The award winning Muslim Arts and Culture Festival is back and will be hosting a variety of online events throughout Spring this year. Audiences can expect a range of virtual entertainment – from art and literature, to music and performance – from a variety of speakers, artists and cultures. The aim of MACFest is to bring Muslim and non-Muslim communities together to celebrate works from different aspects of life. Spectators will be taken on a virtual journey from Manchester, all the way to Azerbaijan through an international line-up. Full details of the festival can be found here but below are a few literary events to add to your diary.

Poet and Storytellers: Open mic event | Sat 6 Feb | 2pm | FREE

Whether you’re a scribbler, avid storyteller or a poet, this event is for everyone to enjoy. MACFest invites you to step up to the mic in their very own ‘open mic’ digital event. Hosted by author and writing coach, Cat Lumb, there will be a variety of performances from poets and fiction writers. This event will also include chief guest Zahid Hussain, Chair of Manchester City of Literature. Sound interesting? Please visit the link below for more information and to register.

Poetry and Performance Bonanza | Tue 9 Feb | 6pm | FREE

Join Manchester’s very own poets and authors as they whisk you away on an enchanting journey through poetry and performance. Audiences can expect an evening of writing from poet and actor Yusra Warsama, poet and Resilience Coach Shamshad Khan and former Manchester Metropolitan University lecturer Mansoor Shah. Visit the link below for more information and to secure your free tickets.

Book, books and more books! | Tue 16 Feb | 5.30pm | FREE

If you’re a book lover, then look no further. Join a diverse panel with reader and book seller, Khalyla Harito, as she talks about her passion – collecting books from across the globe and selling books in Afghanistan. Kabulreads Managing Partner, Nargis Ehsan, and chief guest Ivan Wadeson, Executive Director for Manchester City of Literature, will discuss how important printed books are as technology has changed the planet will live on. They will also question what the future might look like for printed books in fast developing countries. If you’d like to register, then please click on the link provided below.

Celebrating Multi-lingual poetry and Mushaira performance | Sat 20 Feb | 2pm | FREE

MACFest is offering audiences a diverse afternoon of literature, with poetry performances from local, national and international Muslim poets of Arabic, Bengali, Kashmiri, Uighur and Pakistani heritage. Performers will read, sing and perform their work in both their native languages and English for participants to enjoy. This celebration will welcome performances of multi-lingual poetry with Firoza Hussain, Aziz Isa Elkun from the Uighur community in London and followed by the Circle of Literary Friends’ Mushaira performance. Alongside this, performers will recite their poems in a range of languages including Pushto, Punjabi and Urdu by Greater Manchester poet’s Dr Shehnaz Somjee, Walidullah Shah and Adnan Riaz. Audiences will also get the chance to hear from famous poet, Fozia Aslam, who will be performing live from her home city Bagh. Simply put, this event is not to be missed.

 

A Manchester Wire Partnership post
Fri 5 Feb
www.macfest.org.uk
Words:
Lucy Matthews
Published on:
Sun 14 Feb 2021