the Divide'.

8 Creative Writing Workshops
on Thursdays 6.30 to 8.30 pm
from 15th Jan 2004
Diorama Arts Centre, 34 Osnaburgh Street, London NW1 3ND

Free plus Refreshments!
Register NOW!
Please contact Exiled Writers Ink! jennifer@exiledwriters.fsnet.co.uk and 020-8458 1910 to register.
Funded by Awards For All and The Kessler Foundation

Across the Divide 2: Writing in the Face of Conflict
(developing the impetus of: Across the Divide: Palestinian and Israeli Writers Speak Out)

With writers: Raba'i Madhoun and Assaf Gavron
followed by mixed facilitated creative discussion and writing workshop groups around roots, culture, identity, religion, anger etc.
Plenary session

Refreshments

Sunday 8th June 2003, from 2.00 to 5.00
at The Stanhope Centre for Communications Policy Research
18-20 Stanhope Place, London W2
(nearest tube: Marble Arch)

Booking in advance is essential:
£ 5 and £3 for unemployed refugees
Please make cheques payable to:
Exiled Writers Ink!
31 Hallswelle Road, London NW11 ODH

Across the Divide:
Palestinian and Israeli Writers Speak Out


Sunday 6th April 2003, 7.00 – 10.00 pm
SOAS, Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre, Thornhaugh Street,
Russell Square, London WC1
Chairs: Amanda Hopkinson, Arts England & Moris Farhi MBE, Vice-President International PEN, Savyon Liebrecht, Kamal Kadoura tbc, Assaf Gavron, Samir El-Youssef,Gilad Atzmon, Ghada Karmi
Discussion Forum:
Dafna Dori and Band,Wissam Boustany, flautist
April 6th, 2003: the Iraqi war was still in full flow, Blair and Bush were sidelining into pushing for the ‘Road Map’ to peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The chasm between Jew and Muslim, Israeli and Palestinian, gaped like a black hole. But in between the chasm and the pain, nearly 200 people arrived at the Brunei Gallery, at the School of Oriental and African Studies, to listen, to talk, to share, to lay down the girders for a bridge ‘Across the Divide’.
Organised by Exiled Writers Ink! the evening was nothing if not controversial. Exiled Jews from Iraq mingled with Algerian writers, refugees from Bosnia and Saudi Arabia, Jews from London, Israelis, and Kurds from the torture chambers of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Chaired by Amanda Hopkinson from the Arts Council England, the audience were treated to a glittering array of readings, instrumental pieces and songs, offered by Israelis and Palestinians, willing to share a platform and sit together in peace and friendship.
In the second half Moris Farhi MBE, Vice-President International PEN, chaired readings and an all too brief discussion, which continued long after the darkened halls of SOAS had been left far behind.
The range and depth of work, which the audience were treated to, matched perfectly the eagerness expressed in multiple exchanges in the interval and a deep desire to tear down the barriers, which have arisen between these two great Semitic peoples.
Judith Elkan, a child psychotherapist, posed the question, “Isn’t it time for all of us to say sorry?” Her message was one of repair and reconciliation, echoing the brave work in South Africa, after the fall of the apartheid system. An active member of the Israel/Palestinian Peace Coalition, her message was one of hope that bitterness and hatred can be overcome in these two societies.
Wissam Boustany, the inspirational and internationally acclaimed flautist from Lebanon, created for us an improvisation on the wind as a symbol of his desire to sit down with his Israeli neighbours and build a world where politics no longer exerts a destructive influence. Playing in total darkness, Boustany transported us on the magical wind of his beautiful music to a world where peace and friendship have swept away the pain of conflict.
By contrast Gilad Atzmon, an Israeli jazz saxophonist and writer, challenged us to reject the idea of a two state solution. His vision was one country, Palestine, based on equality and democracy, where all the people of the region, Jews, Palestinians, Christians, Druze, Bedouin, will live together and share the ancient land. Through his music Atzmon works to break down the barriers between Israelis and Arabs. To watch his interaction with Boustany, who sat close and constantly patted his shoulder in agreement and friendship, was to feel that those barriers can and will fall one day, whether one or two states emerge.
Samir El-Youssef, a well-known Palestinian writer, read the first chapter of a novella, which will be published in England this year, in the same book as several short stories by the Israeli writer, Etgar Keret. The writers and their publisher, David Paul, believe that such a combined effort could reveal the extent of similarities in the new forms of narratives emerging from both Israeli and Palestinian writers of a new generation.
It is just this lack of narrative which urges Ghada Karmi to write. A Palestinian who has made her home in London, Karmi points out that the world does not really feel the pain and hopes of the Palestinians because of the lack of narratives emerging from her people. Just as the Jews wrote so extensively about the Holocaust and informed the world of their terrible sufferings, so Karmi exhorts the Palestinians to emerge from the shadows and create the narratives which will tell the world their story. Reading from her memoir, ‘In search of Fatima: a Palestinian story,’ Karmi leads the way which hopefully will be followed by many others.
And finally Assaf Gavron, a young Israeli, army veteran and supporter of his country, while also keen to seek peace with his neighbours, read from his book which does not address politics, pain or suffering. Instead his story is about ordinary people, Israelis, who work in a removals firm in New York and get into trouble with the Ukraine mafia. Perhaps Gavron’s message is simply, in troubled times a writer must find his own voice and write what speaks to him. There is room for many kinds of artistic voices in the struggle to build a bridge.
In between the readings and discussion Dafna Dori and her band provided songs from the Yemen and the Middle East to flavour the whole evening with the sound of love amongst ancient villages and the olive groves.
A truly momentous evening, which will ring in our hearts and minds for many evenings to come.
Exiled Writers Ink! have planned a series of future events to include an afternoon in June where participants will have a further opportunity to meet and develop dialogue with an Israeli and Palestinian writer, as well as join a writing workshop to give voice to issues raised. In the long term, a series of workshops are being planned to allow the different groups to write together in facilitated workshops with a view to producing a publication at the end.

EXILED WRITERS INK! London New Writing Competition Workshops

Do you want to write a story about London and enter this prestigious competition? Then come to Creative Writing Workshops run by Exiled Writers INK!

Three workshops and one-on-one tutorial and editing sessions to prepare for the London New writing Competition run by Booktrust.

Competition designed for talented writers who have yet to publish a full-length book. Entries of up to 7,000 words of fiction or non- narrative fiction on the theme of London as a culturally diverse city. Winners will be published in an anthology with more established writers.
First prize £1,500 five further prizes of £300.

Workshops on Tuesday July 27, August 3rd and August 10th 2004 from 6-8pm at The Poetry Cafe Upstairs (on the first floor), 22 Betterton Street London WC2 Nearest tube: Covent Garden

Interpreters available ( please call if you need one)
Travel costs available
Se habla español
Call 07803125064 for further information


High Profile event:

Wednesday 30th June at 7.30 pm
'Writing in the face of Conflict or Oppression'
Chaired by distinguished writer: Lisa Appignanesi
With a panel of writers from areas of conflict:
Oz Shelach: Israel www.oznik.com
Bashir Sakhawarz: Afghanistan
and two others, tbc
Celebrated Singer: Lloica Czakis: Argentina www.lloicaczackis.com

Stanhope Centre for Communications Policy Research Stanhope House, Stanhope Place, London W2 (nearest tube station: Marble Arch) refreshments £5 and £3 members


Exiled Writers Ink! with Hammersmith & Fulham & Ealing Arts Teams and Libraries

Neither Here Nor There

*Exciting Project with the Arabic Speaking Communities of West London
*Get Creative and Express Yourself - Translation - Publication of an anthology


8 weekly workshops for Arabic Speaking Women
With facilitator: Khadija Ait-Ammi
Starting Wednesday 4th February 2004 from 9.30 – 11.30
Northfields Library, Northfield Avenue, W5
(next to Northfields underground station)


 

Rebwar
 


8 weekly workshops for Arabic Speakers (over 50s)
with facilitator Khadija Ait Ammi
starting Tuesday 27th April to 15th June from 3.15 to 4.15 Grove Neighbourhood Centre Bradmore Park Road London W6



Rebwar
 


Calling all exiled writers!

Inside Out: Outside In

Tell and write your stories and poems of living in exile or of experiences as an 'outsider' in society.

Classes every Monday starting on October 20th 12.00 –2.00 pm
Diorama Arts Centre 34 Osnaburgh Street, NW1 3ND
Call 07803125064 to let us know you are coming.

This is an eight week creative writing course for all levels which will look at ideas of exclusion and belonging, identity and making new spaces to live in a multi-cultural Britain.

Help will be provided with English and some translators and interpreters will be available. There will be possibilities for some students to contribute to the Exiled Ink! magazine and to read at public performances.

Travel costs of £2 per student will be paid.
Nearest tube - Great Portland Street Station (Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City lines). Warren Street station also possible – Victoria & Northern lines).

Buses: C2, 18, 27, 30, 88

Arts Council


Exiled Writers Ink! in the Wordwide Festival

Neither Here Nor There &
Breaking the Silence: Somali women speak out

Saturday 27 September
Shepherds Bush Library, 7 Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush, W 12
To book a place call 020 8753 3842 or just come along

1.30 - 3.30pm

If you are Arabic and have always wanted to write or perform, get involved with this high-profile project taking place in Hammersmith & Fulham and Ealing and join us for the launch of Neither Here Nor There.

In Breaking the Silence: Women Speak Out, Somali women perform an extract of this powerful and emotional work created for Refugee Week by Exiled Writers Ink! and Somali women from the Horn of Africa Women's Association. An interactive workshop on the theme of journeys will follow.


Exiled Writers Ink! with Horn of Africa Women's Association theatre

Breaking The Silence:
somali women speak out

FUNDED BY ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND
Breaking the Silence is a powerful and emotional work of experimental interdisciplinary theatre especially created for Refugee Week by Exiled Writers Ink! with Somali Women from the Horn of Africa Women's Association in collaboration with Evlynn Sharp and Dictynna Hood.
Two performances only!
Followed by discussion
Friday 20th June 2003
1.00 to 2.30
Soho Theatre and Writers Centre, 21 Dean Street, London W1
£ 5 and £2 unemployed refugees
Tickets from 31 Hallswelle Road, London NW11 ODH
Tube: Leicester Square or Tottenham Court Road
and
Saturday 21st June 2003
7.00 pm
Hampstead Theatre, The Space, Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London NW3
£ 7 and £3 unemployed refugees
020-7722 9301 - Box office
Tube: Swiss Cottage


Recent Projects


Peeling the Skin of Time

Peeling the Skin of Time is a work of experimental theatre which was devised especially for Refugee Week 2002 by writers form Cyprus, Iran, Kurdistan and Bangladesh. It is an exploration of internal and external landscapes and depicts the excitement and commotion of a society made up of people from elsewhere and was performed at the Arcola and New End Theatres, London in June 2002.

Peeling the skin of time
© Abol Froushan


Peeling the skin of time
Peeling the skin of time
  Peeling the skin of time
Peeling the skin of time


An evening with the actress 'without borders'
, Nora Armani, who performed from her theatre production 'On the Couch', written by her and performed in London, Paris, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Montreal. Born in Egypt of Armenian parents, educated in England and after years spent in the United States, currently dividing her time between London and Paris, Nora Armani is a transnational. You can visit her web site - www.noraarmani.com.

Abol Froushan
© Abol Froushan

Seminar: another land another voice

This took place in May at the Soho Theatre and Writers Centre in collaboration with Index on Censorship. The place was packed! Panel themes were: The Literature of Exile, The Exilic Voice of Women Writers and Finding the Self and Creating a Home in a New Language. Two workshops to generate creative activity also took place and the day ended with a recital which included performances by Sahira Hussain, singer and oud player, Tara Jaff, singer and harpist and Saido, singer and by Shirin Razavian, poet and Choman Hardi, poet.


©Copyrights of photographs and poems remain with the author