Poetry as Preservation: Exploring East African Narratives
This is one in a series of workshops titled Poetry as Preservation aiming to explore local heritage whilst focusing on language and the impactof borders have on how individuals choose to identify. It targets young Tanzanian poets who are interested in continuing this conversation and adding to the collective history of the region.
The workshops are grounded in Swahili and Sudanese poetry alongside diasporic East African voices, highlighting the linguistic and stylistic diversity of the region’s poetics. In In this workshop, poets will explore forms ranging from ushairi poetry (derived from the 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; using 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: Thursday 4th July 2019
Times: 10am – 5:00pm (followed by an open forum)
Cost: FREE
Age: 18-35
# of participants: 10 (on first come first serve for meriting poets)
Language: Kiswahili and English
Address:
E&D Readership and Development Agency, Soma,
P.O. BOX 4460,
Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania.
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.
There will be an open forum to show case participating poets renditions after the workshop. Lunch and other refreshments will be available.
Who will be facilitating the project?
Led by London based Dutch/Danish-Somali Writers Sumia Jaama and Amaal Said alongside local-guest poet to be named shortly.
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.