Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
What does it mean to carry a home inside you — especially when history, migration, and loss have made any single place feel unstable?
In his acclaimed debut novel 'Martyr!', poet and novelist Kaveh Akbar introduces Cyrus, a queer Iranian-American poet searching for meaning in the wake of personal and inherited trauma. As Cyrus moves through questions of faith, grief, family secrecy, and artistic ambition, the novel explores how identity is shaped not only by what we experience ourselves, but by the histories and silences we inherit.
After finishing his studies, Cyrus becomes drawn to a mysterious performance artwork, DEATH-SPEAK, at the Brooklyn Museum, created by Orkideh: an Iranian artist who has chosen to spend her final days inside the exhibition. Through a growing relationship with Orkideh, and in conversation with his former lover Zee, Cyrus begins to confront the long shadows of exile, addiction, war, and desire, and the complicated ways art becomes a language for survival.
Recorded at the OBA, Amsterdam on 7 May, 2026. Moderator: Els Quaegebeur.
What does it mean to carry a home inside you — especially when history, migration, and loss have made any single place feel unstable?
In his acclaimed debut novel 'Martyr!', poet and novelist Kaveh Akbar introduces Cyrus, a queer Iranian-American poet searching for meaning in the wake of personal and inherited trauma. As Cyrus moves through questions of faith, grief, family secrecy, and artistic ambition, the novel explores how identity is shaped not only by what we experience ourselves, but by the histories and silences we inherit.
After finishing his studies, Cyrus becomes drawn to a mysterious performance artwork, DEATH-SPEAK, at the Brooklyn Museum, created by Orkideh: an Iranian artist who has chosen to spend her final days inside the exhibition. Through a growing relationship with Orkideh, and in conversation with his former lover Zee, Cyrus begins to confront the long shadows of exile, addiction, war, and desire, and the complicated ways art becomes a language for survival.
Recorded at the OBA, Amsterdam on 7 May, 2026. Moderator: Els Quaegebeur.
