Jazra Khaleed

Jazra Khaleed (b. 1979) lives in Athens, writes exclusively in Greek, and is known as a poet, translator and filmmaker. His works are protests against the injustices in contemporary Greece, especially the growing nationalism, racism and social exclusion. During his stay at the Saari Residence, he plans to work on a poetry cycle with the provisional title Haya said. With this work, he aims to explore immigration, trauma and xenophobia and, at the same time, speak about the impoverishment of life in Greece, unemployment, the bread lines and violence on the streets of Athens. He intends to demonstrate that poets can present through their art a new reading of the reality of immigration, giving emphasis to democracy, diversity and inclusion; they can challenge the anti-immigrant narrative, and create a basis for oppositional readings of xenophobia as expressed in news reports and social media.

As translator and founding co-editor of the Athens-based poetry magazine TEFLON, during his stay at the Saari Residence he will translate into Greek poems from Zaina’s Alsous book “A Theory of Birds” and he will edit the 23rd issue of TEFLON that will include, among others, poetry by Chairil Anwar (Indonesia), Marie Silkeberg (Sweden) and Nathalie Quintane (France).

In his work, Jazra Khaleed integrates knowledge and methods from various disciplines, seeking new forms of expression. He aims to combine different creative forms in new and unusual ways, working with fellow artists from different disciplines such as cinematographers, visual artists, musicians and actors, making movies and videos, creating installations, organizing performances, and publishing magazines and books. His poems have been widely translated for publications in Europe, the US, India and Australia. His newest short film “Kordelio Concentration Camp” premiered at the Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival.