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In this episode Julia & Ariel discuss:

• Building relationships through a shared passion for literature

• The importance of creating spaces where everyone feels comfortable

• Changing the location of your circle

• The use of food and drink to build community

• How creative writing can be used as a bridge between communities

• The power of curiosity

• Literature as an olive branch for constructive conversations around difference

• The use of literature as a tool for crossing cultural boundaries

• Using circle in an education setting and the use of educational tools

• Enabling listening amongst cultural conflicts: modelling disagreement

• Circle as a space for digesting and formulating new ideas

• Vulnerability as strength in LGBT+ circles

• Stories as a vehicle for transformation

• The use of props in circle

• Workshops with an element of circle

• Creating firm guidelines around anonymity - the Chatham House rules

  
  In our conversation Ariel talked about the Arab Israeli Book Club – here’s a guardian review from when it all started, back in 2010:

  https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2010/feb/08/radical-reading-israeli-arab-book-club

   

  This approach to creating shared cultural conversations across boundaries was inspired by my research for my novel, Raising Sparks. Lebanese novelist Han Al Shaykh named it in a new York Times Interview:

  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/books/review/hanan-al-shaykh-by-the-book.html

   

  It was shortlisted for the Not the Booker Prize by the Guardian, and received an interestingly critical review here:

  https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/sep/05/not-the-booker-raising-sparks-by-ariel-kahn-review-coincidence-unbound

  Food and food culture are a big part of my bridge building work – there’s an interesting take on this aspect of Raising Sparks from a food blogger here:

  https://family-friends-food.com/raising-sparks-ariel-kahn/

  If you are interested in delving into the background of this novel and the interfaith research involved, there is a wonderful interview by Rina Wolfson, herself a gifted educator who has sadly passed away since this interview, which makes it all the mor precious to me: https://www.thejc.com/life/books/raising-sparks-from-suffolk-to-jerusalem-drpuxl5e

  Particularly precious to me as an interfaith practitioner is this perceptive review from a Muslim reader:

  https://www.northernsoul.me.uk/book-review-raising-sparks-by-ariel-kahn/

   

  He also spoke about creating interfaith spaces in a University setting – I am a proud member of the Middlesex Interfaith Network. We received a national award for our work, including the Interfaith literary student led festival I mention in the podcast – see here for more details: https://barnetpost.co.uk/2024/09/16/middlesex-universitys-staff-inter-faith-group-scoops-honours-at-university-alliance-awards-2024/

   

  His work facilitating creative engagement as a way of building circles was inspired and supported by a wonderful charity Exile Writers Ink, with whom I mentored a refugee Iranian writer, and ran cross-cultural dialogue groups – see:https://www.exiledwriters.co.uk/

   

  His work in this area continues to evolve; on addition to being a visiting fellow at Exter College Oxford,https://www.exeter.ox.ac.uk/people/ariel-kahn/  I’m now an associate artist with the Woolf Institute in Cambridge, and planning an interfaith creative workshop for them later this year. See:

  https://www.woolf.cam.ac.uk/people/dr-ariel-kahn

  Dr Ariel Kahn,

  Senior Lecturer, Creative Writing, Senior Fellow HEA

  Programme Leader, Creative Writing and Journalism

  Interim Director of Programmes for Theatre, Creative Writing and Journalism

  Member of Middlesex Interfaith Network (MDX IFN) winner of the University Alliance, Alliance Award 2024

  Associate Artist, Woolf Institute, Cambridge University

  Visiting Fellow 2024-2025, Exter College, Oxford University

  Twitter@ArielKahn2