Ngoc Nguyen
On November 2nd, 2018, Words&Strings collaborated with Georgetown Music, Arts, and Culture Club to host its Words of November Open Mic. I am delighted to reflect on my experience working with the W&S team and see their vision of a meaningful poetry and music platform came to life right here on our campus.
All photos courtesy of Words&Strings. Taken by Tariq Al-fatieh @tariq_alfatieh.
As a poet and musician, Words and Strings has provided a safe and open place for me to share my work since the day I arrived in Doha. It boasts the most encouraging organizers and audience, and a warm family atmosphere for old-timers and newbies alike. Their bi-monthly open mics host both amateur writers and published authors, along with local musicians, who gather and share what they worked on in the previous months.
In October, I reached out to Amin, co-founder of Words and String, to host their November open mic at Georgetown. To my delight, the W&S team happily accepted the invitation. The rest was a smooth operation to organize Words of November, thanks to both W&S and the Georgetown Events team.
Hussein Al-Essa’s first time presenting his poetry on stage.
Maria and Ahmed with a musical improv session.
Abir Bouguerra , a regular at Words&String open mics, presenting her poetry in classical Arabic.
Performers and audience members hanging out during break time.
Omar Abdulaziz performing a piano solo.
Sana Uqba @sanasiino, who just published her book Love and War, presenting two poems on her Yemeni-British identity and Islam.
The wild crowd during Sana’s performance of This is not my Islam.
GU-Q is not only a great political research institution, but it also has potential to be a major patron of the arts. Through arts trips and events host by clubs like Music, Arts, and Culture, Performing Arts Club, or the Political and Legal Studies Association, students are gaining more exposure to the local art scene and the link between arts and political expressions. I believe events like these should be more encouraged and supported by the student body in the future.
All photos courtesy of Words&Strings and taken by Tariq Al-fatieh @tariq_alfatieh.
Ngoc is a sophomore at Georgetown University in Qatar.