I am a Syrian, Berlin-based essayist, writer and podcaster. My most recent book “Komm dahin, wo es still ist” (Come to Where It Is Still) is a collection of letters on war, violence and migrationwith my partner Vanessa Vu, published by Rowohlt in May 2024. After our book premiere at theSchaubühne Berlin – one of the world’s most acclaimed contemporary theatres – we brought ourstory to numerous German stages, including literature festivals, theaters, cinemas, and culturalvenues. I am a regular contributor to German-language debates with various essays. werepublished in ZEIT, Germany’s leading intellectual medium. I have also contributed to othermedia houses and german radio stations.. In arabic a 26-part podcast series on Kurdishmythology, which I researched, produced and co-hosted for Ettijahat, will be released soon.
Born in Damascus, Syria, in 1988 to the son of an interior decorator, at the age of 19, I ran my own curtain shop. At the same time, I studied mathematics at Damascus University, curated and recited contemporary poetry for a weekly literature program on Radio Jerusalem (إذاعة القدس), and published my first book, a collection of short stories entitled *This Marble Broke* (هذا الرخام تشقق), in 2011. My award-winning short story *Tell Me About God* (حدثني عن الله) was also published in 2011.
In 2013, shortly before graduating, I fled to Jordan and trained as a multimedia journalist with Syria Direct. I then worked as an editor for Syria Direct and Al-Bawaba, as a freelance reporter for the news channel Al-Balad, and as a freelance writer for The New Arab, 7iber, Ultrasawt, Al-Joumhouria, and many others. In 2013, I published my second book, a collection of poems entitled *The Taste of Bab Sharqi* (مذاق باب شرقي).
In 2015, I founded “Tiklam,” which is until today the world's largest podcast for Arabic-language literature, with over ten million streams on Soundcloud. In it, I read literary finds from around the world and accompany them with music. I now produce my own music and visuals for social media. I have also developed similar podcasts for organizations such as Flanders Literature, Al-Mawred, and Al-Jasrah.
In 2017, I came to Germany on a writing residency from the Heinrich-Böll-Haus Langenbroich. Since then, I have mainly focused on literary work. In 2018, I published a book on Syrian poetry in exile, “Nakhaal Al-Khutta” (نخال الخطى), in collaboration with Ettijahat, an organization promoting independent culture. My own poetry mostly deals with everyday situations and interactions that arise while the world is falling apart. In 2020, my first German-language book, the poetry collection “Das Gedächtnis der Finger” (The Memory of Fingers), was published by Edition Rugerup. In May 2024, “Komm dahin, wo es still ist” (Come Where It Is Still); translations into other languages are planned.
In addition, I have repeatedly experimented with visual and performance art that combine poetry with sound and dance. Amongst others, I collaborated with performance artist Charlotte Triebus on “Push” (Heinrich-Böll-Haus Kreuzau, 2018), with poet Ulrike Almut Sandig on “Klangkörper” (Literaturhaus Berlin, 2022), and with musician Abdullah Miniawy on “Die Ordnung der Klänge” (The Order of Sounds, Literaturfestival Stuttgart, 2023). Most recently, I was part of an artistic video work by Maithu Bùi, “from Battlefields to Roborders.” The installation was on display at the Galerie im Turm in Berlin from August to October 2024.