Mehfil - Poetry Open Mic

Sunday, August 20th, Thornbury Centre

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As part of the last day of BSAF 2023, we decided to wind down with a Mehfil event, a poetry open mic for fans and purveyors of Urdu poetry or 'shayri' as it's known.

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This was an afternoon celebrating the joy of wordplay and poetry through a South Asian lens.

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We first featured some well-known local wordsmiths and storytellers giving special performances, and then it was over to the audience to share some of their own verses, their musings and their unique and personal reflections on the joys of South Asian culture.

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It really was a lovely, relaxed way to start to wind down the BSAF 2023 festival and it showed what an amazing array of creative writing talent we have in Bradford.

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The family friendly atmosphere was also a nice way to introduce younger BSAF visitors to another unique and beloved South Asian artistic tradition.

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