Baban Kirkuki
Kirkuk, 1974) is an Iraqi-Dutch poet and writer. In 1999 he fled Iraqi Kurdistan because he refused to write propaganda poems for Saddam Hussein's regime. He now lives in Utrecht. He debuted in the Netherlands in 2006 with Op weg naar Ararat (En Route to Ararat), 29 poems about Kurdistan, war and fear, but also about mountains, winter and the desert. His second poetry volume, Lontananza (2009), focuses on his yearning for his native land and for a place in his new homeland. His two identities also feature prominently in his two following collections, Territorium (2011) and Licht onbekend (2013).
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Archive available for: Baban Kirkuki
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Baban Kirkuki in Nieuw Waldeck
With: Baban Kirkuki, Judith Uyterlinde, Kamal Hors
Poet Baban Kirkuki and oud-player and composer Kamal Hors presented a musical-poetic performance about Kirkuki's flight from Iraq and his experience in building an existence in The Netherlands. Hosted by writer and literary event organizer Judith Uyterlinde.
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The Book of my Life: Baban Kirkuki
The Iraqi/Dutch poet talks about his favourite book - the book that inspires or moves him; the book that formed his moral or intellectual compass; the book that he would recommend to anyone. Interviewer: Hassnae Bouazza. In Dutch.
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In the Mirror of Refugees
The image that refugees have of Europe does not match the reality they experience upon arrival. Europe is a fiction. German-Azerbaijani writer Olga Grjasnowa wrote about the displaced in a globalized world; the Russian Michaïl Sjisjkin translated for asylumseekers in Vienna for years, which led to his novel Venus Hair; and novelist and filmmaker Hassan Blasim fled Irak and ended up turning his experiences into a book in Finland. Dutchman Tommy Wieringa delved into the motives of refugees for Dit zijn de namen (These Are the Names). What do they find in Europe? Moderator: Jeroen van Kan.
