This May, contributors featured in The Common’s latest issue, Issue 29, gathered in Amman to read their work. The event was organized by HISHAM BUSTANI, guest editor of the issue’s Amman portfolio, to celebrate the portfolio’s publication by creating a space where these writers could share their pieces aloud. Having translated many of the featured pieces, ADDIE LEAK read excerpts from her work. HALEEMAH DERBASHI, author of the enigmatic essay-portrait of Amman, “Serious Attempts at Locating the City,” was interviewed about the event by the University of Jordan Radio. HUSAM MANASRAH, whose photos artfully capture the practices of various tradespeople in Amman, spoke to Aljazeera after the reading.
We were so excited to see all these people gathered in a shared place to appreciate and commemorate the work of these artists. If you weren’t at the event, a sense of Amman and these writers’ perspectives can be found in Issue 29 and online in our Amman portfolio.
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![]() Photos curtesy of Hisham Bustani |
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