Watch Iraqi Poet Sabreen Kadhim Read at Word Power

Sarah Irving has taken her first shot at videotaping a live event:

As Irving notes over at her blog, “It features [Sabreen] Kadhim reading Why Write This Poem and Water My Heart With A Jonquil in their original Arabic, followed by [Scottish poet Krystelle] Bamford reading the translation of …Jonquil and then her own poem Wake.”

She also wrote: “Not only was their poetry – in Arabic, in translation to English, and in original English – beautiful and moving, but we also got to hear a little about the pain and horror of life in Baghdad and how it helps to shape Kadhim’s poetry. And, despite that, we also got to witness how young women the world over, whatever circumstances they live in, write about love, relationships and how irritating men can be, as well as more melancholy subjects.”

The video: