Events


​2021



  • Guest speaker at Vivek Narayanan's "Global Poetry" undergraduate honors class in the Humanities Department at George Mason University (Alexandria, Virginia). Online. April 21. 

  • Reading and Discussion at Solid State Books (Washington, DC) with Najwan Darwish and Matthew Davis. In conjunction with the Alan Cheuse International Writers Center at George Mason University. March 26, 7 pm EST. Online. Replay available here. 

  • Speaker on the panel "Politics & Literature" with Bernice Chauly and Jeremy Tiang, moderated by Xu Xi, part of the Vermont College of the Fine Arts Spring Residency for their International MFA in Creative Writing and Translation. March 13, 7:45 pm EST.  
 
2020​
  • Open-language Prose/Poetry Translation Workshop. Facilitator. Part of the annual American Literary Translators Association conference. Online. October 9.

  • Freelance Translators Online "Happy Hour." Host. Part of the annual American Literary Translators Association conference. October 8. 

  • Retranslation: Challenges and Opportunities. Moderator and presenter. A panel on retranslation with Peter Constantine and Tal Goldfajn, at the annual American Literary Translators Association conference. Online. October 5. Replay available here.

  • Arabic Translation: A Hands-On Workshop. Co-organizer with Elisabeth Jaquette. Part of the annual American Literary Translators Association conference. Online. October 4.

  • Public Lecture on Translation at Kenyon College. October. Sponsored by the Creative Writing Program. (Postponed until 2021 due to COVID.)​  

  • Guest speaker on translation at multiple classes at Kenyon College, including leading guided meditations for students. October. (Postponed until 2021 due to COVID.)

  • Faculty member for the 2020 Middlebury Bread Loaf Translators Conference in Vermont. June. With Jennifer Croft, Karen Emmerich, Jody Gladding, David Hinton, and Achy Obejas (Postponed until 2021 due to COVID.)

  • Guest speaker for Professor Denise Newman's undergraduate "Poetry in Translation" class at the California College of the Arts (online), April. 

  • Public Lecture on the Practice of Translating Poetry at Washington & Lee University, March. Sponsored by the Center for Poetic Research. 
 
  • Guest teacher for Professor Seth Michelson's undergraduate "Poetry and Power" class at Washington & Lee University, March. Also led guided meditation with the students. 
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.  ​​