Poets House and City Lore are working with the public library systems in six cities across the country for this project. Poetic Voices of the Muslim World at each library includes a series of programs presenting the varied poetic traditions of the Muslim world through the scholarly interpretation of the art and an 18 panel traveling exhibit to introduce the project to library patrons, engage broad interest and illustrate key concepts. The exhibit and related programs were presented in Jacksonville and Los Angeles in Spring 2013; Washington, DC and Milwaukee in Fall 2013; and Detroit and New York City in the spring of 2014. The project travels to San Francisco and St Louis in Spring 2015, and Atlanta and Houston in Fall 2015.
Current City
San Francisco, St Louis - Carpenter Branch, St Louis - Central Library, and St Louis - Schlafly Branch
Fearless Experiments: Khaled Mattawa on Adonis
SCHEDULE
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
Poet and translator Khaled Mattawa reads and discusses the poetry of Syrian writer Adonis (1930- ), considered one of the Arab world's greatest living poets. Audiences leave with an understanding of why Adonis’ influence on Arabic literature has been so remarkable, likened to that of T. S. Eliot’s on English-language poetry.
Islam and The Blues with Dr. Sylviane Diouf
Jacksonville
Sat, March 2, 2013
Milwaukee
Sun, November 3, 2013
Washington DC
Mon, October 7, 2013
Detroit
Thu, January 1, 1970
Jamaica, NY (NYC Borough of Queens)
Sat, April 5, 2014
San Francisco
Wed, April 8, 2015
St Louis - Central Library
Wed, May 20, 2015
SCHEDULE
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
Through images and recordings, award-winning historian Sylviane A. Diouf of the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture illustrates how the blues, which originated in the American South, may have evolved from the techniques of the recitation of the Qur'an and the call to prayer in West Africa. She plays early blues recordings side by side with African recordings of the call to prayer and invites audiences to catch the similarities.
Love Speaks: A Day of Art and Poetry from the Muslim World
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York NY
Sun, May 11, 2014
SCHEDULE
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
Celebrate Mother’s Day by exploring the many facets of love through poetry performances, workshops, and artist demonstrations in the Islamic Art galleries, followed by a special Sunday at the Met reading and discussion with New York State Poet Marie Howe, renowned poet and editor Kazim Ali, and Columbia University scholar Frances Pritchett.
1:00-1:30pm & 2:00-2:30pm Poetry Writing Workshop
Write your own short poem and be inspired by works of art in the galleries during this workshop with poet Kazim Ali.
1:30-2:00pm & 2:30-3:00pm Gallery Performance and Poetry Reading
Experience the unique mystical style and virtuosity of performer Amir Vahab during gallery performances.
1:00-4:00pm (30 minute sessions) Artist Demonstrations
Explore love, Islamic visual traditions, and written language through traditional and contemporary techniques. Watch master calligrapher Elinor Aishah Holland demonstrate Islamic scripts and learn about Ishqnama, The Book of Love and other recent projects from artist Laimah Osman. Join both artists as you try your own hand at making a folding book and beautiful lettering.
1:00pm How Did They Do That? Tilework of the Islamic World
Peek at technique and learn—through handling tools and materials—how Islamic tiles were created.
3:00pm Sunday at the Met: Love Speaks: A Day of Art and Poetry from the Muslim World
Poets and scholars respond to the theme of love in art and poetry in the Muslim World. Presentations by Marie Howe, New York State Poet and Dr. Frances Pritchett, Professor Emerita of Modern Indic Languages, Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies, Columbia University, with a poetry reading by Kazim Ali.
Mohja Kahf (Poetry Reading and Talk)
Jackson Heights NY (NYC Borough of Queens)
Thu, January 1, 1970
SCHEDULE
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
Syrian-American poet Mohja Kahf, who grew up in a devout Muslim household that relocated to the U.S. when she was three, discusses the stereotypes about Muslims and Arabs—as victimized women, terrorists, and the antithesis of America--which she dismantles in her poetry. She also examines both American and Islamic poetic traditions as well as global popular culture that she draws upon.
Persis Karim (Poetry Reading and Talk)
Sat, April 6, 2013
San Francisco
Tue, April 7, 2015
SCHEDULE
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
Poet and scholar Persis Karim, who was born in San Francisco but whose father is Iranian, talks about how key political events prompted her to claim her identity as an Iranian-American through the study of literature and the writing of poetry. She also discusses her work as an editor and translator of writing by Iranian women and how it challenges media portrayals of Iranian women as veiled and silenced.
Poetry from Anatolia: the Ottoman Lyric and the Turkish Folk Song with Dr. Kemal Silay
Los Angeles
Sat, April 13, 2013
SCHEDULE
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
Translator, scholar, and “living encyclopedia” of Turkish verse, Kemal Silay introduces two rich but parallel traditions from the Ottoman Empire—the complex and cosmopolitan divan lyrics of the Ottoman court poet Fuzûlî, who wrote Layla and Majnun (the Muslim world’s Romeo and Juliet), and the Turkish vernacular sung poetry of Anatolia’s aşık troubadour Yunus Emre—and explores how they both express a distinctly Turkish world view.
Song of the Reed: Rumi with Dr. Jawid Mojadeddi and Amir Vahab (Talk with Performance)
Jacksonville
Wed, May 29, 2013
Los Angeles Westwood Branch Library
Tue, March 12, 2013
Milwaukee
Tue, September 24, 2013
Detroit
Sat, March 15, 2014
Detroit
Thu, January 1, 1970
Flushing NY (NYC Borough of Queens)
Thu, January 1, 1970
St Louis - Central Library
Wed, April 29, 2015
SCHEDULE
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
13th century Persian poet Rumi is now one of the most widely read poets in the United States. In this talk, scholar and translator Jawid Mojaddedi discusses the beauty of Rumi’s Masnavi: its folk tales, sacred history, entertaining stories and lessons, all written in rhyming couplets. This talk is followed by a performance of the poems set to music (in English and Persian) by distinguished composer and Persian classical performer Amir Vahab with his ensemble.
Syrian-American Hip-Hop & Spoken Word artist Omar Offendum
Detroit
Fri, May 30, 2014
San Francisco
Wed, April 15, 2015
SCHEDULE
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
Omar Offendum is a Syrian-American Poet & Hip-Hop artist born in Saudi Arabia, raised in Washington DC and currently living in Los Angeles. Offendum has been featured on ABC News, Al-Jazeera, the BBC, PBS and other major news outlets, helped raise thousands of dollars for various humanitarian relief organizations, and lectured at a number of prestigious academic institutions including Harvard, MIT, Columbia and the American University of Beirut. Most recently he has been involved in creating several critically-acclaimed songs about the popular democratic uprisings throughout the Middle East & North Africa.
The History and Poetics of the Qur’an with Dr. Bruce Lawrence
St Louis - Carpenter Branch
Wed, May 6, 2015
SCHEDULE
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
From the 18th century to the present, there have been some sixty translations of the Qur’an from Arabic into English. Mixing metrical and non-metrical language, the Qur’an is stylistically distinct in Arabic and has posed particular challenges for translators. In this seminar, distinguished scholar Bruce Lawrence gives an overview of the structure of Islam’s holiest book and introduces the subtleties of the text through a close reading of several different English translations. This lecture is followed by a recitation of Qur’anic verses by a reciter from a local mosque.
The Worlds of the Ghazal with Syed Akbar Hyder and Kiran Ahluwalia (Talk with Performance)
Jacksonville
Sat, April 6, 2013
Flushing NY (NYC Borough of Queens)
Sat, April 26, 2014
SCHEDULE
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
Composed in sets of two-line verses, the ghazal has long been favored by poets from the Arabic Golden Age and the Ottoman courts to the contemporary English-speaking worrld. Scholar Syed Akbar Hyder offers a brief history of this form and close, thoughtful readings of work by two Urdu masters--Mir Taqi Mir (1723-1810) and Mirza Ghalib (1797-1869)--which demonstrate the beauty of the form. This lecture is followed by a performance by Indo-Canadian ghazal singer Kiran Ahluwalia and her accompanist Rez Abbasi, who bring contemporary stylings to this timeless work.
Veils and Words: Iranian Women Poets of the 20th Century with Dr. Farzaneh Milani
Washington DC
Tue, September 10, 2013
St Louis - Schlafly Branch
Thu, May 14, 2015
SCHEDULE
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
Professor of Persian Literature, author, and translator Dr. Farzaneh Milani explores the work of Iran’s three great women poets of the 20th century--classical poet Parvin E'tesami (1907-1941), iconoclastic modernist Forugh Farrokhzad (1935-1967),and the “Lioness of Iran” Simin Behbahani (1927- ). She also demonstrates how Iranian women have emerged as a moderating, modernizing force at the forefront of the renegotiation of boundaries in their homelands.
Words of Praise: the Qasida with Dr. Michael Sells with Amir ElSaffar and Safaafir (Talk with Performance)
Jacksonville
Tue, March 26, 2013
Los Angeles
Sat, May 18, 2013
Detroit
Sat, March 15, 2014
SCHEDULE
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
The qasida is a long rhymed ode common to Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Urdu literature. It originated among Arab Bedouins as an oral poem in praise of the tribe or denigrating its enemies. Michael Sells’ insightful talk reveals the remarkable richness of language and range of emotions evoked by Arabic Golden Age poets Imru al-Qays and al-Mutanabbi. Dr. Sells describes how the form continues to be used today in contexts as varied as televised political commentaries and village weddings. This lecture is followed by an Iraqi maqam performance by Amir El-Saffar and his ensemble Safaafir, who draw on forms like the qasid from the Arabic Golden Age.
Yemeni Women’s Poetic Traditions with Dr. Najwa Adra
Milwaukee
Sun, November 17, 2013
SCHEDULE
ABOUT THIS PROGRAM
Dr. Najwa Adra is an anthropologist who traveled to Yemen to explore and record women’s songs, short poems, and rhyming proverbs from rural areas to illustrate the ways in which poetry is integrated into village life. She describes how verse is used by women as a socially acceptable way to express their feelings and opinions, even conveying how they feel about prospective suitors for marriage. She also discusses the impact that economic and social changes and recently imported conservative interpretations of Islam have had on these traditions.