Press release

Need more info? Email me at bruce.batchelor@gmail.com or phone 250-380-0998.

Unveiling the Middle East

Unveiling the Middle East: An evening of Arabic poetry, music and stories presented by Syrian-Canadian Ghada Alatrash.
Opening act: "A Soldier's Fortune" with poet and former Middle East peacekeeper Ed Brown.
MC: Linda Rogers, award-winning poet and writer.

Saturday, April 26, 2014 @ 7:30 pm (doors open at 7:00) Oak Bay United Church Sanctuary, 1355 Mitchell St., Oak Bay (Victoria), BC V8S 4P9

Tickets are $15 (cash only) in advance, $20 at the door. Available at Munro's Books and Ivy's Bookshop in Oak Bay. Phone 250-380-0998 or email bruce.batchelor@gmail.com for group rates. A portion of the proceeds will go to Syrian relief efforts.

Ghada Alatrash invites you to experience the rich authenticity of Arabic culture in her lively presentation of poetry, music and stories from the Middle East.

When most North Americans think of the Middle East, they envision the violent and unsophisticated caricatures of the Islamic world presented by Western media. This evening is a step toward correcting the absence of positive cultural inspirations. "My children are amalgams of the East and the West, a blend of the old culture left behind in our homelands and of the new Western culture in which we now live. I am endeavouring to participate in the building of bridges across cultures, hoping to connect between my children's sensibilities and my own, between an English-speaking audience and Arab poets, and ultimately, between the West and the East."

Ghada, born in Syria, is a poet, translator, performer and journalist. She is a columnist for Gulf News (UAE), and was recently featured in stories by the USA's National Public Radio and Al Jazeera. She is a member of the New Pen League, New York.

"So that the young can better understand the old, and so that there is universal harmony and connectedness between East and West, I offer my performance." She recites the words of Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish: "All human hearts are my nationality / so rid me of my passport."

Ghada's book of translations, "So That the Poem Remains: Arabic Poems by Lebanese-American Youssef Abdul Samad, Selected and Translated by Ghada Alatrash" (Agio, 2012) was nominated for the 2013 Griffin Poetry Prize.

"Youssef Abdul Samad's poetry is animated by extravagant lyricism that is both intense and disarming. His poetry delves deep into the human condition, the mundane, sublime, and political; all with precision and pleasing detail. Life's issues are couched in an elegant and eloquent style that is simultaneously profound and accessible," says poet and literary critic Dr. Mansour Ajami. "Ghada Alatrash's translation is informed and compassionate. It is a faithful, elegant, and poetic interpretation of Samad's soaring emotions and observations. The resonant poetic voice that she has transmitted into English is as melodious and clear as the Arabic original."

"An evening spent listening to Ghada share her poetry, her culture and her life will leave you culturally and perhaps even spiritually enriched," says Nick Rubidge, President and CEO, College of the Rockies, Cranbrook, BC.


Ghada's accompanyist, Ivana Ferraro, is a registered music teacher and performing pianist living in Cranbrook, BC.

 

 

 

 

 

Ed Brown will read from his new book, "A Soldier's Fortune and Other Poems," which is being launched at this event. Ed is a Canadian Forces veteran of Tsimpshian First Nations and Scottish-Canadian heritage. During his 19-year military career, he served on peacekeeping missions to the former Yugoslavia and the Middle East: Israel, Syria and Turkey (in support of Afghanistan), and aboard HMCS Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg and Moresby. Ed began writing poetry as therapy for PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder). At the worst of his PTSD, Ed would go into a rage if he saw or heard someone who appeared to be from the Middle East.

Songwriter Denis Donnelly says, "With strong street language that often gains power from echoing the innocence of nursery rhymes, these poems of Ed's peacekeeping experiences, both narrative and psychological, paint an unforgettable picture of war and its human costs."

Psychologist Dr. Agnes Sawchyn says that Ed writes, "with unflinching frankness and emotional honesty... Ed extends a message of hope to others by describing what, in the end, made his journey back to health possible and worth navigating: his love for his children, the apprehension and joy of experiencing new love, the simple beauties of nature, and an irrepressible sense of humour and playfulness."

MC Linda Rogers is an acclaimed poet and children's writer. A past president of the League of Canadian Poets and the Federation of BC Writers, Linda has published 17 books of poetry, six children's book, four novels and been included in numerous anthologies. She has received awards and nominations to numerous to mention, and is a mentor and university instructor, reviewer and journalist, performer and director, and reformed sheep farmer.

Books available to purchase at the event:

Advance comments on Ed Brown's new book: "A Soldier's Fortune and Other Poems"

"There are at least two gifts in the poetic, and sometimes wrenching, accounts of a soldier's journey. The first is that the scenes of people caught up in war's horrors are brought vividly to life. The second is the gift of following a returning soldier through despair and personal struggles into final acceptance. With strong street language that often gains power from echoing the innocence of nursery rhymes, these poems of Ed's peacekeeping experiences, both narrative and psychological, paint an unforgettable picture of war and its human costs, and testify that those costs are not only to those in the line of fire." - Denis Donnelly, BMus, songwriter, poet, choir director, arranger, workshop leader

"With unflinching frankness and emotional honesty, Ed has described the horror of war as viewed through the eyes of a Canadian Forces peacekeeper. His experience of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder that resulted, with nightmares, horrific images, violent emotions, confused thoughts, feelings of guilt and shame, and loss of sense of self, is painfully captured in his words, as is his struggle to find his way back from despair and feeling broken to rediscovering the "freedom to live and enjoy life." Ed extends a message of hope to others by describing what, in the end, made his journey back to health possible and worth navigating: his love for his children, the apprehension and joy of experiencing new love, the simple beauties of nature, and an irrepressible sense of humour and playfulness." - Dr. Agnes Sawchyn, psychologist

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Review of Ghada Alatrash's performance:
"There is a very rich history and culture in the middle east that we in Canada know so little about. Mostly all we see is angry scenes of violence on our news, but we never learn about their rich history and culture. It was such a privilege to spend an evening with Ghada Alatrash, to hear her reading excerpts from the rich literature of Arabic poetry and share her love and passion for land of her birth. It was such a treat to be introduced to the music and rich poetic culture of this ancient culture. Ghada is such a delightful and vibrant individual, her ability to communicate her love of her birthplace while still being a passionate and proud Canadian is such a wonderful example of what makes this the best place to live. I am sure an evening spent listening to Ghada share her poetry, her culture and her life will leave you culturally and perhaps even spiritually enriched." - Nick Rubidge, President and CEO, College of the Rockies, Cranbrook, BC

 

Poetry plays a much larger role in Arabic culture than it does in most Western cultures. And lately the role of poetry in the Syrian civil war has been featured by the US NPR and Aljezeera:
Syria's New War Poetry, interview by NPR wnyc.org, 11 October 2013
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audio...

A 'new poetry' emerges from Syria's civil war, feature article by Aljazeera, 08 September 2013
link

More about Ghada:

Contact: ghadaalatrash@live.com http://meaningwithinwords.com/

Need more info? You can email me at bruce.batchelor@gmail.com, or phone 250-380-0998.
Thanks! Hope to see you at the event where we will experience the rich authenticity of Arabic culture.