Kurdistan is an enigma, sometimes even to its own people, who are all too often forced to suppress their language and heritage, as a result of laws imposed from without, by colonial states determined to extinguish any Kurdish revolution, or through migration to the diaspora. In any event, the consequence is often the same: Kurdistan fading into a distant memory until it’s reduced to the second hyphenation of their identity. Through our Kurdish-themed issue, TMR is looking to embrace this dissonance, and in so doing, reject historical portrayals of Kurdistan.
The prevailing narrative has long been that having a common enemy should be the connective tissue that binds Kurds together. But that’s never been true. Inherently, Kurds are a nomadic people. The rough terrains of the mountains have created deep linguistic shifts from one regional dialect to another; dialects so pronounced that Kurds themselves see them as separate languages. So where does that leave identity? What does it mean to be Kurdish when the identity itself fractures the moment you try to define it?
TMR invites your responses to these questions, in whatever form inspires you to create — essays or creative nonfiction, short stories, poetry, interviews, reported pieces, art, photography, film/video, and more. We’re looking for submissions from across the diverse map that is Kurdistan, whether they reflect a vital, shared experience or, conversely, a singularly unique perspective. Our query/submission window opens on April 17, and closes on June 1.
In addition to six bimonthly themed issues a year, The Markaz Review publishes regular weekly pieces. Our mission is broad but specific: to amplify voices from the “center of the world”—the Middle East, North Africa, and Southwest Asia (SWANA). In a world riven by injustice and inequality, we seek writing from and about these regions oft-overlooked, dismissed, and/or reduced to caricature and stereotype in and by western narratives. To this end, we invite submissions all year-round: essays, feature articles, short stories, memoir, translations, creative nonfiction, poetry, reviews of books, film, music, art, and theatre, as well as compelling profiles and interviews. For specific information about submissions (e.g., word length and how to query), please review our FAQ section. TMR is open to both emerging and established writers, and to writing in multiple languages, with a single caveat: literary excellence. So go ahead — wow us, surprise us, impress us, humble us, teach us. DUOSUMA
