Another nice collection of Arabic poetry in English is online at Kikah. Among the poets there is the innovative free verse pioneer Badr Shakir al-Sayyab who died in 1964 as the Tammuzi poets’ moment was drawing to a close. His poem Return to Jaykur starts like this: I roamed the hills on the grey horse of a dream fled the outstretched vistas, fled the marketplace teeming with vendors, fled the weary morning, the barking night, the quiet passers-by, the gloomy light, fled the wine-drenched landlord, fled the shame decked in flowers and death in its leisurely stroll along the river’s …
Cain murders Abel by Marc Chagal I was thinking about Yusuf al-Khal’s poem “Cain the Immortal” today when I stumbled across this fantastic archive of Marc Chagall interpretations of Genesis. A propos of nothing I was thinking of two friends of mine, both men, who have just gotten married, despite the objections of a sizable minority of Canadians who say that gay marriage will tear apart the family. And then I looked at various images of Cain murdering his brother out of jealousy, and re-read al-Khal’s poem for the lament that it is, and I wondered just what this ideal …
Adding more poets to my collection of Tammuzi poets, I have just found a few poems by Muhammad al-Mughat from Lebanon. This one, “When the Words Burn” exhibits the kind of duende I associate with Lorca, but, given the Arabic influence on Adalusian poetry, I can see where it comes from. Check it out: Lebanon… white woman under the water; mountains of breasts and fingernails. Scream, voiceless country! Raise your arm high till the shoulder splits and follow me, the empty ship, the wind laden with bells. Over the faces of mothers and captive women, over the cold ashes of …
Reading Rothenberg and Joris’ Poems for the New Millennium I stumbled across a section of Arabic poets who published from 1956 to 1964 as the Tammuzi poets, taking their name from the ancient Mesopotamian god of seasonal decay and rebirth. These poets were born in many places in the Middle East, including Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Iraq and their poetry is a nod to classical Arabic forms, yet informed by the spirit of inquiry brought about by exile, post-colonialism and avant-garde movements elsewhere. Chief among these poets is Adonis who was born Ali Ahmad Said in Syria in 1929 (see …