Video

Kewulay Kamara discusses African oral and written traditions, and his documentary about his attempt to recreate an ancient oral epic after the only written copy was destroyed in the Sierra Leone Civil War, as part of his presentation The Travelling Word: A West African Epic

Part of Illuminated Verses: Poetries of the Islamic World

Internationally acclaimed poet and professor of Arabic poetry Mohammed Bennis reads from his work in Arabic, translated into English by poet Pierre Joris as part of the presentation Transmutations with Moroccan Poet Mohammed Bennis.

Part of Illuminated Verses: Poetries of the Islamic World

Portugal’s Arte Institute covers the opening of the exhibition Insolent Grace: An Exhibition on the Transatlantic Life of Alberto de Lacerda

An excerpt from Duke University professor Bruce Lawrence‘s introduction to the poetic style and aural beauty of the Qur’an and challenge of translating archaic Arabic into modern-day English.

Part of Illuminated Verses: Poetries of the Islamic World

Actor Bill Murray reads two poems by Wallace Stevens at Bubby’s Brooklyn, as part of Poets House’s 17th Annual Poetry Walk Across the Brooklyn Bridge, Monday June 11, 2012

As part of her Craft Talk on Transitions, Jane Hirshfield, author of Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetr, offers tips on “keeping the poem alive.”

Jane Hirshfield, author of Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry, reads and discusses “Tracks” by Nobel Laureate Tomas Tranströmer.

As part of her Craft Talk on Transitions, Jane Hirshfield, author of Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry, discusses the arc of a book of poems, and reads “French Horn” and “The Supple Deer” from her collection Come, Thief.

Jane Hirshfield, author of Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry, reads and discusses “Winter” by Nobel Laureate Czesław Miłosz.

The ensemble Safaafir performs an Iraqi Maqam based on a poem by al-Mutanabbi. Part of the day-long public symposium for Illuminated Verses: Poetries of the Islamic World, Saturday, May 7, 2011.