Kurdish PEN holds its 88th congress

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdish Centre of the International PEN on Saturday held its 88th congress at the Kurdish library of Stockholm, Sweden.

The congress was attended by numerous Kurdish and foreign writers, where several cultural activities like reciting poetry and playing music were held.

“We honored four prominent figures in this congress,” Dilshad Khoshnaw, the organizer of the congress, told Kurdistan24’s correspondent Awara Hawrami.

Besides Kurdish writers, a Swedish and a Norwegian writer were honored at the event.

“Norwegian writer Eugene Schoulgin, the former secretary of PEN international, and Swedish writer Terry Carlbom, the former president of PEN International, were honored at the congress,” Khoshnaw added and noted, “they were honored due to their support for the Kurdish cause.”

Among the Kurdish writers, Muhammad Amin Bozarslan, a writer and journalist, and Rafiq Sabir, a poet, were honored at the congress.

“Bozarslan was honored for his ongoing works in journalism, especially his translation of The History of Kurdish Journalism from Aramaic to Latin,” according to Khoshnaw.

He also said that Sabir was honored for his creativity in Kurdish poetry.

“Kurds from all parts of Kurdistan attended the congress,” Khoshnaw told Kurdistan 24.

Kurdish PEN is a part of International PEN, which was founded in 1921 in London.

In 1988, a Kurdish intellectual Hüseyin Erdem founded Kurdish PEN during the International PEN conference in Cambridge.

The current president of PEN International is Burhan Sonmez, who is a Kurdish novelist from Turkey (Bakur).