PTC Online Translation Workshops: Iraqi poet Zêdan Xelef

The Poetry Translation Centre is very proud to present our first-ever workshop on Kurmanji poetry*, with poets and translators Bryar Bajalan and David Shook.

This collaborative group translation workshop will focus on the work of Iraqi poet Zêdan Xelef, who works in this dialect also known as Northern Kurdish. After starting writing poetry in Arabic, Zêdan has been developing his practice in his first language, alongside a project translating Walt Whitman into Kurmanji.

This online workshop will take place over two 90-minute sessions on Zoom over two consecutive Tuesdays. This format will let us spend time with a single poetic voice. The sessions will be led by poets and translators Bryar Bajalan and David Shook who have both worked at Kashkul, the Center for Art and Culture at the American University of Iraq in Sulaimani, alongside Zêdan. They will offer insight into the nuances of the language and culture, and give helpful suggestions for the direction of the translation that is produced.

Our online poetry translation workshops can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Join like-minded poetry lovers from across the world to discover new poetry and different cultures, share insights and language skills, working together to open up a poem in its original language and reassemble it in English.

We have had participants from the UK, Egypt, Germany, India and the Phillipines. The workshops are the perfect way to keep you feeling creative, engaged and connected to the world at large. A rough and ready guide translation is provided by the guest translator so there is no need to know the language being translated, simply sign up and bring your love of language.