Interview with Mahmood Kadir, PhD Candidate: Interviewed by Aras Ahmed Mhamad AAM: How would you define pragmatics? What is the importance of this level of linguistics analysis? MK: Pragmatics is a subfield of linguistics developed in the late 1970s.Pragmatics studies how people comprehend and produce a communicative act or speech act in a concrete speech…
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Category Archives: Culture
Christianity in Kurdistan Today
Press Release by Gulan: Event at the UK Royal Geographical Society (on 31st October – details below) sheds light on the culture, history and day to day life of this overlooked minority. Kurdistan is home to many ancient churches, including the Syrian Orthodox Church, the Church of the East, the Chaldean Catholic Church and the…
London Kurdish Film Festival Screenplay Competition
By LKFF: Recognising the vital importance of well constructed and developed screenplays for the enrichment of Kurdish cinema, the London Kurdish Film Festival is organising a competition to select the best entry for a screenplay for a feature film on a Kurdish theme. The competition forms part of the 8th London Kurdish Film Festival that is…
GTA game series: facing and shaping reality
By Ausama Anwar: I remember reading Don Quixote and the clash between reality and imagination within it. There was only imagination that could face reality, creating a free world for humans, finding that which they couldn’t find in reality, and merging their imagination with it. Then, when I read about dreams, I thought they could…
Poems by Middle Ages Erbil Historian: Ibn Mstawfi
Introduced By Yasin Aziz: Ibn Fateh Ahmad Mubarak Mauhub Ibn Ghunaim Al Laqmi (known as Ibn Mstawfi ‘Erbilli’) was born in Erbil in 1169 AD. He was one of the high-ranking officials of the city and therefore called ‘Raies’ or ‘Leader’. He often looked after well-known visitors to the city who came on official visits, especially scientists, poets…
The impact of culture on language: Kurdish culture as an example
By Aras Ahmed Mhamad: It is widely believed that culture is created but language is partly innate and to a certain extent, instinctive. They are both developed through the journey of life and have different and open areas of study. Cultural differences and language variations also play a significant role in bringing about other meanings…
Humanity: What if we were ‘more than human’?
By Ausama Anwar: We’ve all lived life as being a human, and we’ve never imagined living as something else – something bigger maybe, or something smaller – so as to be grateful for the shape we live in (as humans). So here the adventure begins. One of the crazy-minded writers tries to create a character…
September 11
By Freeyad Ibrahim: 2001 The collapse of the twin towers was the collapse of America’s pride The whole world was sad America cried Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
London’s first Kurdish Pop Up Cinema
London Kurdish Film Festival & Portobello Pop Up Cinema Present: For decades, working beyond the control of the governments of Syria, Iran, Iraq and Turkey, Kurdish filmmakers have made many remarkable films under incredible conditions. In today’s critical times, we’ve put together a snap ‘pop-up’ season – with Kurdish film-makers in attendance – to bring urgent attention to the Kurdish people,…
Ban Ki-Moon
Poem by Freeyad Ibrahim: In 1945 . USA dropped A-bomb over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And he won the war. And the international community had condemned it Indifferently. Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
The unknown soldier of Kurdistan
Poem by Abdullah Pasheew: Translation from Arabic by Freeyad Ibrahim When a delegation goes… to a certain place… He places a wreath of flowers… On the monument of the unknown soldier… If a certain delegation would visit my homeland… And would ask me… Where is the Tomb of your Unknown Soldier…!? Bookmark on Delicious Recommend…
Three Chains of Mountains
By Yasin Aziz: An extract from Yasin’s forthcoming book, ‘A Few Days Life of Revolution in Halabja’ Hawraman, Ballanbow & Shnrwie When Sajid was in secondary school, he wrote this: When the window of life was wide open before me in Halabja in mid fifties, I found myself on the high ground, standing before three…
He did not die, just the River immersed in his own Sea: To Sherko Bekas
By Dr Kamal Mirawdeli: Şêrko Bêkes (2 May 1940 – 4 August 2013), a leading contemporary Kurdish poet died in Sweden on 4 August 2013 from lung cancer. He is known for the amazing continuity of his creative and prolific poetic career over almost half a century. He has produced an astonishing Poetic Record and…
On Poetry: Sherko Bekas (Part 2)
Interview and Translation by Aras Ahmed Mhamad: This interview, conducted last year, is possibly the only interview with Sherko Bekas (who died last week) in the English language. AA: Have you ever imagined a day where poetry and poets are neglected – taking into the consideration the fact that the rise of the novel has marginalized poetry….
Freedom
By Shirko Bikas: From my songs if one flower is taken away, One season would die. If love is taken away, Two seasons would die. If bread is taken away, Three seasons would die. Bookmark on Delicious Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post
