Lots of Big Ideas

LOBI writer, Jade, is published by Penguin

2007-12-09T15:27:00.000Z

LOBI writer and Refugee Council volunteer, Jade Amoli-Jackson, is among the sixteen authors chosen by Penguin and the Arts Council to have their story included in an anthology, From There to Here.

The judges, who included novelist Kate Mosse, chose from among 100 entries about the immigrant experience which ranged from the funny and light to the more literary.

You can read more about the anthology in this newspaper article here.

Congratulations Jade! We're very proud of you!

Dream Traveller

2007-04-28T20:21:00.000Z

Dream Traveller is a new and mysterious piece of writing by Mark Hill.

Talking about how he came to write this piece, Mark says:

'I read a book by the psychologist, Daniel Nettle, [who believes] that creativity and madness are two sides of the same coin. In the world of paranoia every object or colour can rapidly show itself as an abstract. (I think the same thing happens in the imaginative and creative process.) So this lady [the Dream Traveller] could appear in my dreams or paranoia or creative processes or all of them. She is a source of inspiration, calmness, relief, rescue... indeed, symbolised like a God, but who is she? Where did she come from? She could be someone whom I have loved, an escape from harsh and difficult reality (unfortunately I spent a long time in a difficult condition) or an escape from severe pain (physically and emotionally)...just like a God. But my God is on earth, not in the sky.'

Read Dream Traveller by Mark Hill on our wiki to find out more.

Crimson moon

2007-03-03T23:32:00.000Z

I've just been looking out of the little window in the roof above my desk, here in North Yorkshire. The sky is full of stars... and there is a beautiful moon, like a perfectly round pearl, turning from pink to red.

And I'm thinking that here on the night side of the earth there must be millions of people who have stopped whatever they are doing just to look up at this eclipsed moon.

Sure enough, a quick Google search shows live web cams from moon watchers in Iran, Norway, Belgium, Spain, Argentina and Georgia, USA.

In Iran it's called mah; in China it is yuet; and in Tutsi it is mwezi.

At risk of sounding naive, it just strikes me in this moment, as I breathe out under the open window, that there are simply no reasons for us to feel different from one another. Just like our ancestors before us, we're all moon worshippers.

Two beautiful stories by Aziz

2007-02-21T15:37:00.000Z

I love Aziz's writing. He creates wonderful blends of the folktales and story-telling traditions of his native Sudan with a wry sense of humour and a passion for justice. Read two new short stories by Aziz here...

All Write Glasgow joins LOBI!

2007-02-03T11:56:00.000Z

The All Write group has joined LOBI.

We are myself, Sherwan, and three other writers whom you will meet shortly!

New poems by Mark Hill

2007-01-22T13:41:00.000Z

Who would believe that, only a couple of years ago, Mark Hill felt unable to write poems and short stories in English?

The talented Iranian poet and novelist told us that his only hope was to find a translator of his many writings in Farsi (Persian). And yet here he is, only a short time later, writing beautiful poems like this one directly into English.

As a poet, I can't imagine writing poems in, say, Italian, the only language in which I can reasonably claim that I have any kind of proficiency. And translation itself seems a mysterious art. (What gets 'translated'? What gets left out? How do things change?)

I can understand the exiled writer's fears about writing in a language which always feels, somehow, one step removed. And yet, this also makes me think about how all language is slippery, impossible to pin down. We feel something inside ourselves and, as we try to put it into words, it has already changed, moved on. Perhaps this continual reaching after language is what making poems is really all about? Perhaps we write poems because we know that our words are somehow never quite enough? In this way, every poem is a small act of courage.

What I notice in the writing on our wiki is that something very interesting and new happens when people get up enough courage to begin to write in a new language.

Take a look at three of Mark's new poems here.

(posted by Sophie)

Inspired by my fellows by Tim

2006-11-10T12:09:00.000Z

Being a member of Write to Life writing group has benefited me in many different ways, I have to admit. It's really, really amazing coming across different talents from different backgrounds but with almost an identical past enemy: persecution or torture. One of the things that strike me the most is, I discover that most of my experiences are shared by my colleagues.

It has been also amazing learning about our differences, having come from different parts of the globe. The biggest surprise comes when I find striking similarities in certain beliefs or way of life between my people in the DRC, and say people in Syria. So this is only one of the many unique benefits Write to Life and LOBI has offered.

Another priceless benefit has been that of learning from my fellow members at the Write to Life and LOBI through their writings. Hassan Bahri is one example of them. Having survived persecution in Syria, Hassan is now member of the write to Life. A fellow writer whose pieces of writing make me identify myself as well as his writings' sense humor making it look irresistibly powerful. This is evidenced in almost all his pieces of writing but A Reporter Who Died From Obesity and Never bury Your Shit Too Deep have got to be my favorites, difficult to call though. You can read and learn more about Hassan and his writing here...

Saddam to Hang by Tim

2006-11-06T15:09:00.000Z

Saddam Hussein's verdict has made me think. Just like many people, I am wondering if hanging Saddam would be a wise thing to do. In my opinion, Iraqis are really really suffering. Having seen first hand what war can do to a nation (especially to the many innocents citizen) I can figure what it is exactly like for the people of Iraq. Saddam's sentence has also challenged my own perception of how I want justice to be carried out wicked against leaders who have oppressed us so heavily. I mean, even those who put me in jail and tortured me. Up until now, I thought hanging or killing them would be perfect justice. But the Saddam's saga makes me not to be sure now.

And so my wish and prayer for Iraq is that they unite. Anything that can possibly help tear this country apart, in my humble opinion, is to be avoided at all cost. I think, for the current situation in Iraq, Wisdom not justice at first needs to avail. It is believed by many that Mandela's wisdom paved a way for a prosperous South Africa, not brutal justice.

Perhaps the situations are different from what's going on with Saddam's Iraq and what has happened in the DR Congo, my Country. But as the BBC highlighted Saddam's career, I realized that he spent 30 years in power oppressing his people. Mobutu spent more of the same number of years inflicting terror and dictatorship on the people of the Congo. This brought me to think that we in the Congo and our friends in Iraq have had to journey the same path for almost the same period.

But coming back to Saddam's verdict, I think there seem to be just a lot of injustice going on all over place (especially with situation in the Middle East - the latter only chosen because that's what people seem to be aware of or even interested in) and that seems to make even the Saddam verdict look unjust.

Politicians by Tim Malmo

2006-11-04T16:30:00.000Z

Are they always right? That's not human anyway! But why can't they admit so easily like the average number of the rest of us would do when we are, at least, shown that we are wrong. I'm not sure about you, but I couldn't help myself but laugh as I saw Bush speaking about Iraq. Well, the thing is, the more he speaks about Iraq, the more his face looks a funny one to me. Don't get me wrong. I have a lot of respect for him for being the president of the United States of America.
Or think about this. We vote them to respresent us (just like the Americains did about twice in favour of Bush). That's because we trust them, isn't? Perhaps it is time for us to start considering that by endorsing a politician, one does endorse not only his policy (oh I forgot, maybe his looks too) but his rubbish and stubborn mistakes as well. In the name of fairness. Or what do you think?????

Tim Malmo blogs his big ideas...

2006-10-31T21:03:00.000Z

Tonight, I am pleased and proud to introduce Tim Malmo as LOBI's blogger for the next few days or so...

You can read about Tim and read
some of his writing here.

Over to you, Tim...

The veil

2006-10-13T10:45:00.000Z

Amid the current debate about the veil, you might be interested in reading about the experiences and opinion of one Iranian woman, Nasrin Parvaz.

Nasrin writes of her battle with her mother as a young girl living in pre-1978 Iran, in order to win the right to refuse the veil.

A passionate campaigner for human rights and freedom of speech, Nasrin came to the UK in 1993 after a long period of imprisonment and torture by the regime. You can read more of her short stories on her own web site here.

Feeling guilty

2006-10-09T19:48:00.000Z

I feel so guilty that I haven't blogged for three weeks.

When I began the Lots Of Big Ideas project I really never imagined that I'd still be blogging eighteen months down the line. My biggest idea was that, by now, I'd have handed this blog over to the people to whom it rightfully belongs - that's the inspiring group of people whose writing you can now read on our emerging LOBI wiki. After all, they are the ones with the stories to tell, not me. It's their voices that people like you want to hear.

What I didn't forsee, though, (or rather what I naively imagined was merely a very small obstacle to be overcome) was just how difficult it is for people to blog or add their writing to a wiki when they don't have regular access to a computer and/or the internet. Although most of us now take it for granted that we can log on at home or work and quickly check our emails or type up a report, people with no permanent home and no right to work just don't have that luxury. And forget about a cup of coffee in an internet cafe... That's just not going to happen.

When I started to suggest to the people I met thay they might write about their everyday lives on the web, I forgot that, really, the last thing on your mind when you don't even have the bus fare to get yourself to your next doctor's appointment or to see your lawyer (that is, if you're lucky enough to have been allocated one and they haven't lost your papers), or when you're standing in endless queues for vouchers or more form-filling, the very last thing on your priority list is to get yourself down to the local library to wait in another queue to get five free minutes on a computer... and, when you do, if you actually muster the energy to do that, which is quite impressive in itself, you'll have just enough time to send a quick email to your mate or Immigration or the person who promised last week that she was going to help you with some housing advice.

And the saddest thing of all is that these are talented, educated people with so much to say, so much to contribute, and I have a few basic ideas about helping them find an audience, and there are lovely people like you out there - and lovely people at The Guardian, for instance - who have been so supportive of what we're trying to do and really, really want to listen. So, in the end, it's all about money. I wish I could give every budding refugee writer I come across a laptop - even just a part-time share in a laptop - and an internet access card, or a voucher for their local wireless zone or internet cafe. If there's anyone out there who might be able to help with that, I would love to hear from you.

New book by refugee writers in South Wales

2006-09-12T10:20:00.000Z

In a new anthology of stories and poems just published by Hafan Books, dozens of writers who have come to South Wales to escape hardship and persecution tell of their experiences. The title of the book, The Festival of the Wolf, is also the title of a wonderful poem by one of these writers, Soleïman Adel Guémar.

Read the poem on our wiki here in the original French and in English and Welsh translations.

Everyone involved in this project would also like to invite translations of the poem in other languages. To add your translation - and your voice - to The Festival of the Wolf, simply double-click on the poem page (to open up the editor), scroll down and cut and paste. Don't forget to click 'Save' when you've finished. Thank you to Tom Cheesman and all the Festival writers for this big idea.

New short story by Mark Hill

2006-09-11T17:25:00.000Z

Before fleeing his native Iran, Write to Life writer, Mark Hill, had already published a novel in Persian. Now he's writing short stories and poems in English and his latest story, The Tree, is new on our Writing wiki. It's a beautifully controlled piece of story-telling. Read it here.

LOBI featured in new 'Mediablog' from ICAR

2006-09-07T14:59:00.000Z

LOBI is featured on a new Mediablog written by Sarah Eldridge at ICAR, the Information Centre about Asylum Seekers and Refugees in the UK.

Sarah's job involves working with journalists to ensure they make maximum use of ICAR's research and data, alerting them to new research and developments. She monitors media coverage of asylum and refugee issues and liaises with politicians, academics and others about the impact of their work.

It's fantastic for LOBI to be featured on this blog which is a very interesting news-driven site providing a useful round-up of current events and issues. Sarah wants to hear what LOBI writers and readers have to say about the issues she's covering and she welcomes your comments. Go and take a look. Thanks for your support, Sarah!

LOBI writers featured in Guardian Unlimited

2006-08-29T13:41:00.000Z

If you're visiting us for the first time as a result of the fab feature in The Guardian today, welcome! Please click on 'Writing' in the menu above to read stories by LOBI writers. And please, please do leave your comments. Our writers need your encouragement and support.

You can hear Faraidon and Mark talk about and read from their work on The Guardian Newsdesk podcast here. It's 17 mins 35 secs into the podcast, for anyone who wants to go straight to the LOBI bit.

Writers at the Edinburgh Festival

2006-08-23T11:53:00.000Z

LOBI writers from the Write to Life group at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture are the inspiring authors behind most of the writing currently published on our wiki.

Last week they were among those reading at The Amnesty International Imprisoned Writers series at the Edinburgh Festival.

The talented Hassan Bahri blogs about his experience on the Amnesty Festival blog here.

Writers reading their stories at the Edinburgh Festival

2006-08-14T13:50:00.000Z

Writers from the Write to Life group at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture will be travelling to the Edinburgh Festival to read their work in two special events this weekend.

Firstly, on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 August, writers will give readings at the Peppers Theatre in Charlotte Square at 5.30pm. The readings are free and tickets are available from the Edinburgh Book Festival's site (although, irritatingly, the online box office wasn't working when I checked just now) or by calling Amnesty International Scotland on 08448 009 088.

On Sunday 20 August at Theatre Workshop in Hamilton Place, some of the writers will also be performing their work in a rehearsed reading with music. Call the Book Festival box office on 0845 373 5888.

Look out for Mark, Faraidon and Nadine, all of whom have work featured on the LOBI writing wiki.

A Palestinian prisoner's story

2006-08-01T13:07:00.000Z

This is an innovatively written story by Noureddin, who was born in Jabalia refugee camp in Ghaza.

It's a brave and powerful piece of wriitng that shows the fragmenting and self-alienating experience of being locked up all day for your political beliefs. When I read this story, I wondered about the extreme circumstances in which dignity and political belief might become as important for a person as life itself. An interesting question for the times in which we find ourselves?

A contemporary fable

2006-07-14T20:25:00.000Z

I really love this story by Aziz , a writer who fled Sudan in 2001. It reminds me of Aesop's fables - only it's so much better.

I wonder if the slugs in my garden have such incredible stories to tell...

Waiting

2006-07-11T11:17:00.000Z

Over the last few years, I have met more and more asylum-seekers who are suffering an interminable waiting period for the Home Office to decide their fate: whether they will be allowed 'leave to remain' or face being sent back to countries from which they have fled as a result of torture and persecution. The endless waiting for a decision - which, in my experience, can be more than three years in many cases - is a kind of torture in itself. It is not unusual for carefully-prepared case histories to disappear - lost by lawyers or government officials - so that the whole process has to begin again.

In the meantime, the people I have met are desperate to get on with their lives, to get a job, to make a contribution to the new society in which they find themselves. They are not 'spongers' who want to sit around in their rooms all day on tax-payers' money. And, if you have ever seen the kind of miserable housing allocated to asylum-seekers, you will appreciate the truth of this more than most.

This story called 'Weekend' by Stephanie, an asylum-seeker from Cameroon, captures perfectly the nightmare of waiting, the interminable cycle of fear, that is seeking asylum. If we ever needed more motivation to call upon our government to review the asylum process - to make it faster, more efficient, more humane - then this story surely provides that.

Two more poems on asylum

2006-07-10T08:06:00.000Z

Today I want to introduce you to two poems by Amina.

Amina fled Mogadishu in Somalia after the war had stolen her entire family from her. So far, her application for asylum in the UK has been refused, but she is working with a lawyer to appeal the decision. She writes as a way of trying to cope with the pain of what has happened to her and is a member of the Write to life group at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture.

I love these two small poems - what they say and what they don't say; what can be read in 'the gap'. Amina will be among the writers whose work will be read at a special event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August. More info on this to follow.

New writing

2006-07-06T15:45:00.000Z

Apologies for the silence. We've all been busy writing (and I've finally submitted the thesis) so there's lots of new material ready to be posted on the LOBI wiki. Take a look. I particularly love this poem by Mark Hill.

Calling all translators, editors, publishers and Farsi-speakers

2006-05-05T09:29:00.000Z

LOBI needs to get in touch with translators, editors and publishers who are interested in working with our writers .

Many of the writers with work featured on the LOBI wiki have so much more to say, but we don't have the resources or contacts to get more of their words and stories translated into English.

Equally, we need to hear from Farsi speakers who might be willing to help digitise some of their existing work and get it online.

If anyone out there can help us to get these important stories - stories about what it's like to experience persecution, exile and asylum - to the people who most need to hear them please, please contact me at: sophienicholls@hotmail.com.

We would be so grateful!

We Media 2006 adopts Lots of Big Ideas

2006-05-04T14:16:00.000Z

I like the principles behind the We Media forum to encourage a more collaborative and democratic media, and I applaud Reuters for getting involved with the excellent organisation(?), movement(?), collection of contributors and ideas that is Global Voices.

OK, here's an opportunity for a couple of media giants to jump on an enormous re-branding and PR bandwagon but, equally, it's an opportunity for them to actually put something back, contribute something, make a real difference to the range of voices that get heard and listened to in this increasingly noisy world. So let's encourage them - and watch them - every step of the way.

Mind you, I do think it was a bit cheeky of them to pinch the term 'Big Ideas' for their conference programme:

"Big Idea 1: Media and the Connected Society

Big Idea 4: The Democratisation of Media

Big Idea 5: A Global Call to Action"

But then I guess it just means that they've been reading Lots of Big Ideas, so that can only be good...

Kenyan poet's blog

2006-04-23T11:07:00.000Z

Congratulations to Mshairi on her recent win of a Kenya Unlimited Kaybee 2006 award for best poetry blog.

Mshairi (word for 'poet' in Kiswahili) lives in the UK and says that she is: 'dreaming of a time when the cultural, legal and political obstacles that prevent African women attaining economic independence and equality are eradicated.'

Story of refugee from South Africa

2006-04-23T10:46:00.000Z

Allan Leas fled Apartheid South Africa in the late '70s. Now he's started telling his story online. The first chapter of Allan's story makes compelling reading and gives a very honest and intelligent insight into what it's like to be a refugee. It's interesting that lots of things about the asylum system haven't really changed since then. In fact, as Allan himself observes, they're probably even worse now.

Check Allan out here.

Allan now works for The European Council on Refugees and Exiles. I'll definitely be reading as he continues to post his story.

Back when we knew everything...

2006-04-19T08:19:00.000Z

I failed miserably with the one-word poem idea. It was so hard to come up with that one word, the right word for the way I was feeling in that moment. But it did make me think and got me rolling some old favourites and some new discoveries around on my tongue.

I also had the slight excuse that it was the half-term holidays and Tom's three gorgeous girls came to stay with us. Last Monday, we went to the library to listen to Shonaleigh, a Drut'syla or storyteller from the Yiddish tradition.

For Shonaleigh, story-telling is: 'a way of making the unbearable bearable, it's a way of dealing with life' and something which the Jewish culture has always valued and kept alive.

She told us a wonder tale about the time before each one of us is born, when we each know everything there is to know in the world: why the wind blows and how the earth was made and how to understand the languages of all creatures... And then, just before we are born, an angel presses his finger to our lips: Ssssshhh! He tells us that we must never whisper a word of this knowledge to anyone. And, once we are born into the world, we begin to forget everything that we knew. But we have two lines between our nose and our mouth, where the angel left the imprint of his finger.

But storytellers, being natural chatterboxes, are not so easily hushed. The angel has to press his finger very hard over the lips of a storyteller and that is why you can always spot them - because they have much deeper lines above their mouth than other people.

2006-04-06T21:29:00.000Z

Find

Is this a poem?

2006-04-05T15:18:00.000Z

Can one word be a poem?

At first, I said 'no'. But then I began to think what my one-word poem might be, and I found it a really difficult and interesting thing to think about on all kinds of levels. I'm going to write a one-word poem every day for the next few days...

Rooting.

Possibly the best story about blogging ever...

2006-04-03T13:00:00.000Z

This time last year, I met a gorgeous man called Tom. Tom knew more than a thing or two about blogging and he encouraged me to start this blog as a way of getting the Lots of Big Ideas project off the ground.

Not long after I began to blog, I began to acquire a few readers along the way, including a very cool and sparky woman called Krupskaya who blogs over at The Edit Barn.

Krupskaya left a comment on one of my very early blog entries and so I visited her blog and became completely hooked. She is just so good at telling stories - about her life, about her two incredibly cute chidren and about the little things she observes on a day-to-day basis from an unspecified location in the States somewhere. I remember thinking that here was someone whom I'd love to meet, if only we didn't live thousands of miles away from one another. We seemed to have so much in common and to have some very similar ways of looking at the world.

A year has gone by and I now live with the gorgeous man called Tom. But, in the meantime, I've continued to read Krupskaya's blog and, when it came to passing on Molara Wood's recent meme, I didn't think twice about what my number one favourite blog would be.

But life got crazy for a while and I got behind in my blog reading. Imagine my amazement when I caught up with Krupskaya's adventures last week and found a new entry entitled, Pen Pal. Warning: She says some very generous things about me which are totally undeserved!

Yes, you've guessed it. My favourite blogger, the woman whose stories I've been savouring for the last twelve months and with whom I instinctively felt a sense of solidarity from our first online rendez-vous, turns out to be my childhood pen pal from Omaha, Nebraska. She blogs under her pseudonym, Krupskaya, and I won't blow her cover by revealing her real name...

I still don't know to this day whether she stumbled across my blog by pure coincidence. But, however she found me, it's a great story about the power of blogging and about how it can bring people together to create communities of like-minded people. It makes me feel all warm inside to think that this kind of thing is possible, and it makes me even more determined to try to find more people who want to tell their stories through Lots of Big Ideas.

Krupskaya, if you're reading this, I'm sending you a huge hug from across the ocean. It's great to have found you again!

Writing a tribute or eulogy

2006-03-30T10:03:00.000Z

I suddenly realised that it's been a whole month since I wrote anything. I've been (almost, kind of but, essentially, not quite) finishing my thesis, and then my grandmother, Violetta, died...

Now here's a thing. My mum asked me if I would write a eulogy or tribute to read/say at my grandmother's funeral. The whole process of making and sharing this tribute with my family and friends showed me, once again, the transformative powers of writing and story-telling.

I began to think about all the stories my grandmother used to tell me about her life. She grew up in very difficult circumstances and in the kind of poverty that very few people have to experience now in this country (although there is still far too much suffering and inequality here in the UK). But I began to think about how important my Grandma's stories about her early life have been in forming the person that I am today, what I believe in, my sense of the past, and how I choose to live now. Her stories were never the slightest bit self-pitying. But, without her ever being aware of it, they taught me about courage, determination and the value of finding laughter and fun in even the most challenging situations.

I'm so grateful that I had the chance to write the eulogy and to remember my grandmother's stories with my mum and dad, my sister, my cousins and our friends. It felt very important somehow. Here is a link to a helpful guide to writing a eulogy.

Tag

2006-02-27T10:52:00.000Z

I've been tagged by the lovely Molara.

I now have to answer some annoying questions and then tag four other bloggers. So, here goes...

1. Black and White or Color; how do you prefer your movies?
** Doesn't matter, as long as they're good. I saw Good Night, and Good Luck last night and, besides being a rather good film, it worked very well in new black-and white.

2. What is the one single subject that bores you to near-death?
** Hmmm...tricky... I can get interested in most things. I'm a bit of a geek like that...

3. MP3s, CDs, Tapes or Records: what is your favorite medium for prerecorded music?
** Last year, an iPod saved my lfe...

4. You are handed one first class trip plane ticket to anywhere in the world and ten million dollars cash. All of this is yours provided that you leave and not tell anyone where you are going … Ever. This includes family, friends, everyone. Would you take the money and ticket and run?
** Not if I couldn't take the people I love along with me.

5. Seriously, what do you consider the world’s most pressing issue now?
** Freedom of speech and expression. That means for everyone. Without conditions. It's the only way to get real debate on all the things that need to change. We're in danger of entering another era of McCarthyism. Go and see Good Night, and Good Luck if you don't know what I mean.

6. How would you rectify the world’s most pressing issue?
** Make George Clooney president? Seriously, I'd encourage people to speak out. Don't be afraid to tell your story.

7. You are given the chance to go back and change one thing in your life; what would that be?
** I wish I'd kept dancing. I wish I'd said 'yes' more often to more things, even when I was really scared. But regretting the things you got wrong or didn't do is a way of stretching out your mistakes. I'm so lucky to be here. I'd rather look forward and make the most of it.

8. You are given the chance to go back and change one event in world history, what would that be?
** See above. I'd rather get on with Now. Let's all be as kind to one another as we can. Starting from...NOW...

9. A night at the opera, or a night at the Grand Ole’ Opry – Which do you choose?
** Neither appeals all that much. What about a night with my friends and a big pan of garlicky spaghetti?

10. What is the one great unsolved crime of all time you’d like to solve?
** Men wearing ties. I mean, what's that all about?

11. One famous author can come to dinner with you. Who would that be, and what would you serve for the meal?
** Too many to choose from. James Joyce? Gabriel Garcia Marquez? Charlotte Bronte? (I wore her dress once.) Dorothy Parker? Elizabeth Bishop? Preferably someone alive such as the poet, Sharon Olds. We'd eat our words...

12. You discover that John Lennon was right, that there is no hell below us, and above us there is only sky — what’s the first immoral thing you might do to celebrate this fact?
** I don't believe in heaven and hell, anyway, so this wouldn't change a thing for me.

OK, now I have to choose four other unsuspecting souls to inflct these questions upon. But that's good because I get the opportunity to urge you to read them. They're all brilliant:

The Edit Barn

Eyes for Hearts

Editor:Myself

Black Looks

New writing

2006-02-24T01:04:00.000Z

Our wiki is growing with new stories and poems by inspiratonal writers now being added. Take a look at this novel extract by talented Iranian writer, Mark Hill.

Big news...

2006-01-25T15:15:00.000Z

Lots of Big Ideas is growing. We're building a wiki, a space where we'll be publishing lots of short stories, poems and novel extracts inspired by people's experiences as refugees and asylum-seekers.

We're at an early stage right now but please take a look and feel free to tell us what you think. And don't forget to keep checking back...

This project is being realised with support from our friends at The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture and the Arts Council of England.

u4uandme

2005-12-16T11:33:00.000Z

I'm feeling very happy today because my friend, beautifuldawn, a long-standing member of the Write to Life group at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, has started his own blog at u4uandme.

This is exactly what I had in mind when I began the Lots of Big Ideas blog back in April of this year. I wanted to encourage people like beautifuldawn to start telling their stories.

Right now, as we are hearing more and more about false confessions by 'terrorist' detainees who have been tortured; or apparently CIA sanctioned methods of torture; or
serious debate on Capitol Hill about whether the torture of detainees should be allowed under law we really need to hear from people like beautifuldawn.

Beautifuldawn is a refugee and a survivor of torture. He is also a very gifted writer. Read him now.

A poem by Nnorom Azuonye

2005-12-08T19:40:00.000Z

BOGUS
(note found on a dead ex-fugitive)

If you say that we don’t want you here
breathing our air, adding colour to our lives
it shows that you do not understand us.
You must appreciate we are not accustomed
to hoodlums burning down our family homes,
parents beheaded by rebels before our eyes
or wives raped while we watch, then killed
so near us that we stand in pools of their blood.

These stories belong to film, you tell them well,
may wish to chase fortunes at Hollywood.

Come tomorrow we must place you on a plane
back to your own country, where your colour
won’t matter and the cold is not so bad.
No harm shall befall you there, we pray
not to realise you were telling the truth all along.
May angels cover you with their wings tonight,
for tomorrow we shall have one last tea,
English, at the London Heathrow.

- Nnorom Azuonye

"Bogus" is taken from The Bridge Selection by Nnorom Azuonye (Eastern Light, UK, 2005) ISBN 1-905126-46-8. You can hear Nnorum read from this collection at the Pamphlet Poetry Party and Fair at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh on December 14.

Reading for understanding

2005-11-30T14:31:00.000Z

And I'm not talking about those horrible comprehension exercises we used to do at school.

No, this is the story of a group of women in the States who responded to September 11 by starting an inter-faith reading group. Around a dozen Jewish, Christian and Muslim women have been meeting for three years to select, read and discuss a mixture of novels, history, poetry, memoirs and religious philosophy from their different (and shared) cultural backgrounds.

"I wanted the benefit of how to guide my reading on this," says Rona Fischman, a real estate agent active in a local synagogue. "In light of what's going on in the world, it just wasn't acceptable for me to be ignorant of Islam. It's not acceptable for Muslims to have little idea of what Jews are about. Or for Christians, either."

The effect of the new understanding created by this collaborative reading has 'spilled over' into the group members' lives so that they share in one another's celebrations.

This makes me think of Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran. I'm wondering whether there are other similar groups out there - perhaps with secular members too?

Thanks to Moorishgirl for the link.

Coffee

2005-11-29T22:20:00.000Z

Today started badly. I managed to set fire to the handle of our coffee maker. How is that possible, you might ask? I'm really not sure. It's true to say that it was very early in the morning and I didn't have my contact lenses in at the time.

But, to make matters worse, this was a brand new coffee maker. (Tom had ended the life of the previous one somewhat prematurely by forgetting to fill it with water before he put it on the hob... and the one before that by accidentally binning an essential part of it with the old coffee grounds... ) So, I'd only just bought this new one and I'd filled it with my favourite coffee and set it to simmer while I checked my emails... and I was really looking forward to a full-on morning of coffee-fuelled writing when... ... ...

It was not to be. And, as I tried to get all the bits of melted plastic off the oven and the walls and the floor, I had a momentary sense of humour failure, I must confess. But then I found these flickr coffee 'clusters'... The poem clusters are delicious too... They've almost made up for it.

Toilet Poetry

2005-11-28T14:25:00.000Z

toilet poetry
Originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

I'm a big believer in the idea that poems shouldn't only be available in a rather expensive and hard-to-get-hold-of book format... After all, poems began as an essential part of our everyday culture; a way of communicating and recording the things that mattered to us.

So, this haiku toilet paper seems like a very sensible idea to me. Unfortunately, it's only available right now in Japanese, but what a brilliant idea! And it's with some relief that I've got to the end of this blog post without making any very obvious puns...(well, almost...)...

Poems on Flickr

2005-11-15T10:30:00.000Z

Originally uploaded by romanlily.

From the Book of Rope

First, there is love. Secondly,
the square knot, a perfect binding
of two equal loops, useful

for fastening gifts to each other
or, in the extreme, for closing bandages
over wounds, expected or not.

The sheet bend hooks unequal partners,
originally a rope to the twisted end
of a sail, something fastened against wind.

The bowline's loop won't close, good
for saving yourself in mountain climbing,
or, in general, being lifted up, lowered.

Hitches bind us to things, thwarting
our drift, boat to tree, a horse to any rail—
two half hitches, hundreds of half hitches.

In the book of rope, three tests
for every knot—is it easy to tie?
Will it stay tied firmly in use,

and will it be, finally, easy to untie?
Which knot have we chosen?
And what else sadly should we know?

— Robert King

Romanlily has had the simple and stunning idea of pairing her photos with poems. Beautiful.

Six poems by Nnorom Azuonye

2005-11-07T21:42:00.000Z

Nnorom Azuonye
Originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

Six poems by Nnorom Azuonye in the latest online volume of Other Voices...

'I mourn the land of light plunged into darkness
before the first gasp of my third birthday
condemning me to three decades of fugitive life -
even in the bowels of the whale
that crushed and swallowed my homeland,
entombed its banner of The Rising Sun.'

from 'Dead Sun'

Check out Nnorom's blog for more of his poems and lots of great links.

African Visions

2005-10-14T13:57:00.000Z

A Festival of African Literature, Culture and Politics at the British Library.

And you can read about it and other news from the literary scene in Molara Wood's interesting blog which I've just discovered here. She has some great poems and articles too.

Nobel Pinter

2005-10-14T13:41:00.000Z

So Harold Pinter has won the Nobel prize and the Literary Saloon has a great round-up of the reactions so far including some modest words from the man himself.

I'm pleased for him because I rather like people who don't just get angry about things but actually try to do something about it. He might have got up a lot of people's noses, ruined a few dinner parties, that kind of thing, but good for him.

Asylum: Make your voice heard

2005-10-12T14:40:00.000Z

Originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

The Refugee's Council has a new campaign, Don't Believe The Type.

Why We Are Angry is a very useful page of hard facts aimed at countering the kind of misinformation and opinion we're always reading in the newspaper headlines.

There are useful suggestions for making your voice heard such as writing to local newspapers or online news sites to challenge opinions that you know to be ill-informed or articles which are inaccurate.

Hmmm... This has made me think how often I have a rant over a TV report or an article without actually complaining to the people who created it.

Poems for the Waiting Room

2005-10-11T11:21:00.000Z

Now in Kurdish, Greek, Turkish, Bengali, Romanian, Chinese.

A brilliant big idea because wouldn't some of these quietly reflective poems make you feel just that little bit better if you came across them in your local surgery, hospital or dentists'?

I like the fact that this year there are new poems in translation including 'Acceptance' from Choman Hardi. And I like this by Greek poet Yannis Ritsos:

'Morning

She opened the shutters. She hung the sheets
over the sill. She saw the day.
A bird looked at her straight in the eyes.
'I am alone,' she whispered.
'I am alive'. She entered the room. The mirror
too is a window.
If I jump from it, I will fall into my arms.'

Responses to Bali bombings

2005-10-03T05:50:00.000Z

As an attempt at some kind of counterpoint to the current coverage of the Bali bombings here's a link to the Global Voices round-up of initial responses.

It includes this post by The Religious Policeman:

'It's very difficult being a moderate Muslim these days. The vast majority of Muslims are moderate, wouldn't hurt a fly, want to do nothing more than live in peace, earn a living, bring up their families. Yet they constantly have to apologize for their religion because the whole Islamic PR effort is being driven by the crazies.

I used to feel sorry for the Christians in Northern Ireland, because they had terrorists killing in their name. But that's all over. And the chilling fact is that these days, wherever there is any trouble in the world, Muslims are tied up in it.'

I'm not so sure that the problems with religious fanaticism are over in NI. The recent rioting during the marching season suggests that violence may still be bubbling somewhere just beneath the surface. (And why, anyway, do people feel the need to join an 'Order' which stages a parade through an 'opposing' religion's 'territory' unless they want to intimidate others and prove that they are somehow right or superior? Doesn't that speak of fundamentalism? And doesn't that kind of behavior count as incitement - thus, one would imagine, attracting the attention of those who wish to curtail such expressions of free speech as part of the new anti-terror legislation?)

But the parallels between supposedly-Christian and supposedly-Islamic brands of terrorism are interesting. It's certainly true that the recent rioting in Belfast didn't result in a global 'War on Terror' against Christian fundamentalists... Because most people would probably accept that most Christians are not potential terrorists.

And it does seem a bit late for us to be worrying about 'harming relations between Christian and Muslim nations'. Maybe we should have thought of that before we illegally invaded Iraq. Hmmmmm...

Untold London

2005-10-01T15:40:00.000Z

I've just come across the Untold London site which aims to tell the stories of London's diverse communities.

As well as featuring items such as 'Ten Things to See in London during Black History Month', there's a really useful search engine which lets you track down collections throughout the city's museums and galleries by either 'continent' or 'community'. What a great idea! But why stop here? Wouldn't it be brilliant if someone expanded this to include all of the UK's many other culturally diverse towns and cities?

'Black Victorians' at Manchester Art Gallery

2005-10-01T15:17:00.000Z

A new exhibition Black Victorians opens today at Manchester Art Gallery.

It aims to 'give the first comprehensive overview of black people in British art in the 19th century' and to reveal 'the human stories' behind the paintings, sculptures, prints and photographs, including those of the first black British footballer Arthur Wharton; Crimean nurse and heroine, Mary Seacole; and celebrated actor, Ira Aldridge. It runs until 8 Jan 2006. If anyone goes to see it before I do, please let me know what you think.

What's in a name?

2005-09-27T20:00:00.000Z

The Language Guy starts an interesting discussion about our use of the word 'refugee'. Personally, I don't entirely agree that 'refugee' is increasingly acquiring racial or negative connotations. But it's certainly weird and rather worrying that Bush has described people displaced by Hurricane Katrina as 'not refugees' but 'Americans'... (Aside from the prejudice implied by such a statement, it's also curiously ironic in a country settled by people from all over the world.) But there he goes again...

It's a library thing

2005-09-22T15:25:00.000Z

Slightly worried about how nerdy I'm becoming in my old age but this is really quite nice.

For instance, the search facility lets you find all the other users in the world with a certain book or author in their library...And then you can find out what other books those possibly like-minded libraries contain and find new stuff that you might like to read... Tonnes of bookish fun for everyone...

Should novelists only express their opinions through their fiction?

2005-09-22T14:49:00.000Z

Get this. An article in The Guardian written by the vicar of Putney claims that Rushdie should do less 'public crusading' and get back between the pages of his books; whilst the Literary Saloon believes that Rushdie should forget about being an author, for the next little while at least, and take up full-time column-writing and crusading.

But here's an idea. (I'm feeling a bit naughty and ready to flout the new laws against incitement.) Maybe we, the country, should offer many of our eminent leaders (in both politics and religion) a short sabbatical to write a work of fiction? Let's face it. Many of them have already had lots of practice...

Enforced returns to begin

2005-08-30T20:15:00.000Z

It seems that enforced repatriation of failed Iraqi asylum-seekers is about to begin. This would be fine, of course, if we could have any faith at all in the systems and people who make the decisions about who is in danger and what is 'safe' for whom... There is so much evidence to suggest that they often get it very wrong indeed.

In the meantime, pressure on asylum-seekers wishing to appeal a decision against them is increasing. New measures to deprive families of their homes and benefits have been described as a kind of 'blackmail' since they force people to choose between homelessness and separation from their children or returning to a country where they fear for their lives. Ironically, such measures may also turn out to be much more costly to taxpayers than the current ones.

Hmmm...so we're clearly talking practical solutions, rather than reactions driven by fear, ignorance and desperate attempts to win votes, then?

Call me an old hippy...

2005-08-24T20:32:00.000Z

...but I'm loving this.

Join a new country

2005-08-24T17:28:00.000Z

danny wallace
Originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

If you're a bit fed up with all the shenanigans of our current law-makers and leaders (and, let's face it, they're a pretty useless lot, right now) why not join a new country instead.

Unfortunately, so far it seems to be modelled on something depressingly familiar: a King, a predominantly male cabinet... sigh...

More from the Edinburgh Book Festival

2005-08-22T17:11:00.000Z

xinran xue
Originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

Xinran Xue gives the 2005 Amnesty Lecture at the Edinburgh Book Festival tomorrow (Aug 23).

Before moving to London, Xinran worked as a journalist and hosted a nightly radio show in China called Words on the Night Breeze. The show, which ran for seven years, was the first to give a voice to Chinese women, gaining millions of listeners, many of whom wanted to share their stories.

Xinran now has an intersting column in The Guardian where she writes about what it's like to be a Chinese woman living in the UK; and she's the author of part-memoir, part-novel The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices.

Plus, if you're in Edinburgh, look out for readings from members of Write to Life, part of the Festival's Imprisoned Writers series. Amazing people with incredible stories to tell, every one of them.

Being Luis

2005-08-17T08:26:00.000Z

LuisMunoz
Originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

I've just come across this recently published autobiography by exiled Chilean, Luis Munoz. It looks intriguing.

Edinburgh International Book Festival

2005-08-16T11:28:00.000Z

This year's line-up is positively bursting with big ideas. There's a special theme, 'Nations Unlimited', exploring aspects of 'nationhood, identity, borders, emigration, immigration, exile, religion, and statelessness.'

There's even a strand called Imprisoned Writers which includes readings from some of my friends at the Medical Foundation's Write to Life. Go for it, guys.

What are'unacceptable behaviors'?

2005-08-05T08:18:00.000Z

Why do I feel so uneasy about this big, brave plan to exclude people from the UK if their presence is deemed 'not conducive to the public interest'.

I am really concerned that those it's aimed at - people who seek to 'foment' terrorism' - will not get caught and instead, as we've seen in the past, the proposed list of 'unacceptable behaviors' will be used to discriminate against people who have every right to come here and/or who desperately need to seek refuge in the UK.

Isn't this, anyway, a case of closing the gate after the proverbial horse has bolted? I want to see more details about these 'new powers' and the impact they might have.

New flavours every time

2005-08-03T11:30:00.000Z

Via The Literary Saloon

The Ugandan poet and novelist, Doreen Baingana, talks about the difficulties of being read primarily as an 'ethnic' or African writer.

'The current focus on aid for Africa is one I applaud,' she says, 'But it leads many people to hold such narrow impressions of one of the most diverse continents.'

'As an African writer, I pluck what I know and throw it into a pot with what I don't and what I conjure out of nothing and dreams. I shake in all sorts of spices, grains, water, salt and lies, African or not, and try to create a new stew with new flavours every time. I ask my audience to demand this much of me and other African writers. To expect so much more than yesterday's leftovers: the newspapers' diarrhoeic stream of problems and problematic stories. Let's imagine together all the possible and impossible ways individuals try to make sense of themselves and their worlds, African or otherwise.'

Nasrin Parvaz

2005-07-14T10:25:00.000Z

Yesterday, I went along to Write to Life's summer party. It was so good to see old friends - lots of people still writing - and new faces.

Among the old friends was Nasrin who has her own site where you can read lots of her beautifully crafted short stories - about her imprisonment in Iran and about her life in London since that time: for example, 'Face to face with my jailer in Tesco's'.

Lots of people I met last night seem very interested in blogging and using the internet to tell their stories. I hope you'll soon be hearing their voices too...

'Fanatacism is not a state of religion but a state of mind...'

2005-07-12T09:54:00.000Z

It's not often I find myself agreeing with Tony Blair these days but I did like this bit of his statement to the Commons yesterday.

'People know full well that the overwhelming majority of Muslims stand four square with every other community in Britain. We were proud of your contribution to Britain before last Thursday. We remain proud of it today. Fanaticism is not a state of religion but a state of mind. We will work with you to make the moderate and true voice of Islam heard as it should be.'

'Unite against extremism of all stripes...'

2005-07-08T07:36:00.000Z

Via Global Voices.

Voices from the Muslim blogosphere react to the blasts.

London 'terror attacks'

2005-07-08T06:48:00.000Z

Originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

In the words of the BBC's web site, the UK papers this morning are reverberating with shock over the terrorist attacks in London.

But some of us are asking whether we brought this upon ourselves?

Not that I'm suggesting for one minute that such cruel acts can in any way be justified. But today I just feel so utterly depressed, and I can't help thinking that there was a terrible inevitability to it all.

Because you can't declare a 'war on terror' without making yourself a target of that 'terror'.

It's already interesting to note the language being used to report the news. The Daily Star's editorial is already referring to yesterday's events as '7/7' and talking about how Britain's staunch citizens survived the Blitz and must similarly now stand firm. So, we really are at war, then...

I don't know what to think anymore. If these attacks do indeed turn out to be the work of an al-Quaeda related group, then they have played right into Bush and Blair's hands. This is all the justification they need to continue aggressive policies in the Middle East.

I've spoken to a few of my London-based friends from Syria, Iran and Iraq over the last few hours. They are feeling a mixture of grief, shame (unjustified, of course), and fear at what this might now mean for refugees from the Middle East living in the UK.

Is this a scanned scam?

2005-07-07T13:45:00.000Z

Excuse the pun. (I've caught the bad poem vibe.)

It's not that I'd want to knock any kind of initiative that encourages people to write poems, express themselves, get their voices heard, but this bit of naughtiness from the people at Wocky Jivvy did make me smile.

The (Inter)National Library of Poetry sponsors poetry 'contests' several times per year. Each 'contest' promises cash prizes and offers all 'semi-finalists' the chance to be included in an anthology... and the chance to purchase this lovely anthology for a not inconsiderable sum.

As Wocky Jivvy and others have now shown, it's 'very possibly impossible to write something dreadful enough that it won't be chosen as a "semi-finalist".' Owch... Proceed with caution.

Deconstructing borders

2005-07-05T13:46:00.000Z

Via Media Rights.

Another story-telling opportunity. Pan Left Productions seeks entries on the theme of borders for the Feature This! Video Festival in Tucson:

'Some borders are physical boundaries, such as the walls of a jail or prison. Others are psychological (sexism, racism) or political (gay marriage) or emotional. Many are all four, such as the steel fence that grows ever larger in the desert separating Arizona from Mexico.

Live 8

2005-07-05T06:24:00.000Z

Black Looks is very angry about the way that Live 8 represented Africa and its problems. She believes that it 'infantilised' Africans and 'reduced the issues to cheap sound bites and meaningless nauseating rhetoric'.

Although I'm never quite sure what to think about initiatives like Live 8, I have a lot of sympathy for what Black Looks is saying. I was watching the concert on TV at the moment when Sir Bob pointed to the big screen which showed a still from the original Live Aid concert footage.

This was the face of a starving child who had been 'just moments from dying' before we, the public, saved her with our donations. The child, now a stunningly beautiful woman, was then brought onto the stage, robed in white, to address the crowds, before Madonna appeared (also dressed in white), took her by the hand and began to serenade her.

I felt very confused about what I was (supposed to) feel at that moment. OK, it was slightly more palatable than seeing Maria Carey diva it up in front of the African Children's Choir before telling them to 'run along' and 'be good'...

But to see someone 'saved' by our help and then paraded around as an example... Am I being naive? Does the means (theatrical 'consciousness-raising' stunts) justify the end (more money, more justice, less death)? But if you're going to raise people's consciousness, shouldn't you do more than show an Africa full of flies and tears and helpless people?

Ten years ago, when I was working for an NGO doing international development projects, we became so concerned about our role in perpetuating negative images of developing countries that we changed our ad in the national press from one showing a photo of sad, hungry-looking children to one showing smiling faces. That month, donations dropped by around 50%. Depressing but true.

There can be no doubt that Geldof's heart's in the right place and he certainly gets things done while others sit on the sidelines debating the finer points. But I think a massive opportunity was lost to really educate people about what it's like to live in Africa. I think we could do better than the rhetoric about saving people.

As for all the white outfits...Geldof, Madonna, et al...well, wasn't that just a little unfortunate? I know the makepovertyhistory bands are white but shouldn't some PR person have thought about the symbolism of a white suit a bit more carefully?

Believing in literature

2005-06-28T10:47:00.000Z

ismael kadare, originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

Ismael Kadaré accepted the inaugural Man Booker International Prize in Edinburgh last night with an inspiring speech full of huge ideas about life and writing:

'Believing in literature means believing in a reality above that which is. Believing in literature means saying that the ghastly regime holding sway over your country is altogether insipid, compared to literature in all its funereal majesty. Believing in that art means being convinced that the regime to which you are subjected, with its policemen who spy on you, its top leaders and its functionaries — in sum, that the entire edifice of tyranny is but a passing nightmare, something dead in comparison to the Supreme order whose disciple you now are.'

Meanwhile, Chair of Judges, John Carey, sparked off a well overdue debate in the press on the question of translation which is beautifully summarized at The Literary Saloon.

I couldn't agree with Carey more. I'm always hearing about things I want to read and then looking in vain for (good) translations...

And I don't believe that the British public are just not interested in reading literature in translation. In fact, it's my experience that people are hungry for new writing from far-flung places; writing that opens up a world beyond their own experience.

Come on, British publishers... Stop being so lazy or you might just wake up one morning to a world where everyone's selling their translations online...

ID Card Bill goes to Commons for second time

2005-06-27T11:26:00.000Z

database, originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

Tomorrow, 28 June 2005, sees the second reading of the ID cards Bill. Actually, the most scary thing to me is not necessarily the idea of ID cards but the 'database state' that's being proposed.

All the evidence suggests that it's not going to tackle terrorism or illegal immigration, to say nothing of the massive costs involved and the impact on some fundamental ideas about human liberty.

Get the latest discussions and sign the petition at the No2ID site.

Adopt a Chinese blog

2005-06-24T09:30:00.000Z

adoptablog, originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

Via Global Voices

It's now been confirmed that Typepad blogs are blocked in China, where Blogger has already been blocked for some time.

There's a lively debate going on about the role of corporates in this kind of censorship at Rebecca MacKinnon's blog.

Meanwhile, Adopt a Chinese Blog is calling on anyone with web space to help to promote freedom of speech in China by adopting a blocked blog and hosting it for free.

So much more than a load of old fridge magnets

2005-06-20T12:03:00.000Z

Of course, it could be that my thesis-writing is very, very boring right now...

Thirty people trying to move fridge magnet letters around a screen shouldn't be quite so fascinating and yet somehow it is...

Blogging

2005-06-20T08:41:00.000Z

If you haven't been following Hossein's visit to Iran, take a look at his blog right now.

He's writing about the changing mood in Tehran, plus the frustrations of blogging with a bad dial-up connection in a dangerous political climate.

And this Iranian-based blog, a recipient of the Reporters Without Borders' Freedom Blog Awards, recently earned its author, a two-year prison sentence.

I am full of respect for bloggers in Iran - and for bloggers in all the many other parts of the world where freedom of expression is routinely suppressed.

In the UK, although we don't get jailed for expressing our views (and I think we should pause to celebrate that fact alone) what we do hear in the media seems to be getting narrower and, perhaps, less representative of the rich mix of people and cultures that we are. I'd like to hear more voices, to look at things through different eyes, so that I can understand things better.

A few simple shots

2005-06-18T08:15:00.000Z

Three years in the making, 'A few simple shots' is a feature-length documentary by Iranian director Joseph Akrami which attempts to tell the untold stories of political prisoners of the Iranian government.

It includes interviews with UN officials, human rights organisations, doctors and lawyers as well as former prisoners themselves.

You can see this brave piece of film-making at the Bargehouse at Oxo Tower Wharf in London tomorrow, Sunday 19 June, at 4pm.

Supported by the International Organisation of Iranian Refugees.

Microsoft considers 'freedom of speech,' 'human rights' and 'democracy' to be profanities...

2005-06-17T10:00:00.001Z

When Rebecca McKinnon at Global Voices Online tried to set up a freedom-loving Chinese language MSN Spaces blog, this is what happened ...

Bogus Woman selling out fast...

2005-06-15T13:07:00.000Z

bogus woman, originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

Just a reminder that the brilliant The Bogus Woman starts its run in Leicester today. Tickets selling out fast, so grab 'em...

Write your world

2005-06-14T06:36:00.000Z

40 writers from around the world come to Norwich as part of a New Writing Partnerships initiative.

Plus, tell your story at My Writing World and get feedback from 'online editorial experts'.

'Whatever you want to write about, we want to know.' Now, that's the kind of project I like...

Home truths

2005-06-13T11:25:00.000Z

asylum, originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

Fantastic piece of reporting from BBC Radio 4's 'Home Truths'.

Lansana's story is only too common but we rarely hear about it in the media. A Ghanian asylum-seeker, he occupies that strange limbo where he's not 'illegal' but has no rights to remain, and no rights to claim benefits. How can someone survive on a charitable handout of £5 a week?

Thanks, Tom.

Surveying black and Asian poets

2005-06-10T13:06:00.000Z

Are you a poet from a Black or Asian background? Do you know anyone who is?

Spread the Word has been commissioned by the Arts Councils of England, Scotland and Wales to undertake the first ever survey into publishing opportunities for black and Asian poets throughout the whole of the UK.

'The aim is to find out why, in a culture where black and Asian authors are topping bestseller lists, poets of the same background are failing to make an impact in print.'

Not actually sure myself that black and Asian poets are 'failing' in quite this way, or why the controversial 2004 Next Generation Poets list is being used as the main benchmark. Let's face it - the world of poetry publishing is so tiny that it's hard for anyone to get published or reviewed. Do black and Asian poets need this kind of (positive?) discrimination? I don't know, but I'd like to hear what you think...

Where are you really from?

2005-06-07T12:00:00.000Z

ekow eshun, originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

Black Looks discusses 'Black Gold of the Sun,' the just-released book by British journalist and new head of the ICA, Ekow Eshun.

Eshun describes his personal journey to Ghana in search of his roots, family and identity and the answer to that question: 'No, where are you from, REALLY?'

Bogus?

2005-06-04T12:10:00.000Z

If you're in Leicester between 15 and 18 June, don't miss this award-winning play, The Bogus Woman, by Kay Adhead, on at the Haymarket Theatre.

"
A young woman seeks refuge in England but discovers a land more isolating and dangerous than her own country. Winner of a Fringe First Award at the 2000 Edinburgh Festival, this is urgent, explosive theatre.
"

Fairtrade

2005-05-26T10:40:00.000Z

fairtrade football, originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

Whilst watching the footie last night I was wondering why fairtrade footballs aren't used in every game?

I also discovered recently that Green and Blacks have been bought out by Cadbury's. What does it mean to have a fairtrade company owned by a confectionary giant? Hmmm...

I like what Ejovi's starting...

2005-05-24T11:50:00.000Z

...at American Voices.

A lovely language thing

2005-05-17T12:45:00.000Z

,
originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

www.wordCount.org

Last night's TV

2005-05-17T11:46:00.000Z

I switched on half-way through Channel 4's Operation Muslim Vote documentary last night, which followed the activities of MPAC (Muslim Public Affairs Committee), an organisation campaigning for greater involvement of British Muslims in the democratic process, in the run-up to the Election.

I don't know much about MPAC, and there's some debate to be had around what 'the Muslim vote' might actually be, but I really admired the determination of Asghar and Mudasser. They might sometimes have been flying by the seat of their pants (fact-checking is probably quite important in a leafleting campaign), but they got out there and got people thinking and talking. Good stuff.

Some good news...

2005-05-17T11:38:00.000Z

Well done, Sheffield and Bolton..

I voted for you because...

2005-05-16T17:05:00.000Z

Sorry for the long silence. I've been moving around a bit. Anyway, this sister site to notapathetic.com seems like a good idea...

Election Day

2005-05-05T11:47:00.000Z

,
originally uploaded by ghiasaljundi.

This is Ghias Aljundi. He is a poet, writer and human rights activist and you can read some of his work on his blog.

Ghias says: 'Asylum seekers wait to be given a chance to build their skills to match the demand of whatever the opposition or government requires, since there is only room for 'skilled immigrants' in this country. But we're all still waiting to have a skilled government...'

Europe needs immigration

2005-05-02T10:42:00.000Z

Now here's a thought... Europe may actually
need rather a lot of immigrants over the next few years to boost its shrinking and aging population.

Not voting?

2005-04-29T07:32:00.000Z

Some interesting (and often depressing) debate going on at www.notapathetic.com.

This is a site where you can record your reasons, either ideological or practical, why you're not going to vote on May 5.

Immigration and asylum policy is clearly one of the issues (if not the key issue) over which people are feeling alienated, enraged or confused, which just illustrates how badly we need a more reasoned and fact-driven debate.

Politicians, mind your language

2005-04-28T06:23:00.000Z

Michael Howard's still claiming that it's not 'racist' to talk about asylum and immigration. But doesn't that depend on the language you use?

Last week, The Guardian had a good article on the demonising effects of words such as 'abuse' which are now inextricably linked to the issue of asylum in this election.

It interviewed Moris Farhi, vice president of International PEN and a campaigner for freedom of expression in his native country of Turkey, who says: 'This word 'abuse' has become almost a mantra. It's a dehumanisation process of the unwanted. The weakest are always demonised and it becomes, perhaps unconsciously, a racist policy.'

The article also points out the psychological links being made between asylum and the language of war and terrorism. Terms such as 'strengthening borders', 'chaos', 'national security' all build a particular picture, as if, as Farhi says, we are 'about to be invaded by a formidable fifth column.'

But, hey, at least I'm free to write what I think about all this, unlike bloggers in Bahrain.

The human cost of asylum

2005-04-26T22:31:00.000Z

,
originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

So the Cost-to-the- Tax-Payer-of-Asylum-Seekers story runs on and on...

Whatever the costs might or might not be, and whoever is responsible for meeting them, what noone has mentioned yet is that so many of the asylum-seekers I've known spend months or, more frequently, years sitting in miserable hostel rooms, waiting in angst and fear for their claims to be processed.

All that time, they're desperate to work. They're humiliated by the indignity of having nothing useful to do, the accusations of being 'spongers.' Many of them are highly skilled and experienced people who could be contributing enormously to the new society they find themselves in. Most are prepared to do any kind of work just to regain some independence, some semblance of control over their lives.

I've been thinking about one young Bosnian man I met about two years ago. He was putting up a heroic struggle against depression and loneliness by volunteering in his local A&E department in inner-city London. I realised that he'd been a talented surgeon before he was forced to flee his home and community. The London hospital was so short-staffed that it was happy to let him 'help out'. He told me that, as people got to know his background, he was often asked unofficially for a medical opinion. But, of course, the rules meant that he wasn't allowed to earn any kind of wage.

I don't know what happened to this particular man. He got 'dispersed' somewhere else and I never saw him again. I just remember his despair and frustration and what he wrote in his notebook and showed to me at the end of one particularly long day of waiting: 'I'd do anything to remember what it feels like to be a human being again.'

There are many, many people like this man, people who really don't want to take tax-payers' money. They just want a chance to get on with their lives in a safe place. So how can keeping them on benefits, whilst someone loses their paperwork or takes months to make a decision, make any kind of financial sense?

The War Works Hard

2005-04-23T14:31:00.000Z

Dunya Mikhail,
originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

Not sure what the blurb writer means by 'telegraphic lexical austerity', but I think this is an amazing poem by Dunya Mikhail, another big voice to come out of Baghdad.

Not even the teeniest bit round the bend...

2005-04-22T07:22:00.000Z

,
originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

Big thanks to Scott Fannen who sent me this link to an interview with Iraq-based blogger, Riverbend.

Author of Baghdad Burning, which is now also a book, Riverbend says that she started blogging out of sheer frustration with the Western media; but also because 'blogging proved to be therapeutic. It was a way to vent fears and anger that I couldn't really express in front of family and friends.'

She didn't have a particular audience in mind. She just wanted 'to express my emotions and thoughts'.

I guess that's partly why any of us writes and why blogs lend themselves so well to different kinds of expressive writing.

And they can be as public or as private as we want them to be.

Ideas, little and big

2005-04-21T08:57:00.000Z

,
originally uploaded by lotsofbigideas.

Yesterday I went to London, drank too much coffee and talked to Hoder about blogging. And Hoder is a good guy to talk to about blogging. (He now has over 9,000 readers of his Persian blog).

I, on the other hand, don't have many readers, but I do have all kinds of big ideas to bore people with about how blogging could be used to give people a real voice... especially in this election campaign.

After a lot of Maison Bertaux's best black stuff, I think we decided that it boils down to this. Get something started in whatever way you can...

Plant small things. Get people to help you water them. Watch them grow... I'm germinating...

Whose 'Britishness' exactly?

2005-04-15T21:23:00.000Z

How can anyone respond to Howard's speech on so-called Britishness? Anyone who disagrees with him by pointing at the statistics, anyone who accuses him of fighting a single-issue campaign, just plays into his hands.

Because this is precisely his argument: that people who talk about Britishness and immigration are immediately 'attacked' as racist and scare mongering...

So, here we go again. We've got to listen to it all. The numbers games, the old vocabulary. We're being 'swamped,' our values 'trashed,' and, of course, everyone wants to come here. When are we ever going to have a proper, calmer debate based on hard facts? Not in the middle of an election campaign, that's for sure...

Writing as healing from war

2005-04-14T07:23:00.000Z

Voices in Wartime aims to create an active online community 'inspired by the belief that people can and do heal from the suffering of war.' Since 2004, they've been working to create 'a forum where people with widely divergent views can publish their artwork, meet, and exchange ideas in an atmosphere where it is safe to tell the truth.'

I found some of the poems and stories posted on this site very moving but they also gave me some new insights. Some of the contributors are people who have been exiled as a result of war, but also, interestingly, many of them are US soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

In fact, The National Association of Poetry Therapy in the US, has set up an expressive writing programme to help returning veterans and their familes to cope with the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Easy to forget sometimes that there are many kinds of victims of the 'war on terror'. Voices in Wartime invites anyone to submit a poem, story, essay or image to their site.

Is poetry a world of gangs and bullies?

2005-04-13T07:40:00.000Z

Neil Astley of Bloodaxe was once described as 'less an editor than a lightening rod or a wind sock' (is that a criticism, then?).

In his 2005 StAnza lecture last month he claimed that the 'poetry police' are out of touch with grassroots readership and are 'censoring' new poetry - particularly from ethnic minorities and women.

The Guardian has rounded up responses from eleven leading poets including Moniza Alvi, who questions the lack of critical response to Choman Hardi's 'accomplished and important' first collection.

What do you think?

You write the news

2005-04-12T08:39:00.000Z

South Korea's participatory news site, OhmyNews, invites everyone to become part of a 'history- making experiment' by becoming a 'citizen reporter'.

Register online to post your stories which will then be fact-checked and edited for style. You'll also be able to track readers' responses to your articles.

It's a great idea but I had a quick look at the online registration form which requires you to upload an ID document - passport, driver's licence or similar. This might create a few problems for some. I've contacted OhmyNews to find out more about their policy...

Illegal immigrants are bolstering US Social Security with billions

2005-04-09T11:20:00.000Z

Fake ID cards and work permits protect US employers and accumulate a massive stash of 'suspended' unclaimed earnings for the government. The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act did nothing to deter illegal workers, who continue to be exploited whilst being pretty good for the economy. Would we see something similar happening here if the UK introduced the proposed ID cards?

Lots of Big Ideas

LOBI writer, Jade, is published by Penguin

Dream Traveller

Crimson moon

Two beautiful stories by Aziz

All Write Glasgow joins LOBI!

New poems by Mark Hill

Inspired by my fellows by Tim

Saddam to Hang by Tim

Politicians by Tim Malmo

Tim Malmo blogs his big ideas...

The veil

Feeling guilty

New book by refugee writers in South Wales

New short story by Mark Hill

LOBI featured in new 'Mediablog' from ICAR

LOBI writers featured in Guardian Unlimited

Writers at the Edinburgh Festival

Writers reading their stories at the Edinburgh Festival

A Palestinian prisoner's story

A contemporary fable

Waiting

Two more poems on asylum

New writing

Calling all translators, editors, publishers and Farsi-speakers

We Media 2006 adopts Lots of Big Ideas

Recommended reading

Kenyan poet's blog

Story of refugee from South Africa

Back when we knew everything...

Is this a poem?

Possibly the best story about blogging ever...

Writing a tribute or eulogy

Tag

New writing

Big news...

u4uandme

A poem by Nnorom Azuonye

Reading for understanding

Coffee

Toilet Poetry

Poems on Flickr

Six poems by Nnorom Azuonye

African Visions

Nobel Pinter

Asylum: Make your voice heard

Poems for the Waiting Room

Responses to Bali bombings

Untold London

'Black Victorians' at Manchester Art Gallery

What's in a name?

It's a library thing

Should novelists only express their opinions through their fiction?

Enforced returns to begin

Call me an old hippy...

Join a new country

More from the Edinburgh Book Festival

Being Luis

Edinburgh International Book Festival

What are'unacceptable behaviors'?

New flavours every time

Nasrin Parvaz

'Fanatacism is not a state of religion but a state of mind...'

'Unite against extremism of all stripes...'

London 'terror attacks'

Is this a scanned scam?

Deconstructing borders

Live 8

Believing in literature

ID Card Bill goes to Commons for second time

Adopt a Chinese blog

So much more than a load of old fridge magnets

Blogging

A few simple shots

Microsoft considers 'freedom of speech,' 'human rights' and 'democracy' to be profanities...

Bogus Woman selling out fast...

Write your world

Home truths

Surveying black and Asian poets

Where are you really from?