Poetics of Place and Displacement: Poetry Reading and Discussion

Auralities Research Network (CRASSH)

The next session in the Auralities Research Network's series will be a poetry reading and discussion that will explore the poetics of place and displacement through the poetry of Vahni Capildeo and Xasan Daahir Ismaacil ‘Weedhsame’. Vahni, a Trinidadian-British poet, and Weedhsame, a Somali poet based in Hargeysa, will each read from their recent work, with a translation by Martin Orwin. The reading will be followed by a discussion of the intersection of sound, listening, migration and place (including in translation), as well as ample time for questions and conversations with the poets.

To register, write an email to cjw204@cluttercam.ac.uk.

Speakers

Vahni Capildeo (FRSL) is a Trinidadian-British poet whose writing explores the poetic imagination’s ability to encounter, try on, and transform other selves and other voices. Capildeo's poetry is marked by intensely engaged experimentation, ranging from the sparse forms and calligrams of Simple Complex Shapes (Shearsman, 2015) to the extended prose poem sequences of No Traveller Returns (Salt, 2003) and Measures of Expatriation (Carcanet, 2016). Their non-fiction is distinct in voice and approach from their poetry, though often treating similar themes. Their latest full-length book Skin Can Hold (Carcanet, 2019), is the result of collaborative investigations of ‘kinetic syntax’ during Capildeo’s Judith E. Wilson Fellowship.

Xasan Daahir Ismaacil ‘Weedhsame’ is widely regarded as one of the leading Somali poets of his generation. He has written more than 90 poems on various social and political issues, as well as the lyrics to more than 100 songs, mainly on the theme of love. Born in Kalabaydh, a village to the west of Hargeysa, Weedhsame was displaced as a child to a refugee camp in Ethiopia by Siyaad Barre’s military regime. After Somaliland declared independence in 1991 he returned home, eventually pursuing a degree in mathematics at Cammuud (Amoud) University. Weedhsame—a name given to him that means ‘[the one who] makes good words’—first began composing poetry when he was 16. He was mentored by the esteemed (late) Maxamed Xaashi Dhamac ‘Gaarriye’, who encouraged his craft and instilled a deep respect for the complexities of Somali orature. Weedhsame currently teaches the course in Somali literature at the University of Hargeysa that Gaariye first developed. His poems and songs circulate widely on Somali media platforms. Some of his poems have been translated into English by a team of translators and poets at the    Poetry Translation Centre in London.

Martin Orwin is an associate professor at the University of Naples “L’Orientale” where he teaches Somali language. His research centres on the use of language in Somali poetry. Orwin has a strong interest in the translation of poetry and has published translations of poems by famous poets such as Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame  ‘Hadraawi’ and Xasan Xaaji Cabdullaahi ‘Xasan Ganey’ as well as by Xasan Daahir Ismaaciil ‘Weedhsame’.

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