Texts preserve unheard story(s). What traces have anti-discriminatory struggles left in the literature of the immigration country Germany?
Writing is an important act of activism and resistance capturing one’s own experiences, history(s) and struggles from a very personal and intimate perspective – contrary to dominant culture and society. Many writers, poets and activists like Audre Lorde, May Ayim and Semra Ertan did not let their voices be silenced. They have left us manifestos of empowerment.
For Poetische Kämpfe: Unsere Waffen sollen unsere Worte sein* (Poetic Battles: Let our weapons be our words)* District Berlin invited Tunay Önder, Ismahan Wayah and Hengameh Yaghoobifarah to share text samples of a post-migrant society. With this, District Berlin wants to contribute to transforming the poetic voices of migrantisized women and their struggles into a living and empowering archive, thus making them audible loudly and lastingly.
This event takes place within the framework of Memory Care. A project by Nuray Demir and Andrea Caroline Keppler / District*School without Centre.
In cooperation with Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung. With kind support from Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa.
*The title is a reference to the poem Ratschlag [Advice] by Semra Ertan. It says, “Eure Waffen sollen eure Worte sein” [Let your weapons be your words].
