An Evening With Uyghur Poet Aisha Kashgari … a Voice from far Western China
by Theodore
Strangers Gate Books, and Dreamriver Press present:
An Evening With Uyghur Poet Aisha Kashgari … a Voice from far Western China
and Music from Xinjiang Listening Party
When: Thursday November 18th, 6:30PM-9PM
Where: Birch Coffee (in the loft Library)
@ The Gershwin Hotel
7 East 27th Street (between Fifth & Madison)
New York, New York
Free and open to the Public
Coffee, tea, beer, wine, food available.
About the artist:
Situated in and around the shifting sands of the Taklimakan and ringed by the world’s most majestic mountain ranges, the Chinese province of Xinjiang stretches west to the Pamirs, the craggy borders of the ‘Stans and frames the Tarim Basin and Dzungaria-the historical regions of the Uyghur (pronounced “ouiyger”) people, the largest group of the many Chinese minorities. Poet and writer Aisha Kashgari is a native of Xinjiang Province, Western China and her poems evoke all the mystery and exoticism you would expect from a native of that beautiful, mysterious region at the heart of the ancient Silk Road, yet her charismatic stage presence and urbane sophistication belie any trace of being held back by tradition.
In her home country, Ms. Kashgari is a published novelist, poet, and playwright. She has a degree in Literature from Xinjiang University in Urumqi, and has trained in the writing, cadence, rhyme and performance of Uyghur poetry since she was a child. Her spoken poems are at once delicate and powerful, and her impromptu readings at Bowery Poetry Club and Cornelia Street Cafe have left people mesmerized and often highly emotional, given the unique intonations and cadence of the Uyghur language coupled with Kashgari’s disarming presence. In the near future New York small press Strangers Gate Books will publish Kashgari’s Tales of Xayar, a collection of poems and a novella.
After the performance, there will be a dialog between the artist and the presenters followed by an audience Q&A. Strangers Gate Books and Dreamriver Press will curate a table with selections from their respective catalogs for purchase.
We hope you can join us.
-Pauls Imports, Dreamriver Press, Strangers Gate Books
Birch Coffee is dedicated to sustainable practices and good living. Coffee, tea, beer, wine and food are available before and during the event.
