Bachtyar Ali’s keynote speech at the launch event of The Amargi
From Nalî to Sherko Bekas, from Edward Said to Ai Weiwei, exile has long been written as rupture, loss, and nostalgia. At our launch event for The Amargi, renowned novelist, poet, and essayist Bachtyar Ali asked a different question: can exile also be a place of freedom, critique, and new beginnings? The speech was translated by Renwar Najm from The Amargi.
Bachtyar Ali
Bachtyar Ali, a leading novelist, poet, and essayist, is celebrated as one of the most influential contemporary Kurdish authors. Best known internationally for The Last Pomegranate Tree, he has published over 40 works of fiction, poetry, and criticism, including 12 novels. His writings have been translated into numerous languages, from Arabic and Persian to German, Italian, and English. In 2017, he became the first author writing in a non-European language to win the prestigious Nelly Sachs Prize.
