OxTalks is Changing
OxTalks will soon move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events.' There will be a need for an OxTalks freeze. This was previously planned for Friday 14th November – a new date will be shared as soon as it is available (full details will be available on the Staff Gateway).
In the meantime, the OxTalks site will remain active and events will continue to be published.
If staff have any questions about the Oxford Events launch, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
Safe Corridor
Copies of the book will be available to buy for £10 each, cash only.
About the book:
‘Safe Corridor’ is a bold, unforgettable novel of war, imagination, and survival. Thirteen-year-old Kamiran is fleeing the collapse of Syria when his body begins to harden—literally—turning to chalk. As his transformation unfolds, he pours his memories, secrets, and darkly funny confessions into a piece of chalk he stole at school. Through the eyes of this precocious, resilient boy, Safe Corridor explores what it means to survive the unthinkable—with tenderness, fury, and imagination.
Written by acclaimed Kurdish-Syrian novelist Jan Dost and translated by Marilyn Booth—winner of the 2019 International Booker Prize—‘Safe Corridor’ is a searing, surreal journey through displacement, coming of age, and the cost of war.
Winner of the 2024 Bait AlGhasham DarArab International Translation Prize.
Date:
28 October 2025, 17:00
Venue:
68 Woodstock Road, Woodstock Road OX2 6JF
Venue Details:
MEC Boardroom, Kirdar Building, 68 Woodstock Road
Speakers:
Professor Marilyn Booth (Al Saud Professor, Magdalen College),
Mr Jan Dost (Author)
Organising department:
Middle East Centre
Organiser:
Middle East Centre Administrator (St Antony's College, University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
mec@sant.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Professor Eugene Rogan (St Antony's College, University of Oxford)
Part of:
Book Talks
Booking required?:
Not required
Cost:
FREE
Audience:
Public
Editors:
Caroline Davis,
Jennie Williams
