Illuminated Verses explores some of the rich and varied poetic traditions of the Islamic world. For a schedule of panels, click here (and scroll to bottom to download pdf of program).

Here is the program for Saturday, May 17, 2011:

Detailed Schedule

•9:00-9:15am
Welcome by Poets House Executive Director Lee Briccetti and City Lore Executive Director Steve Zeitlin

•9:20-9:55am
Illuminated Verses: the Poetries of the Islamic World
An opening panel setting up large questions and contexts with Reza Aslan and Michael Sells.

•10: 00-11:00am
Origins and Orality: the Poetry of the Arabian Peninsula
An examination of the poetries of the Arabian Peninsula from the Golden Age to contemporary oral tribal poetry. With anthropologists Najwa Adra and Steve Caton and literary scholar Suzanne Stetkevych.

•11:30 am-12:30pm
Versifying Expressions: Lyric Traditions of Persia
A discussion with readings of the lyric traditions of Persian and Iran such as Sufi poets Rumi and Hafez as well as modern Iranian poets Ahmad Shamlu and Forugh Farrokhzad. With scholars Jawid Mojaddedi and Persis Karim and poet/translator Kaveh Bassiri.

•1:20pm
Remarks by NEH Chairman Jim Leach, reconvening the Afternoon Sessions

•1:30-2:30pm
Tradition and Modernity
A panel with readings examining the role of the word in the Moroccan and Egyptian vernaculars, constructing modern nation states in the Middle East, and cross-cultural encounters with European forms. With scholars Stefania Pandolfo and Clarisa Burt and poet/translator Pierre Joris.

•2:45-3:45pm
From Romance to Resistance
An examination of the Urdu tradition in South Asia from the earliest days in the Mughal courts to the role of poets like Muhammad Iqbal in modern Pakistan. With scholars Frances W. Pritchett, Syed Akbar Hyder, and scholar/translator Mahwash Shoaib.

•4:30pm-5:30pm
Feet in Two Worlds: the Poetry of Muslim America
A panel with scholar Sylviane Diouf and poets Kazim Ali, Khaled Mattawa, Rashidah Ismaili AbuBakr and Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore.

•5:45-6:15pm
Closing Remarks by Ammiel Alcalay

•8:00pm to 10pm
Verses Illuminated: A Celebratory Reading and Performance
A multi-artist celebration of the poetic forms of the Islamic world featuring readings by participating poets and performances by Lebanese poetry duelists, the Iraqi group Safaafir singing songs from the cafes of Baghdad, vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia performing classical and contemporary ghazals, Rumi singer Amir Vahab and much more.

Organized by Poets House & City Lore and presented in conjunction with the Asia Society & Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), Illuminated Verses is made possible through a special Bridging Cultures grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, with additional support from the Nathan Cummings Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.