Creating Alternative Realities

On Sundays at 7 PM Cairo time (UTC +2:00), we write.

Pandemic dystopias have us rethinking life and our expectations of it. In our creative writing session, we dare to give into the alternative realities we have been longing for. To reimagine ourselves in different futures and kinder worlds and write them into our new realities.

These sessions offer you the space to check in with your writing practices, your Selfs and each other. Our focus is, of course, on wellbeing, not on productivity; you have so much to share, it does not necessarily have to be your written word. All are welcome.

The workshops are held by Amuna, co-founder and chief-editor of Kandaka.

Amuna is a Writer and Lover of the Arts living in Cairo, Egypt. She studied International Relations and Arabic at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, with a special interest in decolonising processes and the politics of gender. In her art, Amuna explores the many ways through which we heal ourselves and others: ancestry, identity, activism, feminist spiritualities, creative knowledge production and movement. She has published articles and poetry on Skin Deep, Meeting of Minds, shado mag and sweetthangzine.

To participate in the sessions, contact us vis email (kandaka.blog@gmail.com) or message us on facebook or instagram (@kandaka.blog) and we will send you the URL for the meeting.

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Past writing workshops:

On Thursday, 16th April 2020, Samantar held a poetry workshop.

Samantar Osman Gurey, Swedish-born Somali living in London. A writer and student at SOAS, University of London. With work published on Swati Zine Magazine along with other publications, hosted workshops in various spaces in London, particularly at SOAS. Performed in venues such as Kings College, University of London, SOAS, University of London, Poetry Society (The Poetry Cafe), Roundhouse and more. Current member of the Roundhouse Poetry Collective 2019/20. My poetry explores themes such as family, mental health, masculinity, class and race, religion, migration and youth culture.

This poetry workshop provides a space for participants to take their thoughts from their mind onto paper. In the midst of Covid-19 and its effects, Samantar introduces a method of release as well as a tool for healing and communicating. This workshop will be that: a way to understand and express through the Poetry Canon. It is also a chance to expose ‘professional’ poetry to the participants as a space to understand ‘the poetry world’ and take it as a new hobby, an artistic path, and/or as a fun healthy habit during this quarantine.

Find Samantar’s playlist “Power to the rhythm” here.

Find Samantar on instagram here.

In April 2020 lyds, whose poem modesty verses we shared last year, facilitated weekly writing sessions.

lyds is a poet and writer based in London, UK. her writing practice predicates on delineating the human condition thru the prisms of Black womanhood, sensuality, music, the sacred and radical honesty. her work has been published by AFROPUNK (2018), syla studio (2019), Kandaka (2019, 2020), sweet-thang zine (2019) and New Landscapes Anthology (2019) she co-facilitates PRISM WRITERS; a writer’s group for Black women held at the Southbank Centre and graduated in 2019 from Goldsmiths, University of London with a masters in Black British Writing. she is currently writer-in-residence on Lungs Project’s DIALOGUES platform.

Times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+02:00)

All sessions will be held on zoom.us which you need to sign up for and download beforehand.

Collage by Yael Wagner