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BANNER Music and Poetry 23 11
Kurdish Music and Poetry 

Sunday 23 November 2025, 3.00pm
at Quaker Meeting House, Hertford
 
(50 Railway Street SG14 1BA)

British Syrian poet and writer Amir Darwish, of Kurdish origin, who appeared at Ware Poets earlier in the year and has performed widely at international literary festivals, will be performing his work alongside Kurdish Alevi singer and storyteller Suna Alan, a London-based artist known for her performances of traditional Kurdish folk songs and her appearance at TEDx Kings Parade St in Cambridge.

Together, they will weave poetry, music and stories of love, exile and belonging, creating an evocative afternoon that celebrates the beauty and resilience of shared human experience.

* Free Admission * Refreshments * Donations towards costs and in aid of Herts Welcomes Refugees https://www.hertswelcomes.org.uk/ 


Amir Darwish 

amir-darwish-phd

Amir Darwish is a British Syrian poet and writer of Kurdish origin who lives in London. Born in Aleppo in 1979, he came to Britain as an asylum seeker in 2003. Amir’s work has been published and anthologised worldwide. His poetry has been translated into Arabic, Bengali, Estonian, Finnish, Italian, Spanish and Turkish, amongst other languages. He has taken part in several radio programmes, including for BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service and Refugee Radio. He has attended literary and poetry festivals worldwide, including in Finland, India, Italy, Turkey, Morocco and Estonia. He is currently a poetry editor at The Other Side of Hope literary magazine. Amir’s two collections of poetry are Dear Refugee (Smokestack, 2019) and Don’t Forget the Couscous (Smokestack, 2015). 
 

Suna Alan 

Suna Alan

Suna Alan is a Kurdish Alevi singer based in London. She grew up immersed in traditional Kurdish dengbêj (bard) music in a rich cosmopolitan cultural environment in Izmir, Turkey. Although her main focus remains Kurdish folk songs, her repertoire also includes Armenian, Greek, Arabic, Sephardic and Turkish songs. The UK-based creative journalism platform Brush & Bow featured Suna's portrait as part of the "Women Role Models Project" in 2018. Suna took the stage at Southbank Centre as part of the "Women in Music" concert series and performed at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the Solidarity Ensemble to raise funds for Turkish and Syrian earthquake survivors. Suna appeared at the TEDx Kings Parade St event, "TRANSFORMED," in August 2024 in Cambridge. She has performed in many concerts and festivals in the UK and abroad as a member of SOAS Kurdish Band and SOAS Rebetiko Band, projects formed by the world-famous Department of Music at SOAS, University of London. 
 

How to find Quaker Meeting House

The Meeting House is a short walk from Hertford East Station and a slightly longer one from Hertford North (Google Maps location here). The nearest car park is Gascoyne Way SG14 1AB (more Hertford parking information here). 

Music and Poetry Poster 23 11

Glenys
Hello and welcome to St Andrew's. If you are new, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Planning your Visit

Banner group 1140x320A Warm Hello 

No one belongs here more than you.

We look forward to meeting you! Here's some information so that if you're planning a visit you know beforehand what to expect on a Sunday morning.  We have other pages telling you more About Us, our approach to Faith and our Online services.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details below) for our main Sunday Service starting at 10.30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you find a parking space and can settle in before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team.

Plan your journey:
While, unfortunately, St Andrew's does not have its own carpark, there is a council-run pay and display carpark a short distance along St Andrew Street, to the east of the church; there is a £2 flat-rate charge for parking in this carpark on Sundays, Bank and Public Holidays.

This is a useful East Herts Council website page for full details of parking in Hertford.

There are single yellow lines outside the church with parking restrictions, but some 30-minute parking bays are situated on the opposite side of the road for short stays (longer on Sundays).

Open Google Maps

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There is a disabled toilet towards the back of the church, behind the kitchen.

Our Service

The service will usually begin promptly at 10.30am and will last between 60 and 75 minutes. We enjoy the presence of an excellent choir who help us sing hymns (modern and traditional) as well as provide anthems and special songs through the period of communion. We have a traditional organ but also benefit from music played on the piano and by our band (eg on the Second Sunday of each month when we have an All-Age Service in which our children and young people are fully involved).

Each 10.30am service includes a sermon, prayers and eucharist.

After the service, everyone is invited for coffee and conversation - some like to stay for a quick chat while others remain in the church for a longer time.

Communion

Children and Young People

Children are never too young to come to church. You and your children are very welcome at St Andrew’s. 

We really value worshipping God together as a family, so children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service before being invited to leave for the young people's activities after the first hymn. Junior Church meets in the St Andrew's Centre (our adjoining hall), accessed through the church on Sunday mornings. You will need to go with your children to their groups and register them as part of our child safety policy.

The children and young people then return to the main service in time to join the eucharist and, if confirmed, take Holy Communion or, if not, receive a blessing. We offer a little box of raisins to children being blessed at the altar.

There is a Children's Corner in church where you can go at any time. You will find books, toys and drawing materials there.

Toilet and baby-change facilities are located at the back of church, behind the kitchen.

There's more information here: Children and Young People at St Andrew's

Junior Church celebration

Getting Connected


Home Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week. Check out Home Groups on our website and see if there’s one that you could join. Alternatively, speak to a member of the Welcome Team who will give you the information that you need.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team. Please contact Phil in the Church Office.

Get in touch with us
If you have any questions, please do get in touch. You'll find our contact details here.

We hope that you will feel at home at our church.

Group photo at the top of the page taken by Tim Pike