Looking out onto the same Mediterranean Sea, but from opposite sides of the coast, Turkish-Kurdish poet Bejan Matur and Italian jazz pianist Stefano Battaglia have synthesised their art in an exploration of the recent refugee crisis. With the Mediterranean as their stage, Matur and Battaglia have created a one-off performance inspired by its culture, history and mythology, uniting their poetry and music to question the meaning of home for all of humanity, past and present.
Bejan Matur is multi-award-winning Kurdish poet and writer, currently living in London. She is a leading figure in the bold new poetry emerging from the Middle East. Her poetry has been translated into 20 languages. Her poetry engages directly with the struggles of her people, and yet there is also a mysticism in her writing, a closeness to nature, an embracing of mythology. Her first collections of poetry, Rüzgar Dolu Konaklar (Wind Howl Through the Mensions) won several literary prizes.
Stefano Battaglia is an Italian classical and jazz pianist. He has played extensively on the international circuit, performing as a soloist with the European Youth Orchestra in Barcelona, and winning the ‘J.S. Bach Festival’ award in Düsseldorf as the best new pianist of the year and the Brussels National Radio Award as the best young European pianist.
