Make a date with Syrian poets this July

Banipal · Guest

Make a date with Syrian poets this July – in Ledbury and in London

Hala Mohammad, Monzer Masri, Rasha Omran and Lukman Derky visit the UK for events at the Ledbury Poetry Festival Poetry and at the London Review Bookshop

Little is known here of literary life in Syria, but there’s an extraordinarily vibrant cultural and literary scene. Some of the Arab world’s greatest 20th-century modern poets came from this region – Yousef al-Khal and Adonis who started the ground-breaking poetry magazine Sh’ir in 1957, which was an incredible powerhouse publishing all the Arab poets who were overturning centuries of traditional fixed metre and liberating it with free verse and prose poems. The late Nizar Qabbani and Mohammad al-Maghut, also from Syria, were pioneers of passion and every day life in their works, achieving phenomenal reputations in the Arab world and beyond.

Hala Mohammad, Monzer Masri, Rasha Omran and Lukman Derky are four exceptional poets who make huge contributions to today’s artistic and literary life in Syria in other spheres too: Hala is a successful documentary film-maker – a taster of her work will introduce the 5 July event; Monzer is a painter; Rasha directs the annual Al-Sindiyan festival of culture; and Lukman, an indefatigable journalist with his own column in a daily newspaper also co-founded the satirical newspaper Al-Dumery and then started Alif magazine for new writing, as well as finding time to adapt fiction for television and theatre and performing as an actor.

Saturday 5 July

5.30pm - 6.30pm

Market Theatre, Ledbury

Poetry and Censorship

The four Syrian poets travel to Ledbury for this exclusive event, and through performance and discussion reveal the latest trends in Arab poetry, arts and writing

To book for this event, phone the festival booking office on 0845 4581743

or go to http://www.intelligent-tickets.co.uk/index.php?pg=selectevent&start=1&sel=10

Sunday 6 July

8.00pm-10.00pm

The Barn at Hellens, Much Marcle

Syrian Poetry and Music

An exhilarating evening of poetry and music with Hala Mohammad, Monzer Masri, Rasha Omran and Lukman Derky and renowned oud player Attab Haddad.

To book for this event, phone the festival booking office on 0845 4581743 or go to http://www.intelligent-tickets.co.uk/index.php?pg=selectevent&start=1&sel=21

Tuesday 8 July

7pm. Doors open 6.30pm

London Review Bookshop, 14 Bury Place, London WC1A 2JL

Breaking through: Syrian writers in conversation and performance

Hala Mohammed, Monzer Masri, Rasha Omran and Lukman Derky – in performance and conversation on writing, publishing and the arts in Syria today. There will be readings of poems, newly translated for the latest issue of Banipal, No 31, which includes a major feature on contemporary Syrian literature.

Booking essential for 8 July as seating is limited. Full price tickets are £6. Discounted tickets for LRB and Banipal subscribers are £4. Phone credit card hotline on 020 7269 9030 to book discounted tickets. To book a full-price place, click here or go to: http://www.lrbshop.co.uk/product.php?productid=4121

To reserve a place and pay on the door, email: info@banipal.co.uk

For more information about the writers, go to: http://www.banipal.co.uk/events/coming.php

Banipal 31, Spring 2008, starts a major feature on contemporary Syrian Literature and includes works by the four visiting poets

For all details and list of contents, click here or go to: http://www.banipal.co.uk/current_issues/

To get a copy now, click here or go to: http://www.banipal.co.uk/buy_issue/index.php?issueid=60

To subscribe for 2008, click here or go to: http://www.banipal.co.uk/subscribe/

The four poets make this special visit to the UK for the Ledbury Poetry Festival and the London Review Bookshop event with the support of the British Council, the Arab British Centre, Banipal and the Ledbury Poetry Festival. In association with Banipal.