Meet the Author #3
Lahya Aukongo & Sam Zamrik
Our third literary event on 21 May was dedicated to poetry and featured Lahya Aukongo and Sam Zamrik. The reading took place in cooperation with diffrakt: Zentrum für theoretische Peripherie in Berlin Schöneberg and was streamed live on Zoom.
During the event, Lahya Aukongo, Sam Zamrik, and Maha El Hissy addressed various themes related to their creative-artistic work and personal experiences. Lahya Aukongo spoke about writing in different languages, including German, English, Oshiwambo, as well as invented languages. Lahya stressed the importance of the impact of both words and feelings in poetry. Decolonization is a central theme for Lahya, as well as a critical examination of privilege. Lahya understands poetry as a means for questioning our world and society, as well as validating and making visible marginalized perspectives, and Lahya’s poems often thematize vulnerability and the importance of both visibility and showing oneself.
The collection Buchstabengefühle contains QR codes linked to audio and video recordings, creating an immersive reading experience. These multimedia elements make it possible not merely to read but also to see and hear the poems, providing for a deeper emotional connection and better understanding of their contents. Lahya related how these interactive elements contribute to bringing the poetry to life, rendering it more accessible by integrating different perspectives and different forms of expression. This is also reflected in Lahya’s interdisciplinary artistic practice which combines different media and approaches to investigate complex themes like decolonization, vulnerability, and identity.
Sam Zamrik writes primarily in English, though he also writes poetry in German to communicate at eye level with a German readership. Sam spoke about the concept of nakaya [writing out of spite] and the ways in which he takes up politics and bureaucracy in his poetry in order to complicate expectations and allow for new perspectives. Sam also spoke about the zigzagging form of some of his poems that reflects an aesthetic sensibility facilitating different possible readings.
In their discussion with Maha El Hissy, Lahya and Sam also addressed questions of bilingualism and translation, particularly their experiences with different translators and how Sam perceives bilingualism in his own work. Maha asked Lahya about the relationship between decolonization, language, and poetry, and whether one can decolonize through poetry. They also discussed the way a poem’s form influences its reading, along with the meaning of aesthetic constructs.
The event raised questions about the connection between language and identity, with both artists stressing the importance of language for their own identities and artistic creativity. The discussion highlighted ways in which poetry can serve as a means for decolonization and bring visibility to marginalized groups. The aesthetic construct of a poem influences the ways it comes to be understood, providing space for diverging interpretations.
The collection Buchstabengefühle contains QR codes linked to audio and video recordings, creating an immersive reading experience. These multimedia elements make it possible not merely to read but also to see and hear the poems, providing for a deeper emotional connection and better understanding of their contents. Lahya related how these interactive elements contribute to bringing the poetry to life, rendering it more accessible by integrating different perspectives and different forms of expression. This is also reflected in Lahya’s interdisciplinary artistic practice which combines different media and approaches to investigate complex themes like decolonization, vulnerability, and identity.
Sam Zamrik writes primarily in English, though he also writes poetry in German to communicate at eye level with a German readership. Sam spoke about the concept of nakaya [writing out of spite] and the ways in which he takes up politics and bureaucracy in his poetry in order to complicate expectations and allow for new perspectives. Sam also spoke about the zigzagging form of some of his poems that reflects an aesthetic sensibility facilitating different possible readings.
In their discussion with Maha El Hissy, Lahya and Sam also addressed questions of bilingualism and translation, particularly their experiences with different translators and how Sam perceives bilingualism in his own work. Maha asked Lahya about the relationship between decolonization, language, and poetry, and whether one can decolonize through poetry. They also discussed the way a poem’s form influences its reading, along with the meaning of aesthetic constructs.
The event raised questions about the connection between language and identity, with both artists stressing the importance of language for their own identities and artistic creativity. The discussion highlighted ways in which poetry can serve as a means for decolonization and bring visibility to marginalized groups. The aesthetic construct of a poem influences the ways it comes to be understood, providing space for diverging interpretations.