Starting tomorrow at Brown University, there’s a two-day program of “Urgent Witness” that includes author talks, readings, and the staging of the play “House of Games” by Nihad Sirees.
TUESDAY 12 MARCH
The Department of Literary Arts present a reading by Syrian poet and essayist Ali Ahmad Said, also known as Adonis, as part of a two day festival titled “Urgent Witness: The current situation in the Middle East from the perspectives of leading writers.” Adonis is best known for his untraditional poetry and experimentation with themes relating to exodus and transformation. A discussion will follow the reading. This event begins at 8 p.m. in MacMillan Hall, 167 Thayer St., Starr Auditorium.
WEDNESDAY 13 MARCH
Poetics without Borders: Communicating Sensibility in Times of Change
The Department of Literary Arts present a panel discussion featuring numerous acclaimed Syrian and Iranian writers. The seminar titled “Poetics without Borders: Communicating Sensibility in Times of Change” is part of a two-day Middle Eastern writers festival called Urgent Witnes: The current situation in the Middle East from the perspectives of leading writers. Panelists include Adonis, Robyn Creswell, Mehrangiz Kar, Shahriar Mandanipour, and Nihad Sirees. This event begins at 3 p.m. in the McCormack Family Theater, 70 Brown St.
The International Writers Project and Department of Literary Arts present “House of Games,” a staged reading of a play by Syrian novelist Nihad Sirees, directed by Erik Ehn. Sirees is Brown’s current IWP fellow and honoree of Urgent Witness: The current situation in the Middle East from the perspective of leading writers. The play will feature John Emigh, professor emeritus, and members of the Brown/Trinity Consortium Acting Company. Free and open to the public, the event begins at 7:30 p.m. in the McCormack Family Theater, 70 Brown St.
Thanks to Alex Dueben for originally letting me know about the “Urgent Witness” program at Brown University, March 12-13, and to Nihad Sirees for reminding me that it’s tomorrow already and I forgot to run my announcement.
Update – Also at Brown on March 12:
I now see on Elias Muhanna’s site — I mean Qifa Nabki’s — that he is speaking at Brown on March 12 as part of “Poetic Forces: Creative Change In and Beyond the Arab Spring”:
