What do the work, experiences and realities of authors who have had to leave their home countries due to war or political repression and now live in Berlin or Germany look like? In regular evening events in the Literatures in Exile series, two authors from different countries present their texts and discuss their experiences of exile as well as opportunities and challenges in the (German) literary scene.
On the 13th of August 2024, Iranian author, editor, translator and songwriter Atefe Asadi and Sam Zamrik, a queer poet, translator and political educator from Syria, will meet. The evening will be presented by the author, translator and publisher Daniela Seel.
The focus will be on the mediation and examination of the writers' artistic positions and works. In addition, structural questions will also be discussed, such as the connection to literary and artistic scenes, language and translation challenges or the examination of identity and artistic creation in a new environment.
Atefe Asadi is an author, editor, translator and songwriter from Tehran, Iran. With a BA in English translation, she has worked as an editor and translator for various magazines and underground magazines. As an author, she writes about the social, political and religious issues of Iranian society, including gender issues, sexuality and women's rights. Some of the stories have been published in independent magazines such as The Morva Quarterly, Consefr and Saayeha or on online platforms such as Ketaabchi. Other works were declared unprintable by the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. She came under great political pressure in her home country, was interrogated several times and had to close her social media accounts in 2022. In December 2022, Atefe Asadi received the Hannah Arendt Fellowship and has lived in Hanover as an ICORN resident ever since.
Sam Zamrik, born in Damascus, Syria is a queer poet, translator, and political educator in exile. Zamrik studied Literature and Politics at Bard College Berlin, and their texts were featured on the literary platform Weiter Schreiben and in several German newspapers such as Tagesspiegel and taz. Their debut poetry collection, ICH BIN NICHT, was published in October 2022 by Hanser Berlin Verlag and selected for the 2023 Poetry Recommendations List by the German Academy for Language and Literature. Zamrik is the holder of the inaugural Wunderblock Award by the Wunderblock Foundation and alumni Junior Fellow of the Stiftung Mercator.
This event takes place in cooperation with Literarisches Colloquium Berlin.
The "Literatures in Exile" series is sponsored by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion.
