The Poetry Translation Centre is proud to present readings from two of the titles shortlisted for the 2022 Sarah Maguire Prize: Come, Take a Gentle Stab by Kurdish-Syrian poet Salim Barakat and Exhausted on the Cross by Palestinian writer Najwan Darwish.

Join Najwan Darwish, his translator Kareem James Abu-Zeid, and Come, Take a Gentle Stab translators Huda Fakhreddine and Jayson Iwen for bilingual readings from these two important and arresting collections. They will also be in conversation with UK-based Bahraini writer and poet Ali Al-Jamri.

Exhausted on the Cross is a beautiful collection by one of the Middle East’s best known contemporary poets. Darwish’s graceful verses bring to life notions of displacement, faith and conflict – which are brilliantly conveyed through Kareem James Abu-Zeid’s translations. Published by New York Review of Books.

Written by the renowned Kurdish-Syrian poet Salim Barakat, Come, Take a Gentle Stab is a collection of his works spanning five decades. Often drawing on ideas of conflict, violence and identity, Barakat pens his poems in Arabic, despite his native language being Kurdish. Fakhreddine and Iwen’s translations successfully bring the flow of Barakat’s creativity to the Anglosphere. Published by Seagull Books.

This reading will take place on Zoom. Tickets are free, but donations towards funding future editions of the prize are welcome, or order a copy of the Sarah Maguire Prize 2022 Anthology at the same time as securing your place at the reading.

This event is presented by the Poetry Translation Centre in partnership with Manchester City of Literature, and is part of a series in partnership with the British Council.

The Sarah Maguire Prize is a biennial prize recognising the best book of poetry by a living poet from Africa, Asia, Latin America or the Middle East published in English translation. The 2022 Prize was judged by Rosalind Harvey (Chair), Kit Fan and Kyoo Lee. The six-strong shortlist includes poets from the Republic of Congo, Korea, Mauritius, Mexico, Palestine and Syria. The winning book will be announced on Tuesday 1st November.