TMR
HAWAR: THE KURDISH ISSUE

- TMR
- Editorial
Hawar—a Cry for Kurdistan
TMR guest editor Aryan Omar Hassan shares the inspiration for the title of our newest issue, and his experiences in the Kurdish diaspora.
- TMR
- Centerpiece

“The Great Mother’s Vigil”—fiction
After a grieving mother is gunned down, seven children become the custodians of a village’s shattered memory.
3 July 2026 • By Hoshang Waziri- TMR
- Featured Artist

Zehra DoÄŸan, Kurdish Resistance Artist
Much of DoÄŸan's groundbreaking art was created in prison out of the materials at hand: hair, coffee, blood.
3 July 2026 • By Rojda Idil ArslanMORE FROM THIS ISSUE
Ez Kurdim: Meditations on Ritual, Gathering, and BeingÂ
Through pomegranates, card games, motherhood, and community, a Kurdish American writer reflects on the rituals that sustain belonging.
3 JULY 2026 • BY HOLLY MASON BADRAMemory as Resistance: An Interview with Zeynep Esmeray
A self-described "memory-carrier" has spent her life fighting for LGBTQI+, trans, and Kurdish rights, often through theatrical defiance.
3 JULY 2026 • BY ALI ALIYEVWomen’s Art After the Women’s War
A women's movement moved from the battlefield to the arts, platforming Kurdish and regional folklore in the process.
3 JULY 2026 • BY MATT BROOMFIELDThe Well of Destiny—excerpted from Mehmed Uzun’s novel
In Ottoman-era Istanbul, a Kurdish family in exile witnesses the resurrection of a child that will shape their lives for generations.
3 JULY 2026 • BY MEHMED UZUNBeheşt: On the Politics of Yearning
Blending poetry and essay, a Kurdish writer examines statelessness, Kurdish identity, and the emotional landscape of exile.
3 JULY 2026 • BY PıNAR BANU YAşARThe Markaz Review Tour of Kurdish Artists & Photographers
Kurdish artists occupy a fascinating locus in global culture, spread across four countries and a large diaspora in Europe and North America.
3 JULY 2026 • BY ARYAN OMAR HASSANWhat’s Form to Silence? Kurdish Poets on the Impossibility
Through close readings of Kurdish poets, a writer examines silence as a poetics of survival, love, refusal, and belonging.
3 JULY 2026 • BY HAJJAR BABANMy Uncle Jamshid—excerpted from Bachtyar Ali’s novel
This powerful tale of a man freed from prison asks: What if surviving torture meant never quite returning to earth?
3 JULY 2026 • BY BACHTYAR ALIKurdish Language at a Crossroads: An Interview with Jaffer Sheyholislami
The future of the Kurdish language depends on mother-tongue education, expanded literacy, and — possibly — digital tools.
3 JULY 2026 • BY DIARY MARIFExhibition Exile—a Profile of the Kurdish Exile Museum
Goran Candan founded the Kurdish Exile Museum to preserve an endangered heritage. Today, his life's work is at risk.
3 JULY 2026 • BY NASIM T. STONETime Runs Blind in Rafiq Sabir’s Poetry
A translator describes her process of bringing a poet whose work is colored by tragedy, personal and collective, into English.
3 JULY 2026 • BY SHENE MOHAMMEDKurdistan: The Book List
An informed selection of books that opens a window into the vibrant world of Kurdish life, identity, and creativity.
3 JULY 2026 • BY TMR