Join one of Sudan’s most important contemporary voices, Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi, to celebrate the publication of his latest book, A Friend’s Kitchen (Poetry Translation Centre, 2023). with dual language readings in Arabic and English, discussions about the book, poetry, films and Sudanese culture.

Al-Raddi will be joined by poets Bryar Bajalan and Shook, who will speak about the experience of translating his work alongside the readings. Special guests will include the afterword contributor to A Friend’s Kitchen, Stephen Watts, one of the most influential and respected poets who has championed translation in the UK for the last forty years.

A Friend’s Kitchen, emerges in the aftermath of Al-Raddi’s arrival to London in 2012, after a forced exile from Sudan, when he was separated from his wife and children for nearly five years. During late, uncertain nights awake in a strange city, he would write brief, mystical, often stream-of-consciousness texts to post on Facebook, his primary means of communication with loved ones in Khartoum. The midnight musings soon developed into poems.

This event is hosted as part of our bookshop programme, and co-presented with the Poetry Translation Centre