New Project - Classical Literature of the World

World literature is not well known in Canada and people have no idea how rich and valuable it is. WBB members come from different cultural backgrounds and as participants of this project, they would talk about the literature of their homeland in short presentations (15-20 minutes). For details, please contact Nataliya @ bukhanova@yahoo.com.

Book Launch - The Man in Blue Pyjamas

Jalal Barzanji will launch his new book, The Man in Blue Pyjamas, with two events as part of the 2011 LitFest, Edmonton's Nonfiction Festival.

Monday, October 17 @ noon

CBC Centre Stage, City Centre Mall

Discuss the challenges in reshaping a story for a new language, new culture and new context. Meet Jalal Barzanji, Sabah Salih (translator) and Peter Midgley (editor). This is a free event.

Monday, October 17 @ 7:00 pm - Book launch

Milner Library Theatre, 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square

Tickets are available @ www.tixonthesquare.ca. Ticket revenues will go to support PEN Canada. 

Jalal Barzanji's First Book in English

Kurdish poet  and Writers Beyond Borders member, Jalal Barzanji, has his first book in English published by the University of Alberta Press. 

"The style of my book must be in small pieces, as my life has been in pieces", says Jalal, who completed The Man in Blue Pyjamas: A Prison Memoir while he was Edmonton's first Writer-in-Exile in 2007-2008. This is a story of assimilated people who have been forgotten. It has no political agenda and true to humanity in general.

Please join me in congratulating Jalal!

Poetry Beyond Borders Event

"Words of the Wind" is the first poetry reading by nine poets of Writers Beyond Borders, to be held at The Haven Social Club (15120 Stony Plain Road) on September 20, 2011 starting at 7:00 pm. The evening will include poetry readings and a musical act. There will be books and CDs for sale from the performing artists. 

This is a great opportunity to showcase the works by members of Writers Beyond Borders, so come out and support your fellow members in celebration of poetry!

WBB Member's Essay Published

Narratives of Citizenship: Indigenous and Diasporic Peoples Unsettle the Nation-State


Marco Katz, member of Writers Beyond Borders, is one of the contributors of this new collection of essays. Marco has lived a diasporic life as a musician and writer in New York, California, Madrid, and Edmonton. His essay in the Narratives of Citizenship anthology continues a project that begun with his MA thesis, "Forgive Me for Staining this Sacred Land with My Blood: Nikkei Writing from the United States, Canada, and Peru." He is currently recording a song cycle for voice and piano based on poetry by Pablo Neruda. Listeners and readers can find more of his work at marcokatz.com.

New Project - Poetry Reading Group

Are you interested in participating in a poetry reading event of WBB members? If so, please, send your expression of interest to mflecha@shaw.ca. Based on the level of interest Mario will plan the event: venue, number of poems per poet, length of the poems, estimation of audience, etc. This event can be repeated, so if the number of interested poets is higher we can split it in more than one event.

Five to ten participants per event; 5 to 10 minutes per poet. The participants will be listed based on the date and time of their feedback to this email. There will be no cost for the performers, but in some cases a small fee can be charged to raise funds to pay for costs involved (refreshments, etc.) and to raise money for Writers Beyond Borders.

Writing in the Margins: Creative Writing for the Second Language Writer

This workshop will focus on group discussion and the exchange of ideas and work-in-progress, with the instructor’s role of providing guidance and support. Readings, discussions, and writing exercises will focus on integrating the rhythm, texture and patterns of your first language with those of English. 

Dates: Sept. 7 - Oct. 24, 2011

Time: 7:00 to 8:30 pm
Cost: $50 (payable at first class, non-refundable, unless course is cancelled)

Venue: Room 6-27, Stanley A. Milner Library

Maximum number of students: 10
Registration dead line: August 31, 2011