Lyra Festival – 20/04/2024
Translation and Displacement: An afternoon of poetry responding to displacement, occupation, exile, and other kinds of othering. Our annual multilingual events showcase the power of poetry across different languages and cultures, with the poems being performed in both their original language and their English translated versions. This event, in partnership with the Poetry Translation Centre in their 20th year, will feature Sudanese poet Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi with poet and friend Stephen Watts, Italian-Palestinian writer Sabrin Hasbun, Somali poet Ibrahim Hirsi, and Girasol Press reading the works of imprisoned Argentine poets. Free event taking place on the 20th April 2024. For more information click here: https://www.lyrafest.com/#e105208
Stop the War – 18/04/2024
How can Wales support Palestine?: The event will focus on political campaigning and local community activities. On the 18th April, Sabrin will be a panelist disscussing the active engagement we need. For tickets and more information click here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/stopthewarcardiff/1211769
Writing under occupation – 15/04/2024
An event hosted by Bath Spa University, focused on writing and reading under occupation. Sabrin will take part in discussing how writers, publishers and book workers have been organising to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and to promote Palestinian writing. It will take place at 5-7pm at Newton Park campus, and also involve a talk from Tom Sperlinger from Bristol, talking about his experience teaching at Al Quds University in 2013, and his book Romeo and Juliet in Palestine.
We don’t come from nothing – 28/03/2024
An online event organised by gentle/radical. A conversation with Ahmad Nabil – artist, writer and founder of Jerusalem-based Fiction Council – about his work in preserving non-material Palestinian heritage in the face of relentless erasure and destruction of Palestinian life. Drawing on Ahmad’s intimate knowledge of Palestinian folktales, legends and mythologies, this in-conversation with Sabrin Hasbun will explore the role of memory, imagination and persistence, in context of a Palestinian archive subjected to invisibilisation for over 75 years. Find more information and book your tickets here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/gentleradical/1175218
Creative Arts Research Network – 25/03/2024
Creative writing as decolonisation: an initial conversation based on a case study on Palestine. This is an online event hosted by Newcastle University’s Creative Arts Research Network (CARN). You can join though this link: https://newcastleuniversity.zoom.us/j/83899884679 Sabrin will explain how creative writing offers an alternative framework when trying to work with personal and collective history in Palestine. For more information check out CARN’s post here: https://twitter.com/CreativeArtsRN/status/1768338568064213169
Caerphilly mother’s day vigil – 10/03/2024
On mother’s day, March 10th 2024, a vigil was held to remember the mothers of Gaza. Several speakers touched on the suffering of mothers in Gaza and generally on Palestine. Peredur Owen Griffiths spoke on the actions of the Senned. Sabrin spoke about her own mother and her experience in Palestine.
International Woman’s day – 09/03/2024
The Riverfront theater and arts centre hosted an event for international woman’s day. Sabrin was part of a pannel discussing what women are doing and can do more of to support Palestine and Gaza right now. The Riverfront theater posted about it on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4LEN2Is5a_/
Music and Poetry at the Scala – 02/03/2024
A night full of music and poetry organised by Abergavenny PSC (Palestine Solidarity Campaign) at the the Scala to raise money for Palestine and show that those who support justice are not alone. Sabrin read a piece about what peotry has meant to her in these months as a Palestinian together with some of her recent poetry. There were also wondeful performances from James Kennedy, Jules Gardner, Tom Crow and the Ghostriders, and Patrick Jones.
Valentines for Palestine – 14/02/2024
On Wednesday 14 February 2024, seventeen UK independent bookshops held events to raise money for the PEN Emergency Fund which will be ringfenced to provide support to writers at risk who are in and from Palestine. For every £1000 we raise, the PEN Emergency Fund will support one emergency grant to a Palestinian writer at risk. Across the UK, indie bookstores will hold their own special events, including readings, with door prizes donated by publisher partners. All proceeds will go through a central page donating to English PEN (a registered UK charity), who will transfer all funds raised to the PEN Emergency Fund, based in Amsterdam. As part of the Bristol Valentines for Palestine fundraiser event, Bookhaus Bristol hosted Sabrin Hasbun, Mira Mattar, Travis Alabanza and Zakiya McKenzie for a night of artistic solidarity and resistance in support of Palestine. The four participating artists delivered a selection of readings from published and upcoming poetry and prose work. For tickets and more information click here: https://www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/whats-on/bookhaus/wed-14-feb-valentines-for-palestine-103254#e103254.
Footnote x Counterpoints Writing Prize Shortlisting – 11/02/2024
An event at the Southbank Centre to celebrate the shortlisted writers of the Footnote x Counterpoints Writing Prize. The shortlisted writers are Sabrin Hasbun, Dariia Lysiuk and Roxana Shirazi, Steve Tasane and Simon Weisz. The writers reflect on themes of displacement, identity and resistance both in the selected works and more broadly. The £15,000 prize was set up to showcase and celebrate exceptional non-fiction writers from refugee and migrant backgrounds, and to shine a new light on some of the most pertinent topics shaping our lives and society. This event brings together the shortlisted authors ahead of the announcement of the winner and two runners-up in March, who are being selected by a judging panel comprising Elif Shafak, Philippe Sands and Dina Nayeri. Presented in association with Footnote press and Counterpoints Arts. More information found here: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/literature-poetry/footnote-x-counterpoints-writing-prize-readings