Local Poets lend an ear to eye-witness testimonies of injustice, and lend a voice to protest.
 | Front row:
Sue Tomkins, Amnesty, who works with detainees in Canterbury Prison
doing visual arts; Kate Adams; Adel; Eddie Barns from Kent Refugee Help;
Tanya Long from Kent Refugee Action Network. Behind: Tanya, part-time coordinator of KRAN mentoring project for unaccompanied refugee children; Jane Champion, refugee
rights activist, formerly coordinator of KRAN mentoring Project; Hubert Moore; Bekele Woyecha,
refugee activist from Ethiopia; Nazrin Parvaz, an Iranian refugee writer; Hubert's sister, Mary Jenkins is right at the back. |
You
don’t know
the
noise of boots in my head
nor
the birds I set free
On Saturday the 14th of June, 2008, former Investigative Journalist Soleiman Adel Guemar read from his beautiful and affecting collection 'State of Emergency'. His personal, natural, intimate style gave the poems a real reasonance. Taking questions from the floor, Adel discussed poetry, politics and the horrors of war in Algeria.
The event was organised by Kate Adams and Kent Refugee Help. Entry was free, and lunch was provided. Attendees took part in a workshop run by poet Hubert Moore, who also read from his collection. There were further readings by members of Write to Life, the Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture.
Kate Adams; Nancy Charley; Christopher Hobday; David Nettleingham
The turnout was excellent, and the Friends Meeting House, Canterbury made for an ideal venue. All donations were gratefully received.
Read A Life Worth Living by Nasrin Parvaz
Read That Day by Bekele D. Woyecha
Return to the Canterbury Poets main pageFor further information about Kent Refugee Help,
email Kate at: kadams314@hotmail.com