As a homage to Andalusia’s colourful poetic heritage, we’re joined by Arabic translators Yasmine Seale, Robin
Moger, and poet Aviva Dautch for an inspirational evening of poetry exploring the figures of two philosopher-poets: Ibn Arabi and Judah ha-Levi.

Yasmine Seale and Robin Moger will share readings from Agitated Air, their own unique take on Ibn Arabi’s collection, The Interpreter of Desires, poems that were translated independently, swapped between their Istanbul and Cape Town homes, and then rewritten based on the new versions they received.

Aviva Dautch will introduce us to the work of Judah ha-Levi, who is celebrated as one of the greatest Hebrew poets, for both his religious and secular poetry, as an avid composer of poems on love, friendship, elevation of the soul, as well as elegies and Hebrew riddles.

About The Poets

Headshot of author Yasmine Seale stood on a sunny tree lined road

Yasmine Seale

Yasmine Seale is a writer and literary translator living in Paris. Her essays, poetry, visual art, and translations from Arabic and French have appeared widely. She is the author, with Robin Moger, of Agitated Air: Poems after Ibn Arabi (Tenement Press, 2022). Other work includes Aladdin: a New Translation (2018) and The Annotated Arabian Nights (2021), both out from W. W. Norton. She has received a PEN America Literary Grant and the Wasafiri New Writing Prize for Poetry.
Headshot of Robin Moger

Robin Moger

Robin Moger is a translator of Arabic to English. His translations of prose and poetry have appeared in Blackbox Manifold, The White Review, Tentacular, Asymptote, Words Without Borders, Seedings, The Johannesburg Review of Books, The Washington Square Review and others. He has translated several novels and prose works into English including Iman Mersal’s How to Mend (Kayfa ta), Nael Eltoukhy’s The Women of Karantina (AUC Press) and Youssef Rakha’s The Crocodiles (7 Stories Press). His translation of Haytham El Wardany’s The Book Of Sleep was published by Seagull Press in November 2020. 

Aviva Dautch

Dr Aviva Dautch is Executive Director of Jewish Renaissance, the UK’s national Jewish arts and culture magazine. She is also a published poet and is currently a mentor and co-translator for the Arts Council England funded publication scheme Exiled Writers Ink.