Jazz Poetry Concert to Feature 3 University of Iowa International Writers

City of Asylum Pittsburgh hosts its annual Jazz Poetry Concert once again this Saturday, September 10. Sampsonia Way, an alley in Pittsburgh’s Northside, will become the stage for this acclaimed outdoor concert. This is a unique opportunity to spend an evening with poet Sonia Sanchez, legendary musician Oliver Lake, the Tarbaby Trio, and some of the best writers from around the world.

Among these international writers we are thrilled to present Tommi Parkko, Alexandra Petrova and Hind Shoufani from the University of Iowa International Writing Program.

Tommi Parkko (poet, nonfiction writer; Finland) has taught creative writing at universities and workshops across his native Finland. Parkko is the founder of the poetry association Nihil Interit, and has edited a number of poetry collections. His own work has been translated into Swedish, Russian, Estonian, Hebrew, and Lithuanian. He is the author of third poetry collections, Lyhyt Muisti, Meri [Short Memory, Sea] (1997) and Sileäksi Puhuttu [Smooth Talk] (2004). His third collection, Pelikaani [Pelican], is due out in August of 2011.

Photo: Pino Settanni

Alexandra Petrova (poet, fiction writer; Russia/Italy) was born in Russia, lived in Jerusalem and currently resides in Rome. She is the author of three collections of poetry Линия Отрыва [Point of Detachment] (1994), Вид на жительство [Residence Permit] (2000), and Только деревья [Just the Trees] (2008). Her poems have appeared in Russian magazines: Znamia, Zvezda, and Zerkalo, in English in Literary Revue, Modern Poetry in Translation, Drunken Boat, Guernica, and many more. She has also written a play “Пастухи Долли” [Dolly’s Shepherds, A Philosophical Play]. She was short listed for the Andrej Belyj award (2001, 2007) and she has received awards the “Migrante” European Poetry meeting (2006), Belgrade’s Festival of Poetry Trceg TRG (2008), and the Torino Festival’s Sixth Annual National Mother Language Literary Competition (2011). She is currently at work on her first novel.

Hind Shoufani (poet, filmmaker; Jordan) was born to Palestinian parents in Lebanon and lives in Dubai. Shoufani has made a number of short films and documentaries, and is now at work on the documentary Journey in Migration (2011) and the feature-length This War on Love. She has been a film instructor in Jordan and Lebanon, and written on the arts for the Beirut newspapers The Daily Star and The Guide. The author of two volumes of poetry, More Light Than Death Could Bear (2007) and Inkstains on the Edge of Light(2010), she is also the founder of The Poeticians, a group that hosts multilingual poetry and spoken word events in Amman, Beirut and Dubai.

Can’t make it to the concert? No worries. Sit back with a glass of wine and watch from home at http://www.livestream.com/jazzpoetryconcert. Plus, join the conversation on Twitter with hash tag #jazzpoetry.