A detail from the event poster. Credit: HDPSC

‘Poetry for Palestine’ open mic fundraiser on Saturday 23 November

Hastings is to host its very first ‘Poetry for Palestine’ open mic night to raise funds for a community in Gaza with long-held links to the town.  Hastings & District Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s chair Katy Colley reports.

Local poets are invited to join the line up at the Downstairs Bar in the White Rock Hotel on Saturday 23 November for five-minute readings followed by music from DJ Sam Ye Ye.

Poet Debra Watson, the driving force behind this unique event, has a long history in fighting apartheid and believes poetry a critical tool in combating injustice.

Organiser Debra Watson. Credit: Lee London Photography

‘Hailing from South Africa, where I was during the eighties and early nineties a cultural and political activist, I know only too well the powerful impact that culture can play in raising awareness of issues and maintaining pressure on governments to behave ethically,’ she told me.

‘Cultural production, including spoken word and poetry, is an important part of resistance, and creates spaces for people to feel less lonely and isolated in their opposition to injustice.’

Debra, who runs the nature inspired writing group Wild Poets, said: ‘We have chosen two powerful images for our poster: one is a white kite in homage to a Dr Refaat Alareer’s poem, “If I must die”, the other is the olive tree, and olive branch; the former a hope for restoration of land to Palestinians, the latter a sign for peace.’

The evening has already attracted sign-ups from notable local poets including Yellow and Green, Grace Pilkington and Sajaa Osman but Debra is keen to emphasise there will be no ‘headliners’ at the event.

‘This is an open mic,’ she said. ‘It’s for everyone to raise their own voices so if you have a theme appropriate work, do join us!’

Al Mawasi

The event is a one-off collaboration with Hastings & District Palestine Solidarity Campaign (HDPSC) and Hastings Friends of Al Mawasi.

Grace Lally from Hastings Friends of Al Mawasi said: ‘It is hard for us to imagine the scale of the suffering in Gaza. Everyone in the north is being starved while those in the south are facing a second winter living in tents in Al Mawasi in Gaza with no means of supporting themselves and subject to constant bombing raids.

‘The Al Mawasi Community Resilience Committee is helping to support many displaced people who are now living there, by distributing food, clothes and hygiene products. But the ongoing siege has forced prices sky high and aid is scarce.

‘They need all the help they can get to survive the winter months so it’s wonderful to see people across our community stepping up to organise these kind of vital fundraising events.’

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