FINDING HOME

“In my country of birth, I am a foreigner. In the country that has adopted me, I am an outsider. I am a lost soul who doesn’t belong anywhere. In my search for home I only find myself to be a stranger.”

For many migrants, home is not a fixed, tangible place. Home is a desire; it can be built and rebuilt, imagined and negotiated as we forge a connection between identity, places, and people. Finding home is not an individual concern. Rather, this pursuit of home involves support from family and friends from both the society of origin and the host community.

The Literature for inclusion is delighted to invite you to a workshop that will look into this issue from a literary perspective. Together, we will discuss the relationship between immigrant identity and place by focusing on the concept of “home”.
This workshop is open for everyone: immigrants, Norwegians, students, academics, parents, and all those who are interested. We encourage you to bring along an artefact: poems/stories/songs in any language, a shirt, a flag, or whatever you think is relevant to the discussion of home. You’re welcomed to join us even if you’re not bringing anything.

The workshop is led by Gulabuddin Sukhanwar and Minh Chau Pham.

Minh Chau Pham is doing a master’s degree in English Literature at NTNU Dragvoll. During her one year of studying abroad at Newcastle University in England in 2018, Pham took courses in Creative Writing where she specialised in poetry. Her poems raise the question of home and belonging, as well as addressing matters related to immigrant identity.

Gulabuddin Sukhanwar is a published poet and writer. Originally from Afghanistan, he now lives in Norway and works at the Literature House in Trondheim where he leds the Literature for Inclusion initiative. This project uses literary works from around the world to promote cross-cultural understanding through workshops, guest lectures, musical events, and public debates in the region. During his time in Norway, Sukhanwar has collaborated with several organizations and schools as a guest speaker, writer, and consultant to promote cross-cultural understanding. Also, he is one of the authors of the Høre Hjemme, Trondheim’s very first multilingual poetry collection.

This workshop is free. Please register via hoopla or click “Going” so we’ll know how many are coming.