Radius of Arab American Writers | RAWIFest Day 4
Sunday, June 13th starting at 9AM EST, hosted online
In collaboration with The Boston Foundation, RAWI is excited to host RAWIFest – a weekend of free virtual programming celebrating Anglophone SWANA literature and performance art, featuring new work from poets, spoken word artists, and performance artists!
Rather than following RAWI’s previous “conference” format, and in the spirit of openness and accessibility, the entirety of RAWIFest’s programming is free and open to the general public. This is made possible due to the generous support of the Boston Foundation (LAB), Mizna, Kundiman, The Asian American Writers’ Workshop, and the Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies.
All events will be live-captioned.
Email rawifest@gmail.com with any questions about registration or the festival.
Day 4 Schedule
9AM EST
DRAWING FOR WRITERS WORKSHOP
In this workshop hosted by Maamoul Press, participants will be guided through methods for visualizing either an original or found piece of writing.
Participants will first be guided in creating their own 8-page mini zine, and then will track eight key moments in their selected piece of writing and create symbols or images that are associated with each of those moments. Participants can then use their 8-page mini zines to draw one image on each page of the zine. The result is a small, handmade visual zine that represents the story.
Participants are welcome to use their own writing, or they can select a found poem or short story. Suggested materials to have on hand: drawing materials, blank paper. This workshop will be led by Maamoul Press artists Soumya Dhulekar and Sana Masud.
10:30AM EST
PUBLISHING ROUNDTABLE
Join us for a roundtable discussion on publishing, featuring SWANA diasporic writers and editors Rasha Abdulhadi, Zeyn Joukhadar, Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán, Jood AlThukair, and Yasmin Belkhyr.
12:00PM EST
RAWIFEST POETRY READING
Join us for a RAWIFest featured poetry reading with Zein Sa’dedin, Yasmine Ameli, Deema Shehabi, Shadab Zeest Hashmi, Aliah Lavonne Tigh, and Hazem Fahmy.
1:30PM EST
BODY WATANI W/ LEILA AWADALLAH & NOELLE AWADALLAH
Body Watani: body-as-homeland movement practice. How do memories and sensations of home live inside our bodies? This workshop is for anyone who is interested in taking time to connect with, and express through their body. Manifesting as a guided ‘dance’* session, we will spend time exploring different ideas revolving around our relationship to home/land, ancestors, structures and memories through guided movement prompts, time to free-write about experiences, and reflective collective discussions. No previous dance experience necessary.
*This is not heavily a traditional dance class, but instead a more meditative, reflective session where we will use movement as a tool to connect to our embodied stories, intergenerational memories, ancestral lands, and rituals / practices.
3PM EST
CRITICISM ROUNDTABLE
Join us for a roundtable discussion on criticism and community, featuring SWANA diasporic writers Layla Goushey, Betty Shamieh, and Mona Hassan.
6PM EST
THEY SOARED LIKE HISTORY ABOVE AN OPEN PAGE – NAOMI SHIHAB NYE CELEBRATION
Join us for a RAWIFest poetry reading in celebration of Naomi Shihab Nye and her massive legacy in Palestinian and Arab American Arts and Letters. Featured performers include Zeina Azzam, Kamelya Youssef, Sara Abou Rashed, Leila Chatti, and Jessica Abughattas, with moderators Summer Farah and George Abraham.
7:30PM EST
CLOSING CEREMONY