The project involves writers from the countries that originally garrisoned the wall - Algeria, Belgium, Bulgaria, South West and Eastern France, North Germany and the Rhineland, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Morocco, Romania, North and North West Spain, Switzerland, European Turkey, Syria, Tunisia, Wales.
The international writers who have worked on the project to date are Hafsa Bekri-Lamrani, from Morocco; Denisa Comanescu from Romania; Hashem Shafiq from Iraq; Esther Jansma from Holland and Samuel Shimon from Iraq.
click on an image to enlarge
|
Kapka Kassabova visited the north east in December 2005. She visited Moresby, Housesteads, Birdoswald and Newcastle where Southern Bulgarian Auxiliaries were originally stationed so that her writing is informed by the historical and modern elements of the Hadrian’s Wall defenses. |
|
Iraqi writer Samuel Shimon came to Newcastle and Northumberland in February 2005. He spent 5 days exploring the Tyne from the river mouth to Chollerford. He also visited Corbridge Roman Fort, Chesters, Arbeia, The Tyne and Millennium Bridges in Newcastle, Baltic, The Sage Gateshead and the Museum of Antiquities.
|
|
|
|
| His study of the river links to his historical association with the Tigris Ferrymen, from the now Iraq / Iran area. Samuel will be writing a new short story for Writing on the Wall. | |||
|
Esther Jansma visited the area in 2004, exploring sites along Hadrian's Wall, particularly Housesteads, Brocolitia, Rudchester, Stanwix and Maryport, where Friesian and Batavian Auxiliaries were stationed. At Housesteads Esther read her poems in Dutch, talked about her first experiences of Hadrians' Wall, how she came to write poetry, to be an archaeologist and how these two fields interact and connect. |
|
|
|
Hafsa Bekri Lamrani lives in Casablanca where she is an English Teacher at the American Language Centre In April 2002 Hafsa completed an International Residency in Bowness on Solway and Burgh by Sands in Cumbria. Moroccan Auxiliary Troops were stationed at Burgh-by-Sands, and had responsibility for the surrounding area, including Bowness on Solway. Hafsa's placement in the area connected the historical and contemporary. She worked with local people and schools to introduce her poems and work as a writer. She gave public presentations and readings and researched and responded to the landscape, settlements and people of Burgh by Sands and Bowness on Solway. |
|
In the latter half of April 2002 Denise Comanescu spent time at Birdoswald Roman Fort, Cumbria where the Dacian Auxiliaries were originally stationed. She also spent time in Haltwhistle in Northumberland. |
|
|
|
Hashem Shafiq is an Iraqi writer who spent time in Wallsend and South Shields during April 2002 to link with the Tigris Ferrymen who were from the now Iran/Iraq area. He visited Carville Primary School in Wallsend and Hadrian Primary School in South Shields and introduced the children to his poetry. |
Website Designed by ARTS UK and