PRESS INVITE: Palestinian Poet Remi Kanazi touring S.Africa [17-25 Sep. JHB, DBN, CPT, Soweto] FULL SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Members of the press are invited to the upcoming events of (and/or to arrange interviews with) the visiting New York based Palestinain poet, Remi Kanazi. Kanazi, a poet, spoken-word artist, activist and author is in South Africa between the 17th and 25th of September as a guest of the Tri Continental Film Festival(TCFF). Kanazi will be a speaker at several of the TCFF screenings (see below email) and will also be doing public performances, presentations and talks with BDS South Africa and our partner organizations at community venues in Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pretoria, Khayelitsha and Soweto (see below email for full schedule).

Kanazi is the editor of "Poets For Palestine" and the author of the newly released collection of poetry, "Poetic Injustice". Alexander Billet, writing for the Electronic Intifada, likened Kanazi's recent book, "Poetic Injustice", to the work of Gil Scott-Heron in its exploration of identity, oppression and resistance. The Pulitzer Prize winner Chris Hedges has commented about Kanazi's poetry, saying: "There is more truth, and perhaps finally more news, in Remi Kanazi's poems than the pages of your daily newspaper or the sterile reports flashed across your screens.” Remi Kanazi's poetry was similarly praised by former South-African Government Minister, Ronnie Kasrils, who has said: "Repression creates resistance. It also generates beautiful artistic works, which become a cultural weapon in the struggle for the realisation of dreams. [Remi Kanazi's] book of poems is a shining example of tomorrow’s Palestine.” Novelist and Booker Prize winner John Berger has said: "[If] you want to hear a voice which refuses to be silenced, and only such voices carry the deep truth about what's happening these days...[then] listen to Remi Kanazi and the lucidity of his anger.”

Remi Kanazi's political commentary has been featured by news outlets throughout the world, including Al Jazeera English, GRITtv and BBC Radio. His poetry has taken him across North America, the UK, and the Middle East, and he recently appeared in the Palestine Festival of Literature as well as Poetry International. Approaching his work from a humanist perspective, Kanazi says: "I’m not a nationalist, I’m not an ethnocentrist. This isn’t about me being a Palestinian or me being an Arab. It’s about a system of oppression and what’s being done to a people. So whether you’re talking about police brutality or the US-Mexico border or Afghanistan or the war in Iraq or the plight of Palestinians, what they’re going through and the injustice that’s being perpetrated against them is what matters. And that’s what we’re working against – systems of oppression [...]".

Find out more about Remi Kanazi on Wikipedia (click here), on his website (click here) or on the official South African FaceBook page for Remi Kanazi's tour (click here). In addition here are three recent YouTube videos featuring Remi Kanazi: "Normalize This" (http://tinyurl.com/qcge668), "On Gender Justice, ManUpMoment" (http://tinyurl.com/pjolmzn) and "This Poem Will Not End Apartheid" (http://tinyurl.com/ol8oau3).

WEDNESDAY 18 SEPTEMBER AT 13H00
WHAT: Jam Session and Dialogue on art and injustice, on poetry and politics
WHEN: Wednesday 18 September at 13h00
WHERE: UJ SRC Offices, Auckland Park Campus, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg
WHO: Remi Kanazi with local artists
WEB/FACEBOOK: http://tinyurl.com/opg4vc8
HOSTS: UJ Palestine Solidarity Forum (UJ PSF), South African Students Congress (SASCO)
CONTACT: 0834599989
COST: Free

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WEDNESDAY 18 SEPTEMBER AT 15H00
WHAT: Conversation on Expression/Protest (open discussion on the intersection of expression and protest, within the South African LGTBQI and Palestinian solidarity contexts)
WHEN: Wednesday 18 September at 15h00
WHERE: Lekgotla space, Women's Goal, Constitutional Hill, 1 Kotze St, Johannesburg
WHO: Remi Kanazi with Gabrielle Le Roux, Alter Native and others queer artists
WEB/FACEBOOK: http://tinyurl.com/nabyfry
HOSTS: JHB People's Pride
CONTACT: 079 542 9798
COST: Free

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WEDNESDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 18H00
WHAT: Public Cultural Session (Poetry, spoken-word, music and more)
WHEN: Wednesday 18 September at 18h00
WHERE: The Atrium, South West Engineering Building, Wits University, Braamfontien, Johannesburg
WHO: Remi Kanazi and other South African artists
WEB/FACEBOOK: http://tinyurl.com/ov5p6dg
HOSTS: Wits University Palestine Solidarity Committee and South African Artists Against Apartheid
CONTACT: 0715028674
COST: Free

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FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER STARTING FROM 20H00
WHAT: Poetry Session, Art Showcase and Music
WHEN: Friday 20 August starting from 20h00 (ending late)
WHERE: Glenss Kitchen, 413A Martinus Smuts Drive, Zone 3, Diepkloof, Soweto
WHO: Remi Kanazi, Aviwe Damane and others
WEB/FACEBOOK: http://tinyurl.com/p335ok8
HOSTS: "Word and Sound", "The Conversations", ANCYL, YCL and BDS South Africa
COST: Free

SUNDAY 22 SEPTEMBER AT 14H00 [CPT]
WHAT: TCFF Screening of the movie "Martin Luther King In Palestine" followed by a discussion with Remi Kanazi
WHEN: Sunday 22 September at 14h00
WHERE: Cinema Nouveau at the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
WEB/FACEBOOK: http://tinyurl.com/o5u7nvx
HOSTS: Tri Continental Film Festival
COST: R42 (complimentaries available for media)

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MONDAY 23 SEPTEMBER AT 13H00 [CPT]
WHAT: Student discussion and performance with Remi Kanazi
WHEN: Monday 23 September at 13h00
WHERE: University of Cape Town
WHO: Remi Kanazi
WEB/FACEBOOK: http://tinyurl.com/nko3qox
HOSTS: University of Cape Town Palestine Solidarity Forum (UCT PSF)
CONTACT: 0785678005
COST: Free

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MONDAY 23 SEPTEMBER AT 17H00 [CPT]
WHAT: MRN Book Launch of "Why Israel?"
WHEN: Monday 23 September at 17h00
WHERE: Islamic Academia Centre, 409 Landsdowne Road, Rondebosch
WHO: Remi Kanazi, Ronnie Kasrils with the authors of "Why Israel" Suraya Dadoo and Firoze Osman
WEB/FACEBOOK: http://tinyurl.com/o2zcgtj
HOSTS: Media Review Network
CONTACT: 0839857149
COST: Free

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TUESDAY 24 SEPTEMBER AT 18H00 [CPT]
WHAT: Poetry Session
WHEN: Tuesday 24 September @18h00
WHERE: Lookout Hill, Khayelitsha, Cape Town
WEB/FACEBOOK: http://tinyurl.com/q8hlxsk
HOSTS: Open Shuhada Street South Africa
CONTACT: 0820426120
COST: Free

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