In an effort to bring together Qatar’s various creative minds, a group of college students is urging local artists and poets to audition to perform at a spoken word/poetry slam later this month.
The evening is part of an international initiative called 100 Thousand Poets for Change (100TPC), which holds an annual poetry event that takes place at the same time in cities around the world.
On Sept. 27, Qatar will mark the day with an event of its own, as poets and musicians come together around the common theme of change. A venue and timings for the event have yet to be determined.
Organizers include Amin Isaac, Arwa Elsanosi, Elmoiz Elshiekh, Amin Omarabi, Ahmed Elfadel and Ahmed Hayder. All hail from universities in Qatar, and according to Elsanosi, were motivated to act to fill a void here:
“We hope to promote and cultivate a love for creative writing and the literary arts among youth in Qatar, as well as dropping the spotlight on the local spoken and literary art scene in Doha, which is often ignored.”
Auditions
100TPC was founded in 2010 by Michael Rothenberg and Terri Carrion, as a grassroots educational organization that promotes poetry, literature and music.
While the Doha event is scheduled to take place on Sept. 27 in tandem with other cities, auditions are being held in both English and Arabic will be on Sept. 12.
Spoken word artists, poets, musicians, and singers are encouraged to email [email protected] by Sept. 11 at the latest if they want to try out.
Those who are interested in participating in the poetry night can also send a message via the group’s Facebook page with their name, number and information about the type of performance. Timings for the auditions will then be provided individually.
Through the entertainment night, organizers said they hope not only to create a space for open discussion, but also to use spoken word and music to connect disparate communities that have become “incredibly alienated” here.
Elsanosi, 22, said:
“We hardly know our neighbors down the street let alone our creative allies who live and share our concerns in other countries. We need to feel this kind of global solidarity. It will be empowering.”
Thoughts?
