This week I’m talking to Iraqi poet, Majed Mujed, who’s lived in Ireland since 2015. One of the founders of the Iraqi House of Poetry, he worked as a journalist and publisher in the Iraqi cultural press for twenty years. He’s published five collections of poetry in Arabic and has garnered awards for his work from the Al Mada Cultural Foundation, Iraqi House of Wisdom and the Iraqi Intellectuals Conference.
In 2021, he was one of the inaugural recipients of one of the Skein Press ‘Play It Forward’ Fellowships from the Arts Council, and we talk about that in the programme, and how it helped him.
His first book to be published in Ireland is out now, published by Skein Press.
It’s called, ‘The Book of Trivialities’ – originally written in Arabic, and translated into English by the award-winning translator Kareem James Abu-Zeid.
The poet Jessica Traynor has described it as ‘a gem of a book; intimate, tender, thought-provoking and intricately crafted.’
Huge thanks to Majed Mujed for talking to me – and to Zainab Salman for interpreting our conversation for us.
Thanks so much for listening, and to the Arts Council of Ireland for their support.
