On April 27, the (WIMESSA) hosted听an evening of poetry, community and music to raise funds for the Sudan Solidarity Collective.听听
The event took place at La Sala Rossa, and featured music by Nadia Hawa Bald茅, Waleed Abdulhamid, Najla Jaffel, and Messaouda Partouche Gutierrez, as well as poetry readings from the poetry collection published for the event, Where the Hibiscus Still Blooms. 听
Sarah Elobaid Ahmed (U4 in World Islamic and Middle East Studies) and WIMESSA VP-Events, Zainah Islam, were inspired to host a poetry community benefit after taking ENGL 390:听Intro to Black Feminist Theory, taught by Professor Amber Rose Johnson, in which they read Audre Lorde鈥檚 Poetry is Not a Luxury.听听
鈥淏eing Sudanese, I have learned to view poetry as a radical tool for care and learning,鈥� says Sarah. 鈥淧oetry has historically been integral to Sudanese culture, read during revolutions to inspire cultural unity and resistance to a series of violent dictatorships. In moments where institutionalised 鈥榬ational鈥� knowledge falls short, poetry connects us to the experiences and teaching of those who came before us, and allows us to speak to future generations鈥澨�
Community as Inspiration 听
After attending a community benefit for Sudan in April 2023, Sarah and Zainah were both inspired by the sense of community and collective care they witnessed at the event and decided to create their own event that would bring people across the 海角精品黑料 and Montreal community together. 听
鈥淲e applied for the Arts Opportunities Fund, and once our funding was approved, we were so ecstatic to be able to bring this idea to life,鈥� says Sarah. 鈥淲e decided to reach out to the organizer of the event we had previously attended, Duha Elmardi, from the Sudan Solidarity Collective, and local community organizer and activist Stefan Christoff."听
Sarah then reached out to fellow SSC member and classmate, Eman Alawad (U2 in World Islamic and Middle East Studies), to assist with the poetry collection.听
鈥淥nce [Sarah] mentioned [the poetry collection], I immediately felt drawn to make it happen,鈥� said Eman. 鈥淲hat inspired me to become involved was how both Sarah and I鈥檚 coursework, especially in Professor Michelle Hartman鈥檚 Modern Arabic Literature and [ENGL 390]听framed poetry as a tool for survival, connection, and resistance. As a poet myself, I am aware of poetry鈥檚 transformative abilities.鈥澨�
Eman also facilitated poetry workshops for those interested in submitting their work for the poetry collection, which incorporates visual Sudanese cultural motifs throughout the collection and was designed by U1 Arts and Science student, Chloe Munouz. 听
Throughout their organizing, Sarah, Zainah and Eman were inspired to honour the lives and sacrifices of the Sudanese who lost their lives in the 2018-2019 Sudanese revolution and the subsequent millions of people who have been displaced since the beginning of the war. 听
鈥淲e wanted to honour those who have been killed and who have gone missing,鈥� says Sarah. 鈥淲e also wanted to support the crucial civil society formations that are administering crucial aid. Their mutual aid approach to relief efforts has served as the lifeline for those still living amidst the violence and famine.鈥澨�
Overall, WIMESSA鈥檚 fundraising efforts resulted in over $5,000 raised for the Sudan Solidarity Collective鈥檚 relief efforts for the ongoing war in Sudan.听
The Importance of Community and Poetry听
鈥淧oetry encourages us to insert ourselves in the emotional lives of others and acts as an accessible tool that allows us to build intimacy with those who we may not understand us at first,鈥� said Sarah.听
The poetry collection and the WIMESSA hosted event are a great testament to the ways in which poetry can bring people together in the spirit of love and hope. 听
鈥淎rt can create communities of learning and empathy through this exploration of the human conditions, and its plurality,鈥� says Eman. 鈥淲hen an artist creates, that creation exists as both an interaction of the artist, the creation within the context it exists in, and the creation as other people respond to and interact with it. All art, including poetry, has a continuous resonance of feedback, meaning that when one engages with a poem, that interaction is with a broader community, always.鈥澨�
We asked Sarah and Eman to share a poem that embodies the themes of hope, memory, and love, which inspired the event.听听
Eman: 鈥淧ersonally, a poem I have enjoyed (not in the collection) is . I think it posits joy as a form of resistance, and this event really was joy, in spite of everything that is happening around the world, and in Sudan, joy exists, and joy will always persist.鈥澨�
Sarah: 鈥淯nderneath This Bed by Mustafa Elshiek was a poem from the collection that really impacted me. I feel this poem strongly embodies the themes mentioned above as it talks about remembering and longing for a Sudan that was not plagued by violence. It talks about wanting to think of our homeland in a context of community and connection. It reminds me that our identities are a part of us that should not have a connotation of grief and loss, and that we must transform our longing into hope and action for a free Sudan.鈥澨�
A word from Sarah and WIMESSA:听
We would like to thank the musicians for dedicating their time and art to our fundraising efforts, the art vendors who tabled at the event, the artists who donated pieces to be sold for donations, our WIMESS professors for coming to the event and supporting us during the organizing process, Monny Cookies for catering the event, and the Islamic Studies Library for helping us publishing Where the Hibiscus Still Blooms digitally. I would like to personally thank my fellow WIMESS students and dear friends who volunteered, Sheida Mousavi, Alice Maitlis, Julia Navarrete, and Alina Ganon. I also would like to thank my co-organizers Stefan, Duha, Eman, and Zainah for being such amazing people to work with. I would like to thank our incredibly talented graphic designer Chlo茅 Munoz for bringing Where the Hibiscus Still Blooms to life in a way that was more amazing than we had ever envisioned it to be. Finally, I would like to thank every person who contributed to the community we had fostered that evening. The event would not have been a success if it were not for all of the invisible labour that went into it and the unwavering support of our peers.听听
This event was partially funded by the Arts Opportunities Fund. 听
听