Rodaan Al-Galidi appeared at this year’s Cheltenham Literature Festival, speaking about his new book on the experience of an undocumented asylum seeker in The Netherlands, The Leash and the Ball, heavily inspired by his own experiences as a refugee in The Netherlands.
Rodaan appeared on The Huddle stage with the festival’s literary explorer in-residence and author of Reading the World, Ann Morgan. It was a fantastic conversation about how we can use humour to have difficult conversations and Rodaan’s own experiences with the Dutch immigration system. We were also treated to some of Rodaan’s poetry, which he read in Dutch.
Rodaan also appeared in a panel event with Ann Morgan and Welsh novelist and author of Drift, Caryl Lewis, talking about writing the refugee experience. It was a fascinating, warm, and light-hearted conversation. Both Caryl and Rodaan spoke about writing in their second language and their own fictional portrayals of the difficulties faced by asylum seekers today.