Poetic Hafla

Multilingual Poetry, Performance & Community in Berlin

Co-Founder & Curatorial Project

I co-founded the Poetic Hafla with Barack Moyal in 2016. The project brought multilingual poetry, spoken word and performance to different cultural spaces across Berlin and created a space where audiences could experience literature in its original languages.

The Poetic Hafla, where “hafla” means “party” in Arabic, is a monthly event featuring multilingual literary readings, spoken-word poetry and interdisciplinary performance art. It takes place at various venues throughout the city. It is now part of the Lettrétage performance space in Berlin.

Barack Moyal and I co-founded the Poetic Hafla after I returned to Berlin from the Basel International Literature Festival in 2016, where I met the poets Max Czollek from Germany and Adi Keissar from Israel.

On 5 February 2016, we organised a multilingual reading at the home of the renowned Palestinian-Israeli actor Yousuf Sweid. Following this, we were invited to co-curate more readings on different platforms and in venues of various sizes around Berlin.

Up to 200 people came to listen to the readings and performances in their original languages. Rather than translating them into German, Hebrew, English or Arabic, we wanted the audience to experience the full extent of our foreignness. This allowed them to experience the multiculturalism and diversity of Berlin first-hand. Despite there being no common language or syntax, a sense of shared understanding emerged.

Between 2016 and 2018, we held 26 Poetic Hafla events. We also participated in festivals and events at venues such as Max Czollek’s “Radikale Jüdische Kulturtage” at the Maxim Gorki Theatre, the Berliner Bibliotheksfestival, Lettrétage, Neue Nachbarn Bar, Circle-1, Café De Bagh, Klub der Republik, Yafo Restaurant and Media Kantine.

Since 2018, Barack Moyal has been the sole curator. However, if you come to watch the show, you might catch me performing on its stage.

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