Poetry Reading: Roehampton University

"The Ghazal": Mimi Khalvati & Aviva Dautch

in the University Library, 4th Floor, Seminar Room 416A

Since the medieval period, writers have experimented with the ghazal, a poetic form traditionally invoking themes of love, longing and loss. Originating in pre-Islamic Arabia, the ghazal spread into Africa and Spain where it was taken up by Jewish poets and used to ask metaphysical questions. In the thirteenth century, the ghazal became pre-eminent in Persian poetry. In this session Mimi Khalvati and Aviva Dautch will explore the history and development of the ghazal, examine its use in contemporary Anglo-American poetry and look at the key elements needed for writing a ghazal today. Both Mimi and Aviva use the ghazal in their own work and the evening will end with a poetry reading and a chance to enjoy listening to their modern take on this traditional form.

About the speakers:

Mimi Khalvati founded The Poetry School and has published six collections of poetry; her most recent, The Meanest Flower, was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation, a Financial Times Book of the Year, and was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize. Her work has been translated into nine languages and she received a Cholmondeley Award in 2006.

Aviva Dautch is a Creative Educator at the British Library where she has developed poetry and creative writing workshops for all ages. She also teaches in schools, prisons, museums and universities and her own poems have been published in magazines including Modern Poetry in Translation, The Long Poem and Poetica (USA).

Entry: Free

Time: 7:00pm