Review: Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Caleb Azumah Nelson's magnificent debut novel is nothing short of a triumph. A book that reminded me that words are there to make you...
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ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE
WELCOME
Thawra is an online literary magazine that provides a platform for minority creatives. From budding short story authors to critical academic writers, we want to amplify the talented voices throughout the BAME community. Thawra is here to elevate people who for so long have been unable to assert their presence, their thoughts, their art, and the way they see the world.
We're here for a revolution, and what's a revolution without its poets and artists?
Angrezee: A Fresh Look into The Immigrant Story
When it comes to representation, or rather the lack of it, what many South Asians have grown up with are characters whose only purpose on screen is to be the comic relief for a white Western audience. Angrezee is a short film that reframes the immigrant experience and provides an insight into finding the balance between two cultures.
Streetwear, No Compromise:
Saeedah Haque
Meet London-based fashion designer Saeedah Haque whose brand is a contemporary exploration of the ‘orthodox’ abaya, reimagined using streetwear influenced by Japanese and Middle Eastern aesthetics.
Read more about her journey, from working with the likes of Tom Ford to standing up against Islamophobia.
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POETRY PICK OF THE MONTH
SEPTEMBER
Halima is a London-based poet who wrote Barren Wombs as an expression of the frustration experienced by women of colour in their own households. The search for value often leads these women down a dark road and Halima alludes to this through various vivid liquid forms. Touching on issues like sheet ceremonies and domestic abuse, Barren Wombs is numbingly emotive.
FASHION
AUGUST
Haida Hamidi, stylist and fashion designer, brings a new reign of diversity and opportunity to the fashion scene in Birmingham and beyond. Irregullarr’s first collection ‘The Signature 2021’ is centred around versatility, characterised by street style, smart-wear and modesty. Catch up on the brand's breakthrough into the industry.
SHORT STORY: Pares' City by Abi Ramanan
AUGUST
Pares, a twenty-something creative living in East London, is brutally beaten by three men in a frenzied racist attack after walking home from a pub hangout. To cope with this assault on his life and identity, Pares retreats within himself and loses his job, turns to alcohol and begins self-harming.
Read Abi Ramanan's incredibly gripping short story that opens a vulnerable eye into what it can mean to be a minority in post Brexit Britain.
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REVIEW: Convenience Store Woman
AUGUST
Check out Bochra Boudarka's review on Sayaka Murata's Convenience Store Woman. This interesting commentary on societal expectations and conformity provides an insight into contemporary life in Japan as Keiko Furukura navigates her predictable days. Hinting at neurodivergency and human connections, Murata's quirky tale is thought-provoking, and an enjoyable read, one that lingers for a short while.
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ART
JUNE
Dyala Moshtaha
Dyala Moshtaha
Dyala Moshtaha
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Support Us on Patreon!
Do you want to become an official member of the Thawra community?
Every penny will help us run Thawra and provide you with quality content, as well as allowing us to plan for future endeavours such as creative workshops, events and commissions.
SPOTLIGHT
MAY
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Introducing our new spotlight feature where we'll be bringing you amazing new literary content by poets and writers of colour. This week's spotlight is on Sadiyah Bashir's Seven.
Read about the realities of being a black Muslim woman in America as Bashir takes us on a journey of turning trauma into triumph.
THAWRA'S POETRY PICK OF THE MONTH
MAY
Check out Amina Beg! The Manchester-based writer, and spoken-word poet wrote International Supermarket as part of her project: ‘You Make Us Hate Our Neighbours’. This poem unpacks the role of the British government in handling the pandemic and how they attempt to pinpoint blame on minorities.
Have a read!
Support Us on Patreon!
Do you want to become an official member of the Thawra community?
Every penny will help us run Thawra and provide you with quality content, as well as allowing us to plan for future endeavours such as creative workshops, events and one day a podcast.
Part 3 of a 4 Part Series: Literature is Still Catering for The Orientalist Gaze
White Saviour Complex and The Muslim Woman
White men saving brown women from brown men. Thank you, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. This is the narrative that has haunted Muslim women for decades within widely acclaimed literature. Where is her agency? Can the ignorance of tropes fix the ignorance of culture? Where do white women stand in the equation? Join Asia Khatun as she explores the harmful positions Muslim women have been put in due to colonialism, Orientalism and white saviour complex.
REVIEW: The Girl with the Louding Voice
APRIL
This coming-of-age story set in Nigeria features Adunni, our fourteen-year old protagonist and the first-person narrator of this story. We follow her as she seeks an education and independence, something her late mother instilled in her. However, after her mother’s death, she is coerced into marrying a much older man.
Daré does well to show a strong, young girl who is determined to build a better life for herself and genuine relationships, despite living in a culture designed to keep her from succeeding.
ART
APRIL
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Drawing 103
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Part 2 of a 4 Part Series
Literature is Still Catering for The Orientalist Gaze: Muslim Masculinity and Violence
Masculinity: traditionally an attribute that shapes the way we see our male leads, harbouring many cultural norms and tells – one being the connection between masculinity and violence. Unfortunately, where this is exacerbated is on the matter of Muslim masculinity and its connection with violence, which has become a common trope within literature, and exponentially in any form of media since 9/11.
