Friday 14 June 2013

ABDULKAREEM KASID AT THE BRITISH LIBRARY



To the BL last week, to record, alongside his reading in Arabic, some of the English versions of the London-based Iraqi poet's poems that I've been making with him over the last two or three years. He's on my right. The Punjabi poet Amarjit Chandan, who conducted the interview with Kareem accompanying the reading, is on my left. The photo was taken by curator Stephen Cleary. 

The series is 'Between Two Worlds: Poetry and Translation'. It is an  audio recording project conducted by the  Library in collaboration with Amarjit Chandan. The aim is to to record for posterity a wide range of poets who are bilingual or have English as a second language, or who otherwise reflect the project's theme of dual cultures. Most of the poets selected have migrated to the UK from the countries in which they were born.

The format is a reading of a selection of poems followed by an interview on the personal experiences and situations that may have influenced the poet's creative work. There over thirty poets recorded so far. You can listen to the readings on the Library's website. Abdulkareem Kasid's recording should be there soon.

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