A big thank you to Poetry Book Society and Ilya Kaminsky for recognizing this anthology as the inaugural World Choice Selection. All credit goes to the poets within who have defied and overcome innumerable odds to mark their own history. However, the struggle is not over for the poets and so much more help is needed and just as urgent.
Here is an article written by co-editor, the brilliant poet, literary activist and dear friend James Byrne in the Kenyon Review about the process of how this book and workshops came to be:
I am a Rohingya: Poetry from the World’s Largest Refugee Camp and Beyond by James Byrne
A few more places where articles have featured the book and the incredible poets within:
World Literature Today What Sparks Poetry+Two Poems from the book by Ro Mehrooz and Zaki Ovais
Delano in Luxembourg
Feature with The Telegraph newspaper in the UK and in the news cycle in Turkey and other countries.
Reviews in The Glasgow Review of Books from Alycia Pirmohamed , Poetry London, Gutter, Tageblatt and more and some of the poets have been translated into Norwegian as well.
The book has been celebrated in literary festivals from Ledbury Poetry Festival (where it was launched) to Bergen. From Creative Conversations in Glasgow to Galarie Clairefountain in Luxembourg. Without the help of everyone along the way, Friendship Ngo who facilitated the workspace and organisation in the camps to the brilliant and lovely Tony and Angela at Arc and the whole team who made this world changing impact, a big thank you from me but as I mentioned, more needs to be done and will be working towards making that change. Congrats again to the fantastic poets within.
Shehzar
shehzardoja.com 