Kurdish Poet nominated for UK Forward Poetry Prize

“An Ordinary Day”, a poem from Bells of Speech (Ambit, 2006) by Kurdish poet Nazand Begikhani has been selected and nominated for this year’s UK Forward Book of Poetry prize. The poem has been reprinted and published in an anthology of the “best poems of the year from the Forward Poetry Prizes”.

Nazand Begikhani is from Koysinjaq, Iraqi Kurdistan and has been living in exile (Denmark, France and UK) since 1987. She holds a Ph.D in comparative literature from the University of Sorbonne. She has published three poetry collections in Kurdish and Bells of Speech is her first anthology in English.

Bells of Speech has been very well received in the UK. Following its publication Nazand was invited to participate and read her poems on the flagship Radio 4 programme, Start the Week, presented by Andrew Marr, which was broadcast on Christmas Day 2006. On May 14th 2007, MP Ann Clwyd hosted a reception of Bells of Speech at the Houses of Parliament where Nazand read her poems to a number of literary figures, MPs, media representatives and foreign diplomats.

Also, several of her poems have been selected and included in English and American anthologies, including “ Inspired Verse” by Wyndham Thomas (Corsham Print, Easter 2007); “ “The Poetry of Recovery” by.Sante Lucia Books (USA, 2007); Fragments from the Dark” by Jeni Williams (Forthcoming 2008) and the Poetry International Web (http://uk.poetryinternationalweb, summer 2007).

Wendy Beckett wrote in her introduction to the Inspired Verse: “Nazand devotes herself to seeking justice for Kurdish people and all who are persecuted. She believes happiness is our right, and sings of it with wistful certainty”

An ordinary day

The security officer

got up early

put on his white shirt

had honey toast with nuts

kissed his three children

hugged his wife passionately

and left for work

At his desk

sat ten files

of ten men to be shot

He signed them

while drinking mint tea

At ten o’clock

he ordered the shooting

got angry over a gunman who missed his target

Taking out his pistol

he fired at the missed target ten times

Before the end of his shift

he visited the mothers of the ten shot men

ordered each to pay 100 dinars

for the cost of the bullets that killed their sons

In the evening

he celebrated his brother’s birthday

At night

on the surface of a mirror

he saw a drop of blood trickling down to his feet

he tried to wash it

the trickle rose to his chest

Where does the difference lie between the killer and killed?