Charaf, Kholoud

Charaf, Kholoud (c) Maximilian Godecke

Kholoud Charaf, born 1981 in Al-Mojaimr, Syria, lives in Berlin. She is a poet, art critic, publicist and activist. In her poetry, chronicles and prose works, she processes experiences of flight and exile. As a writer and publicist, Charaf was repeatedly threatened by censorship. She has been particularly active in advocating for the living conditions of women and children in Syria, which has been torn apart by civil war. In 2019, she received the IBN BATTUTA Prize for travel writing. Since September 2020, Kholoud Charaf has been a fellow of the Writers-in-Exile program of the PEN Center of Germany. Her most recent publication is her poetry collection “Secret” (Amjad publishing house, 2021).

Festival Content

WRITING VIOLENCE

Kleines Parkett 8/6 € | Tickets

 

With Kemi Alabi, Yevgeniy Breyger, Kholoud Charaf, Athena Farrokhzad, Madara Gruntmane, Ramin Mazhar and Ganna Gryniva (music), moderated by Bohdan Tokarskyi

Violence can be silent – but it can also develop its own language. How might we counter violence with another language, one that does not further stigmatize its victims or – in the worst case – re-traumatize them? This evening’s poets will contend with different forms of violence: authoritarian regimes, censorship, war and civil war, forced migration, flight, and expulsion – but also everyday violence, racist police profiling, violence against LGTBQIA* people, femicides, or sexualized violence within the family or community. Poetry can both document and remember violence, but can also initiate therapeutic processes, extending the opportunity for solidarity and healing.

 

Alabi, Kemi • Breyger, Yevgeniy • Charaf, Kholoud • Farrokhzad, Athena • Gruntmane, Madara • Mazhar, Ramin • Gryniva, Ganna