Held from June 10th-June 13th, 2021, RAWIFest is a weekend celebrating spoken word, poetry, and oral traditions in SWANA (Southwest Asian & North African) literature, and featuring new work from Arab artists and writers. RAWIFest is made possible by a Live Arts Boston grant from the Boston Foundation.
In the lead up to RAWIFest, we will be releasing fresh asynchronous content every day before June 10th. Check back here for podcasts, interviews, performances, and documentaries by artists with roots in the Arabic-speaking world and diaspora.
For more information on RAWIFEST or to register, click here.
All RAWIFest programming is free and open to the public, but to make this possible, we’re relying on those who have financial means to donate when they can. We ask that those who are able contribute a donation on a suggested sliding scale of $20-50 to support the Radius of Arab American Writers (RAWI). RAWI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and all donations to RAWI are tax deductible.
RAWIFest ASYNCHRONOUS CONTENT
ZINE
TUES, JUNE 1ST
A PROSE READING BY EMAN QUOTAH, AUTHOR OF BRIDE OF SEA
Eman Quotah is the author of the novel Bride of the Sea. She grew up in Jidda, Saudi Arabia, and Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, The Toast, The Establishment, Book Riot, Literary Hub, Electric Literature and other publications. She lives with her family near Washington, D.C.
A POETRY READING BY PRISCILLA WATHINGTON, AUTHOR OF PAPER AND STICK
Priscilla Wathington is a Palestinian American writer, editor, and human rights advocate. Her poems and other writings have appeared in Gulf Coast, Michigan Quarterly Review, Salamander, Matter, The Normal School, Mizna, Sukoon, Al Jadid, and +972 Magazine, among others. Her chapbook, Paper and Stick, is forthcoming in fall 2021 from Tram Editions. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
WED, JUNE 2ND
A POETRY READING BY AIYA SAKR, AUTHOR OF HER BONES CATCH THE SUN
Aiya Sakr was born in the United States but grew up in Amman, Jordan, with Palestinian, Egyptian, and Jordanian heritage. She is the author of Her Bones Catch the Sun (The Poet’s Haven, 2018). A Pushcart Prize nominee, her poems have appeared in Mizna, Nimrod, and elsewhere. She has a master’s degree in literature and writing from Utah State University. Currently, she’s completing an MFA in poetry at Purdue University.
THURS, JUNE 3rd
A READING BY MAWADAH NOFAL
Mawadah Nofal is an Egyptian artist and writer. She is the founder of WarmBlue Collective, a Riyadh-based art collective and zine for WANA teens. She also writes a monthly column for Mathqaf called Mawadah fel Zaman, which explores art and art history in the region. Her work has been published in Rusted Radishes, Unootha Mag, Sumou Mag, and more. Find her on Instagram @goghing.places or wandering through an art museum.
TUES, JUNE 8th
A READING BY SARAH O’NEAL
Sarah O’Neal is a Moroccan and Black, queer Muslim, writer, swimmer, and organizer based in Oakland, CA. Her first chapbook “Even Two Hands Pressed Together Are Split” is available now via Irrelevant Press. Find her on IG and twitter @atayqueen or sarahadbiboneal.com
