12 Apr Palfest Comes to Balham
Saturday 10th June: 16.30
Rachel Holmes, Jeremy Harding, Sabrina Mahfouz and Ahdaf Soueif
Founded in 2008 with the mission of affirming ‘the power of culture over the culture of power’, The Palestine Festival of Literature (Palfest) is an annual event that takes place in cities across Palestine and Israel, including Jerusalem, Ramallah, Haifa and Nablus. It has become an iconic emblem of the ways in which writers and readers transcend obstacles to come together and to appreciate literature in all genres.
We are delighted to welcome its founder, Ahdaf Soueif, to introduce four of the outstanding writers who have taken part over the years and who have contributed to a powerful new anthology – This Is Not a Border – of pieces from and about the festival. They will help us to understand how refugees, displaced people, those whose lives are disrupted daily by politics and those whose country appears on few maps can celebrate and create a home through words. Since Balham has for many decades provided a home for refugees, economic migrants and immigrants we welcome these voices from afar.
Venue: The Ballroom, Bedford
Price: £10 or £20 including a copy of This Is Not a Border