Palestinian-Italian writer Sabrin Hasbun on the creation of Awraq Festival, and this year’s poetry tour by Fady Joudah.

I am a writer and nothing can make me change my mind about the power of words and literature, yet somehow the idea of a literature festival in the time of genocide did not feel right. We wanted to create a festival that was not (only) about escapism. So in collaboration with the Palestinian museum in Bristol, Awraq Festival was born.

Awraq in Arabic means pages, music sheets, leaves… we wanted a Festival that could be as generative as possible, that people could come to not just for beauty but for ideas, community, energy for change, a space where people could come to talk about alternatives and start planning towards them. Inspired by Maree Brown’s quote – “I often feel I am trapped inside someone else’s imagination, and I must engage my own imagination in order to break free. […] This is a time-travel exercise for the heart. This is collaborative ideation – what are the ideas that will liberate us all?” – the first year of Awraq had an incredible programme of different activities and talks and conversations.

But this year, with the ongoing horrors unfolding in front of our eyes, we felt the need for a moment of deeper listening and decided to bring to the UK Palestinian-American poet Fady Joudah. This is Fady’s first UK tour and it is an incredible honour to be able to organise it through Awraq. For many, Fady is one of the visionary poets of our time – I couldn’t agree more. His words are unapologetic and full of clarity and tenderness.

Fady will tour in the South West at the beginning of June:

  • Bath – Friday 6th June, 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM (Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution)
  • Bristol – Saturday, 7th June, 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM (Bristol Folk House)
  • Cardiff – Monday, 9th June, 7:30PM to 9PM (The Gate, Keppoch Street)

You really do not want to miss this.

There are also places available for a workshop about writing in times of erasure that I will facilitate on Sunday (8th June, 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, at Bristol’s Palestine Museum).

For more information and tickets please visit: https://awraqfestival.com/ and follow @awraqfestival on Instagram.

Fady’s poetry tour is supported by Counterpoints.