Kurdshop - Mam u Zin was a Kurdish literary and cultural project that was founded in 2019 by several people in Erbil and then gradually grew to become one of the most prominent and active cultural centers in the Kurdistan Region, not only in the South part of Kurdistan but also in other parts of the country, it left a place in the field of literature and culture and was able to become a place of pride and faith of Kurdish intellectuals.
Bukhari Wishyar, an author and one of the supervisors of the Mam u Zin center, told Kurdshop about the purpose of establishing this cultural center:
“From the very beginning, Mam u Zin was established as a national center and has always carried a national message. Mam u Zin has continued its work and activities to promote Kurdish culture, literature, and culture and faced many obstacles in this way. It has worked for Kurdish literature without discrimination and has never shown any political or ideological bias. Mam u Zeyn believes that Kurdish literary and cultural centers should serve Kurdish literature without political or ideological bias. We are proudly initiated and unique."
One of the features of Mem u Zen is that it is both a cafe and a bookstore; Bukhari Vishyar replied to the question, “Do visitors come more to the cafe or to buy books?”
“In fact, the existence of cafe bookstores in Kurdistan is new and I can say that there were several cafe bookstores in other cities of the Kurdistan Region before Mam u Zin, but in Erbil, Mam u Zin was the first cafe bookstore. Cafe bookstores have a long history in the world. The benefit of this work is to encourage people to read and come to bookstores. In this regard, Mam u Zin has been able to introduce many people to books through this method of working, which later became good readers.”
One of the most prominent activities of Mam u Zin is the publication of Kurdish books. They have published dozens of books so far. Bukhari Wishyar told Kurdshop:
“Mam u Zin has been publishing Kurdish books since its establishment and continues to do so. The publishing department of Mam u Zin Cultural Center has published about forty books in the Kurdish language during its five years of operation. Like all other publishing houses, Mam u Zin has its own criteria for selecting books and publishing them. One of the things that distinguishes Mam u Zin from other publishing houses is that it pays more attention to the works of Kurdish writers and has fewer translations. Mam u Zeyn aims to publish more Kurdish literature, thought, history, and research. We are pleased to say that it has published several important books on Kurdish history, literature, thought, and narrative that have a prominent place among readers.”
Another activity of Mam u Zin that has led to more recognition of this cultural center is the organization of literary conferences for writers and poets, which on the other hand is a great service to authors and poets to better introduce themselves and their works. Bukhari Wishyar said:
“Like the publication of Mam u Zin books, the conferences are literary. Conferences are held at Mam u Zin weekly. The conferences are often to introduce and publish a new book by a Kurdish author, and sometimes conferences are held on a literary topic related to the Kurds. The aim of these conferences is to activate the cultural sector in Kurdistan and to build serious dialogue and criticism among Kurdish intellectuals.”
In addition to literary conferences and book publishing, this cultural center also organizes an annual festival in all four parts of Kurdistan and awards the prize "Mam u Zin" which has made this center known throughout Kurdistan. Bukhari Wishyar in this regard told Kurdshop:
“I can say that one of the most important and significant works of Mam u Zin Cultural Center is the establishment of this literary festival, which is not a regional festival but a festival from all over Kurdistan. Mam u Zin Festival is a literary festival held annually in autumn. The characteristic of this festival is that writers, intellectuals, and personalities from the East, North, South, and West parts of Kurdistan participate in it. It includes several artistic and literary activities, one of which is a literary meeting that is held every year about a field of Kurdish literature, and writers from all over Kurdistan participate in it and discuss the issue from their own perspectives and express their opinions. The Mam u Zin Award will be presented to a prominent Kurdish writer and translator who was previously selected by a committee to receive this award. Fortunately, the Mam u Zin Festival has been able to play a very influential role so far and the writers who have been awarded the Mam u Zin Prize have not only been writers from the South, but also writers from North, West, and East parts of Kurdistan, so we can say Mam u Zin festival is the festival of the Great Kurdistan."
Bukhari Wishyar added at the end:
“Mam u Zin is not only the owner of these projects and activities but has always been an active center inside and outside the Kurdistan Region and participated in festivals and exhibitions. It participates in international book fairs inside and outside the Kurdistan Region every year, has provided books to several government institutions many times, and has been involved in the establishment of several other libraries in Kurdistan. In addition, the Shayan project is one of the valuable projects of Mam u Zin that awards Kurdish writers and intellectuals who have served Kurdish writing and literature for many years and their sacred service.”
