Nowhere Near a Damn Rainbow: Unsanctioned Writing from the Middle East is an anthology of work from 31 poets who are part of the poetry collective known as the Poeticians.
Sampsonia Way asked Hind Shoufani, founder of the Poeticians and curator of the book, to select eight writers to be interviewed via email. In this series we present those poets’ voices and publish a poem from each.
Writer Rewa Zeinati discusses censorship, Western misunderstanding of Middle Eastern literature, and the role of female writers in an oppressed society.
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Lebanon-based poet Mazen Zahreddine discusses why he doesn’t think in terms of nationality, publishing his works illegally, and working with Poeticians.
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Poet Justyna Janik discusses her dual nationality, misunderstandings of Middle Eastern literature, and how the Poeticians helped her writing.
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Poet Nigel Holt discusses how poetry in the Middle East is “a game of literary Russian roulette” and the disconnect between East and West literature.
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Poet Frank Dullaghan discusses writing from the perspective of a woman, topics banned in Dubai and the idea of self-censorship.
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Poet Jehan Bseiso discusses the importance of Poeticians, self-censorship in the Middle East, and her latest collection of poetry.
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Poet Zeina Hashem Beck discusses Middle Eastern literature, her connection to her Lebanese identity, and the charm of Beirut.
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