The first Roissy-en-Brie Poetry Prize for refugee writers in Europe has been awarded to the Syrian writer and poet Nesrine Khoury, who currently resides in Alicante (Alacant).
The jury evaluated the literary achievement of her work, in which the depth of her metaphors, her view of modernity, and her avant-garde stylestand out.
“Many, if not most, refugee writers or intellectuals hosted in countries around the world often break their link with creative work because of the vicissitudes of life and the pain of exile. Some observers consider these writers to be socially dead”, says Salem Zenia, member of the jury along with Abdallah Abulaban, ÀngelsGregori, El-KaissaOuld-Braham, Helena Pol and Gemma Rodríguez.
Thus, this prize, with its 2,000-euro award, “was organized with objective of recognizing their talent and perhaps rescuing those careers that have been stopped by the shock and pain of exile. Furthermore, prizes can shed light on refugees and migrants and be a benefit to the host culture, rather than a burden”, Zeniaaffirms.
In addition to the winner, the finalists for the first Roissy-en-Brie Poetry Prize were the Iranian writer ElaheRahroniya and the Iranian poet Mehdi Mousavi, both currently located in Norway.
