Discuss Parveen Shakir’s Works at The Foundry

Join us at The Foundry, Black Room (Shop 5) on SUNDAY November 15 at 12:00PM for a brown bag lunch (you are welcome to bring a packed lunch and/or non-alcoholic beverage), as Yusuf leads our reading and discussion of two of Parveen Shakir's poems:

1. tuti hai meri nind magar tumko is se kya (Roman, Hindi, Urdu, rendition by Runa Laila)
2. itna malum hai (Roman, Hindi, Urdu, rendition by Sonali Rathod)

We will provide printed glossaries at our meeting.
You can enjoy Yusuf's thoughts on Parveen Shakir here.

About the location: The Foundry is a community event space in Cambridge, and we will be in the Black Room (Shop 5).

• The Black Room is wheelchair accessible.
• There is parking on the surrounding streets: Rogers Street, Bent Street, Third Street, Fifth Street, among others. There are two accessible parking spots on Rogers Street in front of the main entrance.
• The building is half a mile from the Kendall MIT stop, where you can catch the red line and 64, 68, 85, CT2, 64, 68, and 85 buses.
• The building is also half a mile from Lechmere, where you can catch the green line and 69, 80, 87, and 88 buses.

Who should attend:

Our meetings are best suited for those with intermediate-advanced proficiency or higher. Our goal is to speak in Hindi and Urdu as much as possible, while being supportive of language learners who might need to use some English. If you can understand about half the words in the session's poem, we encourage you to attend at least once to gauge if the group is a fit for you.

Prior knowledge of Hindi-Urdu poetry isn't assumed. We will read and interpret the poem together, so the poetry-curious are especially welcome!

Meeting Format
12:00-12:10: Intros, greetings.
12:10-12:20: Facilitator will help place the poet in historical and cultural context. Attendees are encouraged to share what they know of the poet.
12:20-12:30: Read through the poem.
12:30-1:30: We'll go over the literal meanings of difficult words and cultural references in each sher (couplet), and then make our own personal meaning, sharing with the group as desired. Meaning could be literary, intellectual, experiential, emotional, historical, cultural, etc. We hope each attendee develops a personal relationship with the ghazal.
1:30-1:45: Open conversation (either freeform chats about themes from the poem, or about other matters entirely).
1:45-2:00: Restore room, farewell.