Saturday 19 September
13:00 - 14:00
with
Presentations
Poetik Bazar is partnering with the Centre Pompidou and the Arab World Institute to pay a multifaceted and contemporary tribute to the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish (1941–2008).
Deeply influenced by the Palestinian cause, his work blends the personal and the political by exploring recurring themes of the homeland, the mother, identity, and exile.
At Poetik Bazar, we create collective moments; we open the stage to radiate and share joy through its activist spaces and political forms. Thus, by dedicating this poetry event to Mahmoud Darwish, we celebrate one of the greatest voices in Arabic poetry.
Both an act of resistance and a living memory of Palestine, Mahmoud Darwish’s poetry transcends time and place and continues to resonate powerfully today. Let us echo his voice.
Participants in the call for submissions and readings—which took place between July 16 and August 16—who have been selected will come to share their poems on the personal and the political, a text exploring themes of the homeland, the mother, identity, and exile, or a text written in the style of Mahmoud Darwish or paying tribute to him. Texts by Mahmoud Darwish will also be read in several languages.
With readings of: oZ, Wise Kalimat, Frantz Kerby Mathieu, Najwa Benchebab, Sarah Khilaji, Luisa Mar Gal, Oumaima Khazari, Emilie Tack, Robin Bonenfant, Laura Schlichter, Asma Soulista, Kamel Sadok
Learn more about Mahmoud Darwich:
Born on March 13, 1941, in Al-Birwa (Mandatory Palestine) and died on August 9, 2008, Mahmoud Darwich wrote more than twenty collections of poetry and seven works of prose. Arguably the most widely read and translated Arab poet, Mahmoud Darwich is recognized as one of the leading voices in contemporary poetry in the Arab world.
Active in the Palestine Liberation Organization, he joined its Executive Committee in 1987, which he left in 1993 in protest against the Oslo Accords.
After more than thirty years in exile (notably in Beirut, Tunis, and Paris), he settled in Palestine—in Ramallah—where he continued his work until his death in 2008.
Our speakers
