Professor Miwa OTA of Department of English Studies Appears in "La nuit de la lecture" Co-Hosted by “Baamdaad – The House of Poetry in Exile” and Pen Club Français

Professor Miwa Ota of the Department of English Studies has appeared in “La nuit de la lecture” (The night of poem reading) held on January 20th and 21st, 2024 (January 21st in JST).

This poem reading Zoom event was co-hosted by "Baamdaad – The House of Poetry in Exile” and Pen Club Français to celebrate the publication of Nulle prison n'enfermera ton poème, the French version anthology, from Oxybia in November 2023.

It all began from the call for solidarity to the world poets, led by the Afghanistan poet, Somaia Ramish, to compose a poem of rebellion against the Afghanistan Taliban regime which forbade lyric writing in January 2023. Somaia Ramish has exiled herself to the Netherlands. Thanks to the efforts made by poet Nozomu Shibata, the Japanese version of No Jail Can Confine Your Poem became the world's first to realize on-demand publishing from Amazon Japan.

The poets gathered from the world started by expressing their feelings and then presented a poem in one’s mother language, French, or English. Carloe Carcillo Mesrobian, the Chairperson of the Pen Club Français, and the French poet Cecile Oumhani moderated this event. The Afghanistan poet Somaia Ramish commented from time to time and also read the poems of Afghanistan poets. The event proceeded in a sociable mood as is often seen in Zoom events, creating a moment where the poets ascertained their friendships beyond the boundary and time difference as well as becoming aware of their mission in an enjoyable manner.