This year, we kicked off December with a very special event – the book launch of our new anthology. "Sei neben mir und sieh, was mir geschehen ist" (tr.: Be next to me and see what has happened to me) was published in collaboration with our project partner PEN Berlin and was released at the end of November by the renowned Verbrecher Verlag.
A proud 16 of the 32 published poets took the stage on December 3rd at the Salon in FMP1 and presented their recently published texts from the book. The German versions were read with great sensitivity by actress Anne Hoffmann. The evening was hosted by poet and literary critic Alexandru Bulucz, who introduced each text with a personal introduction, giving each of the lyrical works special attention.
The book is available for purchase in stores Germany-wide, as well as through the publisher's website. There, it says:
Ahmad al Aboud takes instant coffee with him on his escape across the Mediterranean. Mustafa Aliesa is only 18 years old when he volunteers at a soup kitchen in Neukölln. Yama Shahi addresses his complaint to the artist Banksy. Zainab Farahmand misses the joyfully desperate hustle and bustle in the streets of Kabul. Anastasiia Dunaieva struggles with her mother tongue. They all belong to the 32 poets who document in this book what they experienced on their flight, how their relationship with their homeland has changed, and how they each want to arrive in Germany. They want to trust a government again and believe that freedom is not an empty word. They long for the living and the dead they left behind. And they imagine a future where what connects us is greater than what divides us.
With thanks to the S. Fischer Foundation and the funding program of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth "Living Democracy! – Active against Right-Wing Extremism, Violence, and Misanthropy." The event was organized by PEN Berlin and Verbrecher Verlag.
