Many intellectuals and literary figures from Northern and Eastern Syria attended the Literature Week, which started in Kobanê University Cafeteria.

This is the second edition of the event which, last year, was held in Qamishlo.

Narîman Evdikê, spokesperson of the Northern and Eastern Syria Literary Commission, pointed out that such activities have symbolic meanings and play a role in the development of the literary level of the people of the region.

Murhef El Fehid, co-chair of the Northern and Eastern Syria Autonomous Administration Culture and Arts Committee, said: “Today we are faced with a historic opportunity to see the level of the participants of the Literature Week. Therefore, we should benefit from each other and introduce the cultures of different regions.”

After the speeches, there was a seminar on “The philosophy and identity of Melayê Cizîrî”. The seminar was conducted by Arsek Baravî who drew attention to the great role Melayê Cizîrî played in preserving the identity of Kurdish poetry and how he laid the foundations of Kurdish poetry when Kurdish literature was in danger of disappearing because of the attacks it was subjected to.

The works of poets Bahoz Şakir, Mirxan Bekir, Vigan Hîmo and Celal Rumi were then read in Kurdish and Arabic.

Program of the Literature Week

The Literature Week features events dedicated to poetry, novels and literary critics. Today, the second day of the seminar, a panel on Kurdish identity in the works of Melayê Cizîrî will be held.

Tomorrow, a seminar on novels and modernity will be given, and Kurdish and Arabic poems will be read. On Monday, a panel will be held on the development of the novel, and stories in Kurdish and Arabic will be read.

On the fifth day, a panel will be held on the level of criticism and its impact on literature, and stories in Kurdish and Arabic will be read.

On the sixth day, the role of criticism in the development of literature will be discussed, and Kurdish and Arabic stories will be read.