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Bachtyar Ali in Conversation
Saturday 29 November
7PM
Folkestone-based author, speaker, and editor Ann Morgan discusses Afsana Press’ new book, The Last Pomegranate Tree, with author Bachtyar Ali and his translator Kareem Abdulrahman.
Described by the BBC as a “leading novelist who marks a new era”, Bachtyar Ali is the author of 40 books, including 12 novels, as well as a number of essay books and collections of poetry. His novels have been translated into Persian, Arabic, Turkish, German, Italian, French and English, a renown very few authors writing in the Kurdish language enjoy.
His novel, The Last Pomegranate Tree, sold over 25,000 copies in German. In 2024, it featured on the list of the 100 best books of the 21st century in the respectable German-language Swiss newspaper NZZ. It was also finalist in the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) prize in 2024. The New York Times described the book as an “imaginative novel”.
The evening is organised by Beton Collective, in collaboration with Afsana Press, the publisher of the British edition of the novel. Both the author and translator will sign the book during the event.
“Superbly realized novel of life, death, and what lies between . . . Blending magical realism with dark fables worthy of Kafka, Kurdish novelist Ali spins episodes that require the willing suspension of disbelief while richly rewarding that surrender . . . Altogether extraordinary: a masterwork of modern Middle Eastern literature deserving the widest possible audience.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Kaleidoscopic and mesmerizing . . . Ali's novel is a visionary wonder that plunges into the dreamscape of a people's fraught memory. For readers, this is unforgettable.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A tour de force . . . The urban scenes contribute to the author's in-the-round portrait of his homeland, showing us more than bunkers and bomb craters, suggesting fertility and possibility . . . Isn't it a fine novel that sustains such counterpoint? Alive with the tension between humanity and hatred?” —John Domini, Brooklyn Rail
Synopsis
Muzafar-i Subhdam, a peshmerga fighter, has spent the last 21 years in a desert prison in southern Iraq yearning for his son, Saryas, who was born shortly before his arrest. Upon his release, Muzafar embarks on a quest to find Saryas but along the way makes a shocking discovery: there may be more than one Saryas in existence. Set in the 1990s and early 2000s, The Last Pomegranate Tree mixes magical realism with graceful intelligence to illuminate a terrifying yet critical moment in Iraqi Kurdistan’s history. Through Muzafar’s journey, readers are reminded that political and social turmoil breeds not only negativity, it also holds the power to generate enduring friendships, love and extraordinary compassion.
Bachtyar Ali was born in the city of Sulaimaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan. He has been living in Germany for over two decades. A prominent Kurdish intellectual, Ali has written 40 books, including 12 novels, as well as a number of essay books and collections of poetry. His novels have become instant bestsellers in both Iraq and Iran. The Last Pomegranate Tree sold over 25,000 copies in German. In 2024, it featured on the list of the 100 best books of the 21st century in the respectable German-language Swiss newspaper NZZ. It was also finalist in the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) prize in 2024. His novels have been translated into Persian, Arabic, Turkish, German, Italian, French and English, a renown very few authors writing in the Kurdish language enjoy. In 2017, he was awarded the Nelly Sachs Prize in Germany, joining past recipients such as Milan Kundera, Margaret Atwood and Javier Marías. He is the first author writing in a non-European language to do so. In 2024, he was honoured with the prestigious German award Hilde Domin Prize for literature in exile.
Kareem Abdulrahman is a translator and Kurdish affairs analyst. From 2006 to 2014, he worked as a Kurdish media and political analyst for the BBC, where translation was part of his job. In 2013, he was awarded a place in the British Centre for Literary Translation’s prestigious mentorship programme. He translated Bachtyar Ali’s I Stared at the Night of the City into English (UK; Periscope; 2016), making it the first Kurdish novel to be translated into English. He is also the Head of Editorial at Insight Iraq, a political analysis service focusing on Iraq and Kurdish affairs. He lives in London.
Every purchased ticket entitles you to £5 off The Last Pomegranate Tree book.
Saturday 29 November
7PM
Folkestone-based author, speaker, and editor Ann Morgan discusses Afsana Press’ new book, The Last Pomegranate Tree, with author Bachtyar Ali and his translator Kareem Abdulrahman.
Described by the BBC as a “leading novelist who marks a new era”, Bachtyar Ali is the author of 40 books, including 12 novels, as well as a number of essay books and collections of poetry. His novels have been translated into Persian, Arabic, Turkish, German, Italian, French and English, a renown very few authors writing in the Kurdish language enjoy.
His novel, The Last Pomegranate Tree, sold over 25,000 copies in German. In 2024, it featured on the list of the 100 best books of the 21st century in the respectable German-language Swiss newspaper NZZ. It was also finalist in the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) prize in 2024. The New York Times described the book as an “imaginative novel”.
The evening is organised by Beton Collective, in collaboration with Afsana Press, the publisher of the British edition of the novel. Both the author and translator will sign the book during the event.
“Superbly realized novel of life, death, and what lies between . . . Blending magical realism with dark fables worthy of Kafka, Kurdish novelist Ali spins episodes that require the willing suspension of disbelief while richly rewarding that surrender . . . Altogether extraordinary: a masterwork of modern Middle Eastern literature deserving the widest possible audience.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Kaleidoscopic and mesmerizing . . . Ali's novel is a visionary wonder that plunges into the dreamscape of a people's fraught memory. For readers, this is unforgettable.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A tour de force . . . The urban scenes contribute to the author's in-the-round portrait of his homeland, showing us more than bunkers and bomb craters, suggesting fertility and possibility . . . Isn't it a fine novel that sustains such counterpoint? Alive with the tension between humanity and hatred?” —John Domini, Brooklyn Rail
Synopsis
Muzafar-i Subhdam, a peshmerga fighter, has spent the last 21 years in a desert prison in southern Iraq yearning for his son, Saryas, who was born shortly before his arrest. Upon his release, Muzafar embarks on a quest to find Saryas but along the way makes a shocking discovery: there may be more than one Saryas in existence. Set in the 1990s and early 2000s, The Last Pomegranate Tree mixes magical realism with graceful intelligence to illuminate a terrifying yet critical moment in Iraqi Kurdistan’s history. Through Muzafar’s journey, readers are reminded that political and social turmoil breeds not only negativity, it also holds the power to generate enduring friendships, love and extraordinary compassion.
Bachtyar Ali was born in the city of Sulaimaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan. He has been living in Germany for over two decades. A prominent Kurdish intellectual, Ali has written 40 books, including 12 novels, as well as a number of essay books and collections of poetry. His novels have become instant bestsellers in both Iraq and Iran. The Last Pomegranate Tree sold over 25,000 copies in German. In 2024, it featured on the list of the 100 best books of the 21st century in the respectable German-language Swiss newspaper NZZ. It was also finalist in the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) prize in 2024. His novels have been translated into Persian, Arabic, Turkish, German, Italian, French and English, a renown very few authors writing in the Kurdish language enjoy. In 2017, he was awarded the Nelly Sachs Prize in Germany, joining past recipients such as Milan Kundera, Margaret Atwood and Javier Marías. He is the first author writing in a non-European language to do so. In 2024, he was honoured with the prestigious German award Hilde Domin Prize for literature in exile.
Kareem Abdulrahman is a translator and Kurdish affairs analyst. From 2006 to 2014, he worked as a Kurdish media and political analyst for the BBC, where translation was part of his job. In 2013, he was awarded a place in the British Centre for Literary Translation’s prestigious mentorship programme. He translated Bachtyar Ali’s I Stared at the Night of the City into English (UK; Periscope; 2016), making it the first Kurdish novel to be translated into English. He is also the Head of Editorial at Insight Iraq, a political analysis service focusing on Iraq and Kurdish affairs. He lives in London.
Every purchased ticket entitles you to £5 off The Last Pomegranate Tree book.