Dinner Salon: Launch of ‘Mothersland’
Date and Time
Nov 18, 2024 7:00 pm
Location
14th & V
2021 14th St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20009
Nov 18, 2024 7:00 pm
14th & V
Busboys and Poets and The Alan Cheuse International Writers Center are thrilled to be hosting the Exiled writer Shahzoda Nazarova. Shahzoda uses the last name Samarqandi as part of her pen name, and she comes from the minority Tajik-speaking community in Uzbekistan. The feminist focus of her writing and her job with the BBC obliged her to flee her native land for the Netherlands, where she still lives and writes. Nazarova has published three collections of poetry and several acclaimed novels. Her writing has earned her criticism, even death threats, and has been banned in Uzbekistan for its feminist focus and frank discussions of sexuality and politically charged topics.
Joining Shahzoda on the Busboys stage in conversation with her are her translator Shelley Fairweather-Vega and moderator Erica Marat. Copies of MOTHERLANDS will be available for purchase during and after the event, and Shahzoda will be signing following the program.
This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 7:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Please note that this event is in person and will not be livestreamed.
Shahzoda Samarqandi was born in Samarqand, Uzbekistan. Her taboo-breaking novels have brought her international recognition. After working for Tajik-language newspapers and television as well as the BBC Persian service, Samarqandi moved to the Netherlands, where she served as an editor for Central Asia and Afghanistan at Radio Zamaneh, and has worked to protect female activists and journalists in Afghanistan.
Shelley Fairweather-Vega is a professional translator specializing in new prose and poetry from Central Asia. She lives in Seattle, Washington.
Erica Marat is a Professor at the College of Security Affairs of the National Defense University. Her research focuses on violence, mobilization, and security institutions in Europe, Central Asia, India, and Mexico. She is the author of several books, including Transformative Violence: When Routine Cruelty Sparks Historic Mobilization (Oxford University Press 2024).
