By Sehr Sarwar
Its just over a year since the renowned poet Mahmoud Darwish, The Voice of Palestine, passed away; so, fittingly, the A.M. Qattan Foundation’s ‘Mosaic Rooms’ hosted “Celebrate Darwish”, a night of his readings by contemporary poets and authors Fawzi Karim, Margaret Obank, Ruth Padel and Omar Al-Qattan. I headed down to the Earls Court venue by 6pm just in time to have a wander around the Qattan Foundation’s impressive premises and mingle with the guests over some crisps and drinks!
One of the readers was a familiar face around the Arab British Centre, the lovely Margaret Obank of Banipal literary magazine. Banipal’s office is located within the Arab British Centre so it was great to see Mrs Obank in her element on the panel reciting “A Willow Tree”.
The event was in association with yours truly, the Arab British Centre and Saqi who, in early August, published “A River Dies of Thirst: A Diary” of Darwish’s thoughts and recollections during the 2006 conflict in Ramallah. Saqi books were of course short-listed for our prestigious Arab-British Culture and Society Award 2009, which was won by Zaytoun CIC.
All four readers did the chosen six poems justice. There were no technical glitches, no screeching ring tones interrupting any of the performances and all in all, an evening thoroughly enjoyed by all the culture vultures in attendance!
To close the event, one of our ABC trustee’s, Mr Christopher Segar, thanked the Qattan foundation for the use of their fantastic Mosaic Room and impeccable organisation, the panellists for providing such a wonderful bi-lingual experience, and the ABC’s Admin and Events Officer Jenny, who ensured the evening ran smoothly. It should also be mentioned that this was Jenny’s last event with the Arab British Centre. After her (year long?) stint with the team, she’s jetting off on 8 months worth of adventures that would have made Ibn Battuta proud!
Overheard on the night….
• “Will the poet be attending this evening?”
• Q: “So, what brings you here tonight?”
A: “Well, I’m an English poet…but I also really like free wine and crisps.”
• “That last line never fails to give me shivers.”