Palestinian poet from Gaza is new ICORN writer in Stockholm

Sahar Mousa is a poet, writer and magazine editor. In her writing, Mousa tackles many issues, including war, political polarisation, and social injustice in Palestinian society, as well as the general human condition from a feminine perspective. Her poetry is rich with powerful symbolism about the impact of war on the lives of individuals.

During the wars in Gaza 2008 and 2012, she published the featured article series The War Diaries on Facebook, one of very few available platforms because of Hamas’ restrictions. The articles led to death threats from local IS-groups.

- In times when freedom of expression is questioned and threatened from many angles, we cannot overestimate the value of the programme for persecuted writers and artists. We welcome Sahar Mousa to Stockholm and look forward to welcoming another artist in residency later this year, says Emilia Bjuggren, City Council Cultural Department in Stockholm.

Kulturhuset Stadsteatern manages the city of refuge programme. Stockholm is a member ICORN and has been a city of refuge since 1998. In November this year, Stockholm will mark the 20 years anniversary with a festival and conference at the Stockholm House of Culture and City Theatre.

In one of her poems, Mousa writes:

Not for one night, the bombs have stopped from falling after the war ended,

I only stopped speaking as my chest is filled with smoke,

I did not lose my eyes in the war,

You did not lose your face either,

And here we are, trapped in our fully-formed corpses.

Words are wrapped around our necks like a nose;

We cannot speak,

We can’t die!

Sture Carlsson, VD at Kulturhuset Stadsteatern, says:

- Freedom of expression is at the core of our work, and here, this programme plays a very important role. We are deeply honoured to take part in and learn from Sahar Mousas experiences. It will be exciting to present her artistry to a new public.