Poetry as Preservation is workshop series that aims to explore local heritage whilst focusing on language and the impact of borders have on how individuals choose to identify. We look forward to working with young Tanzanian writers who are interested in continuing this conversation and adding to the collective history of the region. Our workshops are grounded in Swahili and Sudanese poetry alongside diasporic East African voices, highlighting the linguistic and stylistic diversity of the region's poetics. The forms we will explore will range from ushairi poetry (derived fromthe Arabic shi'ir) to utenzi and colloquial verse. From Shabaan bin Robert (often called the father of Swahili poetry) -to Taban Lo Liyong Mahjoub Sharif and Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi, we will use poets to celebrate East African poetics as both a set of traditions and a window into questions of national identity and belonging. Diasporic poets such as Safia Elhillo, Nick Makoha, Dalia El Hassan and Warsan Shire will interrogate how the diaspora, the dispersed, respond to these questions.
Some of the poems we will be workshopping include:
• Mwana Kupona binti Msham – Utendi/The advice
• Sayyid Adballah – The Inkishaf
• Al Saddiq Al-Raddi - Poem of the Nile
• Mahjoub Sharif - A Homesick Sparrow
• Safia Elhillo - Interview for the position of abdel halim hafez's girl,
• Nick Makoha - Stone
• Warsan Shire – Ugly
Dates and time
29 July 2019
10:00 – 13:00
Cost
Free of charge
Age
18-35
Address
British Council (Sudan) Abu Sin St, Al Khartoum
What will I get from taking part?
• Submit this writing into Sawti’s Poetry Prize and Zine submissions to be published in the UK.
• Exercise exploring and navigating your local identity through writing
• Meet and network with other young writers from a similar cultural background
• Add to the collective history of the region by interacting with what already exists
• The opportunity to share, develop and receive feedback on your own work
Who will be facilitating the project?
Led by Sudanese writer Mohamed Yahia – Al-Hajjay.
I have additional needs. Can I still take part?
We have places available on all our workshops for individuals with additional needs. Get in touch so
that we can discuss your requirements and do our best in supporting you.
To apply send an email to arts@sd.britishcouncil.org before 29 July 2019 including your name, contacts and a piece of your work in poetry.