Events


2020​
  • Faculty member for the 2020 Middlebury Bread Loaf Translators Conference in Vermont. June 10-16. With Jennifer Croft, Karen Emmerich, Jody Gladding, David Hinton, and Achy Obejas. 
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2019
  • An informal Skype conversation with students of Prof. Richard Henry's "Literary Translation Theory" undergraduate course in the Writing Program (Dept. of English and Communications) at the State University of New York (SUNY), Potsdam. November 12.

  • Panel discussion on the Politics of Translation, as part of the Translation Now! Symposium, organized by the Tulsa Artist Fellowship in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Friday, August 16. With M.L. Martin, Kelsi Vanada, and Johannes Gorannson.
 
  • Reading of Arabic poetry, as part of the Translation Now! Symposium, organized by the Tulsa Artist Fellowship in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thursday, August 15. With M.L. Martin, Kelsi Vanada, and Johannes Gorannson. 
 
  • Reading and discussion of my translation of Adonis' Songs of Mihyar the Damascene, as part of National Poetry Month events at the Collected Works Bookstore in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Monday, April 29, 6 pm. In conversation with Claudette Sutton.  
2018
  • Translating Arabic Poetry, Pre-Islamic to Modern: Creative Challenges and Opportunities. A public lecture at Middlebury College, Vermont. Monday, November 5. (Mid-afternoon: precise time and location forthcoming.)

  • Literary Translation for Students of Arabic: A Hands-On Workshop. A lunchtime workshop for advanced Arabic students at Middlebury College, Vermont. Monday, November 5.



  • My First Time: Translating and Performing Writers Who Have Never Been Translated Before. A panel organized by Aviya Kushner, with Niloufar Talebi, Jason Grunebaum, Roman Ivashkiv, and Yardenne Greenspan, at the annual American Literary Translators Association conference. University of Indiana, Bloomington. November 1.
   
  • An informal discussion with Translation Studies students at the University of Connecticut, Hartford, October 30. Organized by Peter Constantine.
   
  • Panel discussion on Contemporary Arabic Literature as part of the 2nd annual "Day of Translation" event, co-sponsored by the Alan Cheuse International Writers Center and the Center for the Art of Translation, at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. September 27. 
 
  • Book launch event for Modern Art in the Arab World: Primary Documents at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, May 23.  
 
  • An informal discussion on translation with the Arabic Studies students at Hunter College, New York City, April 18. Organized by Professors Alexander Elinson and Christopher Stone.
 
  • Translating Arabic Poetry, Pre-Islamic to Modern: Creative Challenges and Opportunities. A talk and reading at the University of Connecticut. Sponsored by the UConn Humanities Institute, the Translation Studies Program, the Creative Writing Program, and the Aetna Chair of Writing. April 10. 
 
  • Literary Translation Workshop for Students, at the University of Connecticut's Translation Studies Program. April 10. 
 
  • Reading and Commenting on Translations of Pre-Islamic Arabic Poetry, at "Translation/Tarjama: The Aesthetics and Politics of Translating Arabic Literature," a one-day symposium at Yale University. April 6.

2017


  • Thriving Financially as a Freelance Literary Translator. A roundtable discussion organized and moderated by Kareem for the annual American Literary Translators Association conference, Minneapolis, October 8, at the Radisson Blu Hotel. The roundtable panelists are: Peter Constantine, Ellen Elias-Bursac, Ezra Fitz, Elisabeth Jaquette, and Mara Faye Lethem. 
 
  • Literary Translation Practice. Four-hour interactive workshop at Aswan University, Egypt. April. ​​

2016


 
  • The Translator as Coauthor: Collaborative Translation. A panel discussion at the annual Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conference, organized by Words Without Borders and moderated by Susan Harris, with Karen Emmerich, Edward Gauvin, and Shabnam Nadya. Los Angeles.   
 
  • An informal Skype conversation with students of Prof. Samuel England's "Introduction to African Literature" undergraduate course in the Dept. of African Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. April 19. 
 
  • A Literary Tour of the Middle East. Reading for the “Thurdays at Readers” Poetry Series. Readers Café (Fort Mason Center). San Francisco.
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  • A Night of Literature, Friends, and Drinks with Two Lines. Public Book-Launch Reading with Katherine Silver and other translators. Churchill’s Office, San Francisco. 

2015

  • Northern California Book Awards. Reading a poem by Najwan Darwish upon winning the award for Best Translated Book of Poetry. San Francisco. 
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  • "Meditation: Experimenting on the Self." A 30-minute talk given at the seventh annual Smoke Farm Symposium, under the auspices of the Rubicon Foundation. Greater Seattle area, Washington state.
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  • The City and the Writer. In Focus Minneapolis and Palestine. A panel discussion at the annual Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conference, organized by Graywolf Press and moderated by Nathalie Handal, with Ismail Khalidi, Gretchen Marquette, and Leslie Adrienne Miller. Minneapolis. 
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  • Thurdays at Readers Poetry Series. A reading of modern Arabic literature in translation. Readers Café (Fort Mason Center). San Francisco.​​

2014

  • A Literary Tour of the Middle East. Solo reading as Lannan Foundation Writer in Residence, for the Marfa Book Company. Marfa, Texas. http://www.marfabookco.com/events/2014/7/12/reading-kareem-abu-zeid
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  • Thurdays at Readers Poetry Series. A reading of modern Arabic literature in translation. Readers Café (Fort Mason Center). San Francisco.

2013

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  • “Reconstructions: Mapping Self and City in Rabee Jaber’s The Mehlis Report.” Presentation at the American Comparative Literature Association annual conference, on the panel “Mapping the Politics of Arabic Literature.” Toronto. 

2012

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2011

  • The Readers Café Poetry Series. A reading of modern Arabic literature in translation. Readers Café (Fort Mason Center). San Francisco.​​

2010

2009

  • San Francisco International Poetry Festival, Main Stage Reading. Palace of the Fine Arts.

  • San Francisco International Poetry Festival: Translation Colloquy. Moderated by Alejandro Murguia, with Olivia Sears, Stephen Kessler, and Judy Bernhard.

  • San Francisco International Poetry Festival: North Beach Poetry Crawl. A reading with Tarek Eltayeb and Sasha Pimentel.

  • Book Release Party for the Center for the Art of Translation. Reading with Stephen Kessler and other translators. LIMN Gallery. San Francisco. 

  • “Transvaluations: Quranic Intertextuality in Adonis’ Songs of Mihyar the Damascene.” Presentation at the 2009 Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA) Conference. Washington DC. ​​

2008

  • The Middle East in Translation. A reading with Keith Ekiss and Rick London. University Press Books. Berkeley. ​​

2007

  • Main Stage Poetry Reading: San Francisco International Poetry Festival. Palace of Fine Arts. San Francisco.

  • San Francisco International Poetry Festival: Reading at Caffe Trieste. Reading translations of modern Iraqi poetry, together with Jack Hirschman and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.​​

2006

  • Literature from the Axis of Evil: Book Launch. In conjunction with Words Without Borders, with Alice Walker, Li Miao Lovett, and others. Main Public Library, Koret Auditorium. San Francisco. ​​

2004

  • “Another Hegira: Translating Adonis into English.” Presentation at the German Association for American Studies annual conference. Mannheim, Germany.

  • “Zarathustra Comes Home: An Introduction to the Poetics of Adonis.” Presentation at the 51st Annual Fulbright Germany Conference, Literature Panel. Berlin.  ​​