TFN Poetry Night - Almaty, Kazakhstan Edition

Apr 3

On February 25th I flew to my hometown of Almaty, Kazakhstan for a four week long trip to see my father and visit one of my favourite cities in the world - Almaty. Upon my arrival I was thrilled to reconnect with an old friend of mine, Mathijis Olij - a Dutch entrepreneur and actor who now runs Bowlers Coffee Roasters - a chain of incredibly successful coffee houses in Almaty. We were keen to collaborate on something while I was in town and I offered to host a poetry night at Bowlers in the heart of the city on March 19th. The format was open concept with free admission, we put out a call on instagram for poets of all ages and nationalities to join us for a cup of coffee and some prose. We didn’t know what to expect. I hosted an event like this in Bali, but have never hosted in two languages (English and Russian), I was a bit nervous but very excited. The poets were invited to read in Kazakh, English and Russian.

The night came and we packed a full house. It was incredible to see all the phenomenally talented local poets who showed up and read in different languages. The atmosphere was charged with stories and raw emotion. I opened the night with a few poems I wrote while staying abroad in Indonesia and the crowd took over from then on. We hosted two published authors, Mia (whose book is sold at Bowlers) and Aigerim, who gave me her autographed poetry book as a gift, as well as poets from a local poetry club Closet Poet. There were also newcomers, guests who came to only listen and by the second hour of the performances were inspired to come and share their own work. I was speechless from the turnout and the energy that was shared amongst us that special evening. I am very grateful to everyone who came and bared their soul and also to everyone who held space and supported the art and authenticity which were shared with all of us during the two hours of performances at the cafe. There were poems of love, poems of war, poems of political and generational trauma, poems of hope.

Four of the poets from the night shared their works with me and consented to them being published on TFN.

Here are their poems and one of mine.

I thought I'd share the night with you,
The flickering and fading neon signs, Golden street lamps,
Empty faces rushing down the boulevards, I thought it might be us, there,

Sitting bathed in advertising light
At an abandoned bus stop
A road that trails into mirages with the city sky We would be gone
Amongst the hills
With you
(I thought)
I'd stand by empty highway-sides,
We'd kiss and hide from headlights,
Brushing past us with the fumes and winds.

But I was wrong.
It was make-believe,
Just fractals of the city streets
I saw reflected in cumulonimbus clouds On rainy afternoons.

[by Egor Breus]

Use your voice

To weave tapestries of love and hope

And wrap them round the hearts of those

Struggling with their place in this world

Be impeccable with your word

For what is heard by the universe

Causes ripples in the fabric of space and time

And constellations align to paint the visions you create with your mind

Be mindful of signs

Because God speaks in mysterious ways

Anything taken away from you will be replaced

With better lighter bigger faster expansion

That is our primary function

Honour the power in you

Whatever wound you heal will reveal new worlds within you

Be mindful of stories

We often get lost in the dramas of failure and glory

It’s part of the human design

To forget who you are and try to remember

Time after time after time

[by Deniz Reno]

the Russian soldiers on TV

aren’t Russian at all

I look at them like I do in the mirror

i have their nose and eyebrows

and they have my attitude

the first time we died was ninety years ago

you captured me at my home

then shot me

then called yourself my mother

you sent me to war in the nineteen forties

amputated parts of us

then killed us

then starved us

let us watch TV

in the language that was never mine

that still isn’t yet the one i think in

then it was your turn to die

but you didn’t quite

now i see myself on TV

in the military suit

big strong man, why do you want me dead?

why do you want me dead?

why?

[by Dana Kanafina]

I look inside the heart

and I see the blooming

it’s the heartbeat that

changes all my glooming

I care a lot about

not caring at all

and I fight my dreams

but they remind of a fall

Can i step back and forward

When im already in a moment

Being packed as a coward

Oh please, please hold my warrant

I swear to people in a web

This is my warrant as a debt

Have no regrets, not any kind

Believe me there’s no one mind

[by Bakhytzhan Marzhan]

I thought love was measurable,

That you could fill up a glass full of love,

(Which was your lover's favourite orange juice)

Or you could inhale it, these molecules in the air,

Air which was exhaled by your lover is now in your lungs,

And sometimes u wish u could become one with them

Breathe them in, and all of you would remember all of them

If u woke me up at night, and asked me about her

I would tell you about every one of her birthmarks

The one under her eye, two above her eyebrow,

Together forming a constellation on her face

I thought love was measurable

And i would bring it to you on a plate

Cutting up your favourite fruits for you,

Peeling an orange and always giving you the bigger half,

And then patiently waiting for you to finish it, so i could offer you mine

I want you to eat well, i want you to never go hungry,

I bring us tea in our favourite cups, and i know the measurements

Two tea spoons of sugar, and a splash of milk.

Or when you felt sick, i would add jam and slices of lemon

It kept you warm, and u were filled with love

It's cold october night, and i hold your hand, trying to warm you

We’re only kilometer and half away from your house

But i wished you lived years away, so i could walk with you

Care for you, be with you.

And now i silently mouth “goodbye”, and i live in peace, knowing that

The last thing we did was kiss.

[I Thought Love Was Measurable] [by Insar Erlan]

I love hosting art events like this one wherever I travel because it gives me a chance to connect to the local community in a deep and meaningful way. The artists, writers and musicians I meet through the TFN events become friends and sometimes colleagues. These free community events are my gift to the communities that host me as a foreigner. In this case, I hosted the poetry night in the city that raised me and that in itself was an immense gift.

A special thank you to Mathijis Olij, and the wonderful team at Bowlers who allowed this event to take place in one of the best and most culturally valued cafes in the city, where artists, musicians and writers gather every day to unleash their creativity and hold meetings over a cup of hot coffee. Thank you to everyone who showed up and I can’t wait to see you again soon!

Over 14 poets attended the event, below are photos of some of the poets who shared their work with the audience.