We’re excited to have you join us at The Global Teach in / Teach Out afternoon at the Horniman Museum on Tuesday 11 November. There will be two poetry workshops running on the day and you can choose to join one or both of them. The workshops will be run twice each with support from MFI and the Poetry Translation Centre. Details on the workshops as follows:
Introduction to Poetry Translation Workshop with Alireza Abiz at 2.30pm and 4pm
Working from a short Farsi poem that resonates with the themes of migration and home, poet and translator Alireza Abiz will lead this hands-on workshop looking at the vexing and rewarding process of poetry translation. The session will begin with a poem being read in Farsi, and a short introduction to the poet and the context of their work. The group will then get to work on an English translation, working from a guide translation prepared in advance. By discussing the possible meanings and making creative choices about their collaborative transition the group will create their own new English version of the poem.
Creative Multilingualism Workshop with Fathima Zahra at 2.30pm and 4pm
This workshop will start with poet facilitator Fatima Zahra sharing some examples of multilingual poetry with the group, looking at how different writers have incorporated many languages and cultural influences into their work. The participants will then create their own multilingual texts. Everyone will start by responding to prompts from the facilitator. The workshop will be split into smaller groups, so the participants can support one another. Everyone will be encouraged to share their different languages, creating a multilingual, mutually supportive space for generating new poems. At the end of the the workshop their will be an opportunity for everyone to share their poems if they choose.
Facilitator bios
Fathima Zahra is an Indian poet, performer and facilitator based in London. She is an alum of the Roundhouse Poetry Collective, Barbican Young Poets and BBC 1Xtra Words First. Her poems have won the Bridport Prize, Asia House Poetry Slam and Wells Fest Young Poets Prize. She has performed her work at venues across the UK including Hay Festival, Latitude and Last Word festival. Her debut pamphlet sargam / swargam (ignitionpress, 2021) was selected as Poetry Book Society’s pamphlet choice. She completed her MA in Creative Writing and Education at Goldsmiths University of London, with distinction.
Alireza Abiz is an Iranian poet, literary critic and translator. Abiz has written extensively on Persian contemporary literature and culture. He has so far published six collections of poetry in Persian: Stop! We must get off, Spaghetti with Mexican Sauce, I can hear a tree from my desk, 13/1 Koohsangi Street, Black Line- London Underground, and The Desert Monitor. Abiz is an award-winning translator and has translated some leading English language poets including W.B. Yeats, Ted Hughes, Basil Bunting, Derek Walcott, Allen Ginsberg and C.K. Williams into Persian.
