Iraqi poets read at The Bakehouse

"On March 21^st , the tenth anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq,  a packed audience at The Bakehouse attended an evening of poetry from leading Iraqi poets Ghareeb Iskander, Zahir Mousa and Awezan Nouri with new translations of their work from John Glenday, Jen Hadfield, William Letford and Krystelle Bamford. Unfortunately a fourth poet Sabreen Khadhim, who was due to join them, was unable to participate as her visa application was denied. There were also readings for and about Iraq by favourite poets from around Scotland  - Liz Niven, Tom Pow, Chrys Salt, Hugh McMillan, Elspeth Brown, Donald Adamson, Alan McClure and Angus Macmillan all of whom  had written new work for the occasion. A rare opportunity for a Galloway audience to hear Iraqi poets, to engage, to ask questions and to enjoy the riches harvested from translation.

‘It was an enormous privilege to share the intimacy of understanding between poets with different cultures and traditions but surprisingly similar concerns’ said Chrys Salt, Artistic Director of The Bakehouse, whose younger son, then a member of the Territorial Army, was mobilised to Iraq in 2003 ‘ it is an evening that had a particular and painful resonance for me and one I will remember all my life. An amazing, unforgettable evening!’

‘I won't forget the gentle voices in strange tongues, the fine translations and the moving words’ said Dr Ewing who attended the event.

The evening was the culmination of the Reel Iraq translation project, begun in January 2013 when four Scotland-based poets met their Iraqi counterparts in Erbil, Kurdistan for the first time. They had been invited to present new work at the Erbil Literature Festival but, first, had to create new translations of each other’s work. So, before the festival, the Reel Festivals cohort retreated to the tranquility of the Safeen mountains and rolled up their sleeves. As none of the poets were fluent in the other language, it might be more fair to call these poems ‘versions’ – as each poet brought their own sensibilities to the work while maintaining a loyalty to the original poem as detailed by the poets themselves, live and in person.

After The Bakehouse the poets were due to perform at The Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh, The Poetry Club at SWG3 in Glasgow, ending the Scottish arm of their tour on the The Raploch Community, Stirling.

Chrys Salt’s limited edition collection Home Front/Front Line  ( Letters and poems: Iraq 2003)is available to order either from Roncadora Press www.hughbryden.com or  The Bakehouse website www.thebakehouse.info Price £8.00 + p&p"