I will be at the reading in Portland, Oregon this coming Wednesday. Very excited to be there.
Al Mutanabbi Street Starts Here! An Evening of Music and Spoken Word
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m
Location: Multnomah Friends Meeting House, 4312 SE Stark Street, Portland
Admission Price: Free, donations accepted
RSVP: Not required.
Refreshments will be served.
On March 5th 2007, a car bomb exploded on Al Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad. 30 people were killed and more than 100 wounded. Al Mutanabbi Street, the historic center of Baghdad book selling, holds bookstores, outdoor bookstalls, cafes, teashops and more. It is an important gathering place for the city’s literary community.
This tragic event will be remembered on March 5, 2014 in Portland at the Multnomah Friends Meeting House at 4312 SE Stark Street. Under the auspices of the Al Mutanabbi Street Starts Here project, Portland will be one of 27 locations around the world, including Cairo, Egypt, to celebrate the indomitable spirit of that ancient street in Baghdad. We will remember together and express our solidarity with the Iraqi people and with poets, writers, and artists everywhere.
According to Bill Denham, one of the organizers of the event, “We see the evening as an expression of solidarity with the Iraqi people, with poets, writers, artist and seekers of truth everywhere. Out of the darkness and destruction of this suicide bombing, we are coming together to make community, to honor the dead and to defiantly create a little more light in this world.”