Continuing the exploration of poetic traditions from around the globe, City Lore and Poets House, in cooperation with Asia Society, present Illuminated Verses: Poetries of the Islamic World

Bridging Cultures: A Day-Long Forum and Celebration

Featuring Rumi singers, music from the cafes of Baghdad and young Muslim American poets, this forum explores poetry from the Arabian Peninsula, Middle East, Pakistan, North Africa, and America. With panels, discussions, readings and musical performances, highlights of the forum include Reza Aslan offering his perspective on Middle Eastern literature and Sylvanie Diouf of the Schomburg Center demonstrating a connection between early forms of the blues and the Muslim call to prayer.

Organized by Poets House and City Lore and presented in conjunction with the Asia Society and Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), Illuminated Verses is made possible through a special "Bridging Cultures" grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, with additional support from the Nathan Cummings Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Part of the Creative Voices of Islam in Asia Initiative. Supported in part, by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information on Illuminated Verses events:

www.poetshouse.org, 212-431-7920
www.citylore.org, 212-529-1955, x308