ICORN Writers: P - Q - R - S - T

Click on the alphabetical list to read the writers' biographies.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Umm Rafal

. . is a pseudonym for a current ICORN Guest Writer whose identity cannot be revealed at this time. We hope that we will be able to present this person's real name and writing credentials in the near future. Please check back.

Anisur Rahman

Guest Writer, Uppsala City of Refuge 2009 - present

Anisur Rahman is a poet, playwright, literary critic, essayist, novelist, translator and journalist from Bangladesh.  Anisur Rahman writes for newspapers in Bangladesh, Sweden and elsewhere alongside participating in debate and literary programmes on various occasions in Uppsala and other cities. He is a member of the Swedish Writers' Union, the Swedish Foreign Press Association, Writers' Centre in Stockholm and is an honorary member of Swedish PEN. Born in Madhupur, Tangail, Bangladesh in 1978, Anisur Rahman studied English Literature and Linguistics alongside Bengali and History at the University of Dhaka. He has published two collections of poems in Bengali and another in English. He translates poems and plays from English to Bengali and from Bengali to English. His translation of Henrik Ibsen's poems in Bengali was published in 2006. His Bengali novel Oi Andhakar Ase (The Dark Sounds) appeared in April 2009. Rahman's collection of poems is being translated to Swedish to be published. He scripted two plays - Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis and Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea in Bengali. His latest publication is The Absent Poet and Other Essays - a collection of 40 essays on aesthetic traditions and socio-cultural aspects of Bengali poetry and plays. 

Arifur Rahman

Guest writer, Drøbak City of Refuge 2010 - present

As a self-learned cartoonist in Bangladesh, Arifur Rahman worked for one of the biggest newspapers. He was arrested in 2007 for the sake of a cartoon for children of an old myth, which the Islamic Party of Bangladesh found controversial. After six months in prison, Rahman was released but still faced many difficulties and threats of being arrested again. In 2010 he arrived to Norway and Drøbak as the city's first ICORN guest writer.

Mansur Rajih

Guest Writer, Stavanger City of refuge 1998 - 2001 

As a young university student, Mansur Rajih's poetry was published in local newspapers. His work was critical of the Yemeni regime, and in 1983 he was arrested and imprisoned under the guise of a murder charge. The following year he was sentenced to death. For fifteen years organizations such as PEN International and Amnesty International campaigned for Mansur’s release, which was finally granted in 1998 when he was flown directly from prison to Stavanger City of Refuge. Since that time Mansur Rajih has written and published three volumes of poetry, bi-lingual collections with poems in Norwegian and Arabic: Horoskop: Fengsel? Horoskop: Kjærleik. (2000), Så langt borte: Så nær (2003) and Min brors smerte (2008).  His life (thus far) has also been the subject of several short films. To read a Norwegian newspaper article on Mansur Rajih, go here . To read four of his poems in English, go here . To read poems in Norwegian and Arabic, go here . To listen to a recording of Mansur Rajih reading his poetry, go here .

Zurab Rtveliashvili

Guest writer, Stockholm City of Refuge 2010 - present 
 
Poet and performer Zurab Rtveliashvili is from Georgia. He was very active in the "Rose Revolution", 2003. Rtveliashvili has been persecuted and arrested several times as a consequence of his performances. His works include I-Retsqia (1997), Apokrifi (2001) and Anarqi (2006). He has also featured in the documentary film At the top of my voice (2009).   

 Zineb el Rhazoui

Hatem Abdulwahid Saleh      

                               
Guest writer, Mexico City, City of Refuge 2009 - 2011

Poet, critic, essayist and journalist from Iraq. Hatem Abdulwahid is a member of the Arab Writers Union and the General Union of Iraqi Writers. Three collections of poetry have been published in Arabic, as well as articles, essays and commentaries in Arab newspapers and journals. From 2003 and onwards Saleh was threatened for his critical writings. He fled to Syria , then to Morocco, before reaching Mexico City's Casa Refugio that hosts guest writers.

Aziz Sangtarash

Former Guest Writer of Oslo City of Refuge.

Aziz Sangtarash is a short story writer, editor and poet. He was born in Abadan, Iran and studied literature at the University of Teheran. Persecution and imprisonment prevented him from completing his studies and his work was censored by the Iranian authorities. He is a member of the Iranian Writers' Union.

Carlos Sherman

Guest writer, Kristiansand City of Refuge 2003 - 2005

Carlos Sherman was born in Uruguay, studied in Argentina and then moved to Belarus where his father came from. Sherman worked as a translator from Spanish into Belarusian and Russian. Moreover, he was a writer, human rights activist and vice president of the Belarusian PEN Center. In 2003 he arrived as an ICORN guest writer to Kristiansand, where he also died in 2005 at the age of 71 years.

Tendai Frank Tagarira

Guest Writer, Århus City of Refuge 2010 - present

Tendai Frank Tagarira, born 1983, is from Zimbabwe. After publishing his book Trying to make sense of it in 2009, he had to flee Zimbabwe. Tagarira has since lived in Namibia, where he has published six books. No Zimbabwean publisher has been able to publish his work. Tagarira writes in many genres and hosts a radio show in Denmark. You can visit his website here.

Ammar Tassaei

Guest writer, Molde City of Refuge
2010 - present

Ammar Tassaei is an Iranian writer, belonging to an Arabic speaking minority in the province of Ahwaz in southern Iran. He has worked on the newspapers Hadith, Hamasayeha and Shora, as well as reported for BBC Persian Service. Tassaei has written and reported on Arab minority rights in Iran. Since 2001 he has been harassed for his activism for Ahwazi minority rights and was arrested in 2003. The following years he was banned for working with foreign media, arrested again and dismissed from his job.

Bertrand Teyou

Guest Writer, Casa Refugio Hankili Africa, Mexico City

2011-Present

Bertrand Teyou's writing has always tested the boundaries of free speech in Cameroon, often addressing serious societal problems in his homeland and being threatened with censorship and violence as a result.  His primary publishing company, the Free National Publishing House, was destroyed during one such attack. 

In November 2010, Teyou was imprisoned after reading aloud selections from his book, Beauty of the Banana Republic, during a public event.  He was charged with defaming the wife of Cameroon's president, Chantal Biya.  From prison, Teyou said this about his work:  "This book is an expression of my dissatisfaction with what is happening in Cameroon, especially with the macabre system which allows Chantal Biya to have a free hand to treat the people around her with extreme cruelty."  Teyou received a sentence of two years in jail and a large fine and copies of his book were seized.  In February 2011, Teyou began a hunger strike in protest of inhumane conditions at the New Bell jail in Douala.  With his health deteriorating rapidly, PEN International was able to pay the fine and free Teyou from his imprisonment.  A literature professor at the University of Bayreuth has also secured funds to print Beauty of the Banana Republic in Germany. Casa Refugio Hankili Africa has a proud history of supporting African writers and is delighted to welcome Teyou into its literary community.