ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – “Poetry is born in Iraq: Be Iraqi to become a poet my friend!” wrote famous Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish.
Ancient Iraq, the land that gave rise to the world's first written language and its first poetry, was also the birthplace of the world's first recorded woman poet – Enheduanna, born on the searing Mesopotamian plains some 4,500 years ago. In recognition and celebration of her legacy, and of all the women of words who have followed in her footsteps, the Niniti Third International Literature Festival was held in Erbil last week, bringing together prominent poets and writers from Kurdistan, Iraq and further afield.
The festival, now in its third year, was held at the Chwar Chra Hotel and was organized by the British Council and ArtRole, an organization promoting cultural exchanges between the Middle East and the rest of the world. Notable participants included Choman Hardi, Rachel Holmes, Kapka Kassabova, Julia Copus and Ghareeb Iskander, who were joined by prominent Kurdish, Iraqi, Assyrian and Turkmen writers.
This year, the festival was named Niniti, which means “Lady of Life” in Sumerian, the world's oldest written language, in the spirit of its celebration and exploration of women's writing.
“This is where it all started -- the poetry was always here, and so as writers this is where we come from, whatever our form,” says South African born, UK-based Holmes, “The brilliant women here today are part of this 4,500-year-old tradition.”
The three-day festival included poetry readings, discussions on a wide range of topics including literature, politics, and feminism, and workshops in Kurdish, Arabic and English on poetry writing and storytelling.
Holmes, who has been involved with the festival from its early beginnings, notes how the dynamic has changed since its inception:
“The first year the festival was held it was much smaller, and I was in the company of Kurdish poets and writers and Iraqi poets and writers who were meeting for the first time. It was also the first time that the three writer's unions in the region -- Iraqi, Kurdish and Assyrian -- all came together at one event.”
Three years on, most of the tensions that at one time lingered between participants have all but faded, as their exchange of experiences has allowed trust and respect to take root and grow with time. And while the festival has always had a strong presence of women, women were never its focus. Holmes says it evolved organically this year.
Observing the dynamic between men and women participating in the festival has also been interesting for Holmes.
“Men and women, brought together here, work naturally with one another and are relaxed, as they should be, which stems from the deep-rooted and profound love and respect they have for poetry,” she explains.
By transcending gender, poetry serves as a shared place for men and women, and culturally sensitive topics often considered taboo or shunned in public life are brought to the fore and put on the table for discussion.
“Poetry enables people to speak the unspeakable,” Holmes says.
Prior to the festival in Erbil, a five day translation and poetry experimentation workshop retreat was held in Shaqlawa, where emerging and established writers were brought together to foster friendship, creativity and exchange. The workshop was hosted by Reel Arts, an organization that collaborates with artists working in conflict areas to celebrate diversity, build solidarity and create international dialogue.
Ryan Van Winkle, a Scotland-based poet who ran the workshops in Shaqlawa, notes the many challenges of translation -- such as how to translate proverbs or symbolism unique to a language and culture. She adds that in working through such obstacles, respect and empathy are established between people who come from different backgrounds, carrying different perspectives, but whose concerns are often surprisingly similar.
“We threw together eight poets who had never met from the UK and Iraq and asked them to translate each other's work. There was a unique range of voices, and through the intimate act of translation respect for the other's history and culture were fostered,” says Van Winkle.
The culmination of their efforts -- dozens of new translations and work in English, Kurdish, Arabic and Scots, were presented on the final day of the festival.
Holmes says returning to Erbil every year has allowed her the privilege to see how greatly things here are changing, and at a very rapid pace.
And while the eyes of most may be focused on development and the economic boom, for Holmes the changes which are taking place are measured in a different way.
“I think it's a sign, when artists and writer's who were in exile start to return and want to engage with their community again, that things are really changing.”
