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A POETRY festival inspired by colours is set to be staged this month and, for the first time, in a hybrid format, bringing together bards from Bahrain and around the world.
The 12th edition of Colours of Life by The Second Circle, a sister group of the Bahrain Writers’ Circle, the kingdom’s oldest and arguably first writers’ group of its kind, will showcase more than 20 wordsmiths on the island and some founding members who previously lived in Bahrain, across nationalities, including Canadian, Indian and British.
“We have been discussing the possibility of hybrid sessions for a while now,” Kaav Ranj, who is driving the event along with other members of the group’s executive committee, told GulfWeekly. “We felt that Colours of Life, the first of our events for the year, would be perfect to launch the idea.
“Participants will recite a poem written by them, inspired by a colour. Some will use musical instruments and others visual elements, all to put up a spectacular show.
“I am thrilled to be presenting as well. I’ve been reading a lot of multigenerational novels recently, and want to communicate ideas of family and bloodlines, which is why I chose ‘red’. I love how many different things it represents from love to anger to blood to beauty,” the multidisciplinary artist and spoken word poet who has performed across the Middle East and South Asia added.
The 24-year-old Indian expatriate has been published in various magazines and literary platforms and shared the stage with poets like Sarah Kay, Phil Kaye, Zeina Hashem Beck, and Javed Akhtar.
Colours of Life is the brainchild of Irish creative David Hollywood who left Bahrain in 2016 but continues to serenade the Circle with his vivid verses every month during their poetry meetings.
“I look forward with great anticipation to once more participating in the festival, digitally this year. Each time I am delighted to witness both old and new faces appear alongside each other,” the published poet said.
“My poem is dark and hopefully frightening, titled Nesferatu-Bled Before Your Dead. It’s inspired by a play I am writing as part of a vampire film which is to be shot later this year in my home, which is a rambling 250-year-old edifice located in the rural environs of Ireland. Naturally the colour for this piece is ‘black’ and I am hoping the audience find it unsettling, and shocking in both its tone, as well as words.”
David’s poems are featured in the books Waiting Spaces and Intuitions Instincts and he is working on a new collection set to release this year.
Australian talent Beth Noble released her debut collection of artworks and poetry back in 2011 and is excited to be participating in the festival for the first time.
“It’s a great chance for local poets and writers to perform their work, support each other and share our talents and inspiration with our local community,” the 52-year-old artist and certified psychotherapist said.
“Most of my work is inspired by using creative writing as a way to connect with, and discover aspects of my inner experience and through this process, find clarity and solace. Under the Stairs is based on my experience of despair. It sounds quite dark but when we face the hidden aspects of ourselves, and dialogue with them if you like, they cease to have the same power over us.
“My colour is ‘grey’. The bleak character living under the stairs, which is metaphor for despair, is hidden and lurking,” the Adliya resident added.
Malawian author Emmie Nkhandwe, 35, will also present for the first time and has chosen ‘green’ as her muse, which, to her, signifies ‘hope’. An avid writer since childhood, she has published kids’ books on Amazon and is working on a poetry anthology inspired by life.
“Everyone goes through some dark moments, and, unfortunately, the world is also in kind of a dark moment right now and people react differently. There are others who feel like the situation they are in is permanent but there is always hope – no situation is permanent,” she explained.
The event will happen at the British Club in Um Al Hassam on April 20 from 7pm onwards. Entry is free and open to all on a first-come-first-served basis.
For details, follow
@bahrainwriterscirclebwc on Instagram.
