Gala Readings: Poetry in Seven Languages at the British Library

The British Library, London
Saturday 18th October 2008 15:45

Part of the World Poets' Tour 2008

The high point of the World Poets' Tour was when we showcased the work of all our poets and translators at the British Library in London in a unique event featuring poetry in seven languages: Arabic, Kurdish, Portuguese, Somali, Tajik (Persian), Urdu and English.

You can see videos of all the readings: Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi with Sarah Maguire, Corsino Fortes with Sean O'Brien, Farzaneh Khojandi with Jo Shapcott and Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac 'Gaarriye' with WN Herbert.

Our indefatigable tour manager, Julia Bird, wrote a blog about the event.

Sadly, Kajal Ahmad and Noshi Gillani were unable to travel to the UK to take part in the tour. Kajal's poems were read by Mina Swara with Mimi Khalvati and Noshi's poems were read by Nukhbah Langah with Lavinia Greenlaw.