The project of an International Writers’ House in Beirut differs from that of a writers’ residency and must be distinguished from it, even though both may converge at some point. A Writers’ House is not a place where writers live or reside in order to write. The commonly accepted meaning that applies to the Writers’ House herein refers to an organization seeking to regularly gather writers in public meetings and on specific topics.
At the start of this project, the annual meeting will be held in venues that have traditionally served cultural events such as amphitheatres, auditoriums, and theatres that will be rented for the event. Eventually, the International Writers’ House in Beirut hopes to have the opportunity and funding to have a permanent locale. The workshops and academic meetings will be organized at universities in Beirut.
Objectives
1. Writers’ meetings
The International Writers’ House will organize an annual event for international authors to meet in Beirut over a two to three day period. The event will host debates and discussions - around a chosen theme - between the authors with the active participation of the public.
2. A literature theme magazine
The International Writers’ House will publish an annual magazine where authors will be commissioned to provide new text to be published in their original language and in translation to French, Arabic and English.
3. Research and academic meetings
This structure will also promote academic research on the subjects of immigrant literature, “Eurohphone” Literature – literature written in European languages outside of Europe, and modernity literature. These academic meetings will be held once every other year.
