Free Art, Free Life
25th Huseyin Celebi Literature and
Poetry Festival
Call for Submissions
The Huseyin Celebi Literature and Poetry Festival
organised by the Kurdistan Students’ Union (Yekîtiya Xwendekarên Kurdistan -
YXK) since 1993 is now accepting submissions for its 2017 event, taking
place on 21st October 2017 in central London.
Participants are invited to submit works of poetry and
short stories by Friday 22nd September 2017 in the different
languages of Kurdish, English, Turkish and German.
Commemoration of Huseyin Celebi and the Democratic Birth
in the Middle East
Huseyin Celebi, a pioneer of the Kurdistan Students’
Union (YXK) in Europe, was well-known for his internationalist outlook and as a
literary personality.
He was born in Germany in 1967 to parents who migrated
from the Kurdish city of Dersim from the effects of the 1938 genocide.
Celebi started writing poetry during his university years and
while he became more politically active, he was an important initiator of
discussions around Kurdish liberation with Latin American, African and European
left movements.
As a consequence of his political activities he was imprisoned by the German state in 1988. After being released in 1990, Huseyin Celebi joined the ranks of the Kurdistan Freedom Movement in the summer of 1991, and was martyred in 1992.
As a consequence of his political activities he was imprisoned by the German state in 1988. After being released in 1990, Huseyin Celebi joined the ranks of the Kurdistan Freedom Movement in the summer of 1991, and was martyred in 1992.
Since 1993 this festival has been organised as a
commemoration of the Kurdistan Students’ Union honorary leader Huseyin Celebi
and all the martyrs in the struggle for liberation.
The history of civilisation, marred by oppression,
injustice and exploitation, also embraces a rich history of those who have been
resolute in their resistance for the creation of another world. The
determination of those people has brought the resistance to where it is today.
The understanding of liberation and freedom of the
revolutionary martyrs is the path to an alternative model for society. The
internationalist perspective of the continuing struggle of the Kurdistan
Freedom Movement can be seen in Huseyin Celebi’s work.
The thoughts of the Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan about
social ecology, women’s liberation and democratic transformation are being
realised across Rojava (Northern Syria) and in the wider Middle East (West
Asia). As peoples of the region recognise that the freedom, democratic
self-administration and the unity of communities that the system of democratic
confederalism encompasses, is a model for democracy and peaceful coexistence
for all peoples of the Middle East, the foundations of the struggle for
liberation gains new power.
In this spirit, all who strive to contribute in an imaginative and inspirational manner to the project of democratic autonomy, to fearlessly live life in all its richness and to strongly defend it are invited to the Huseyin Celebi Poetry and Literature Festival.
This is the only way to break the hegemony that Capitalist Modernity has established over art, creativity and the imagination.
This is why our revolution must be political, our revolution must be a battle, our revolution must be to beautify our world.
Let’s enrich our world with a literary voice.
Submission Criteria
· The submissions to the festival should be in Kurdish (Kurmancî,
Kırmanckî, Soranî), English, Turkish or German.
· The submissions should not have been previously submitted.
· Participants can submit a maximum of two poems and one short story.
· The submissions should be on white paper and easy to read.
Participants should submit their literary contributions,
along with a biography and contact details by Friday 22nd
September 2017 to the e-mail address or postal address below.
Submission addresses:
Kurdisches İnstitut für Wissenschaft (Çalakiya Wejeyî ya Hüseyin Çelebi) Postcode 21 06 58089 Hagen/Deutschland (Germany)
E-Mail: huseyin-celebi@yxkonline.de
Kurdisches İnstitut für Wissenschaft (Çalakiya Wejeyî ya Hüseyin Çelebi) Postcode 21 06 58089 Hagen/Deutschland (Germany)
E-Mail: huseyin-celebi@yxkonline.de
