Call for Submission

The House of Poetry in Exile Baamdaad (“Dawn”) calls on poets, writers, and literary and cultural associations worldwide who are committed to freedom of expression and equality to stand with the poets of Afghanistan in an artistic protest movement.

Our movement aims to symbolize solidarity among the world’s poets and to show poetry’s indomitability and longevity; it is also a humanist action against all oppression and injustice.

Baamdaad asks you to imagine yourself in a country where poetry, freedom, thinking, even happiness are forbidden. Then write this image in the form of a poem. Baamdaad will collect and publish the contributions on-line by April 15, 2023—World Art Day.

The deadline is March 1, 2023. We prefer the poems to be in English or Persian but will strive to accommodate other languages as well. The authors will retain rights to their work.

We invite every poet reading this call to participate, no matter where in the world you live.