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Maxamed Ibraahin Warsame ‘Hadraawi’

29/10/13

PLEASE NOTE THE EVENT DATE HAS CHANGED TO THE ABOVE

The Mosaic Rooms is delighted to present with The Poetry Translation Centre a special evening of poetry with Maxamed Ibraahin Warsame ‘Hadraawi’ who is widely regarded as the greatest living Somali poet.

Hadraawi is profoundly loved and admired by the Somali people, not only for his peerless poetry but also for the principled stand he has taken against corruption and depredations of inter-clan fighting that have deeply scarred Somali society.  He was imprisoned for five years by Siad Berre’s dictatorship.

Born in 1943 in Togdheer, Hadraawi means the master or father of speech. He is honoured for creating profound and beautiful poems that enrich and expand the centuries-old oral poetry tradition that is central to contemporary Somali culture and identity; for sustaining shared historical awareness and inclusive discourse in divisive times; for his lifelong commitment to community development and social justice; and for building bridges, providing inspiration and promoting peace through poetry.

In December 2012, Hadraawi was granted the prestigious Prince Claus Fund Award. To celebrate this achievement the Poetry Translation Centre, in partnership with the Redsea Cultural Foundation and Kayd Somali Arts and Culture, embarked on an ambitious programme to translate a selection of Hadraawi’s poems. This true labour of love was undertaken by the British poet, W N Herbert, working closely with the Somali translators Maxam Xasan ‘Alto’ and Said Jama Hussein. The resulting full-length book Hadraawi: The Poet and the Man which has just been published to huge enthusiasm, reveals the breadth of Hadraawi’s concerns and his dazzling mastery of metaphor in brilliant translations.

This is a very special opportunity to witness Hadraawi reading alongside his translator W N Herbert.

FREE, rsvp@mosaicrooms.org

 

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