Maandag 10 okt. 2016: Commitment and Poetry

With Najwan Darwish and Mia You & Petra de Bruijn

This event will bring together the two young and talented poets Najwan Darwish and Mia You for a poetry-reading session. They will, furthermore, discuss with Dr. de Bruijn questions regarding commitment in literature, fluid identities, and the power of the word as a way of representation and a vehicle for change.

Najwan Darwish is a Palestinian poet, journalist, and literary advisor. In 2009, Hay Festival Beirut named him one of the 39 best Arab writers under the age of 40. His collection of poetry, Nothing More to Lose, (New York Review Books), which was translated into English by Kareem James Abu-Zeid, has received many positive reviews in the national and international literary scene. He is the Chief Editor of the Cultural Section of Al Araby Al Jadeed newspaper.

photo by: Veronique Vercheval

Mia You was born in South Korea, raised in the United States, and currently lives in the Netherlands. She is the author of the poetry collection I, Too, Dislike It (1913 Press, 2016) and the chapbook Objective Practice (Achiote Press, 2007). With Chloe Garcia Roberts, she founded A. BRADSTREET; she is also an editor at Perdu, an experimental literary podium in Amsterdam, and a contributing editor at The Critical Flame.

photo by: Isabella Rozendaal

Dr. Petra de Bruin works at the Middle Eastern Studies department. She combines her scholarly research in the field of modern Turkish prose literature with research in the field of performing arts, especially modern Turkish theater and Turkish film and television drama. She is currently holding the position of executive secretary of The Leiden University Centre for the Study of Islam and Society (LUCIS) and is the director ad interim of the Netherlands Interuniversity School for Islamic Studies (NISIS).

This event is sponsored by: LUCIS the A.M.Qattan Foundation & Lutfia Rabbani Foundation

Starts: 20:00
Doors open: 19.30
Entrance: 7 euro / 5 euro (students, stadspas and vvl-members)

Reserveren kan via de website van Perdu